The death toll was appalling on board Repulse 513 of the 1309 crew died and on the Prince of Wales 327 of the 1612 crew. A fierce battle ensued but within eighty five minutes the lightly armoured Repulse had sunk following one bomb hit and numerous torpedo hits and forty eight minutes later the Prince of Wales also sank having been crippled by a first torpedo hit and subsequent torpedo and bomb strikes. Just days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour that brought the United States into the war Force Z sailed from Singapore with orders to intercept and destroy the Japanese invasion fleet that was landing on the Malayan and Siamese coasts.įollowing their sighting by a Japanese submarine and reconnaissance aircraft a large force of 34 high-level bombers and 51 torpedo bombers attacked the two capital ships. Crucially, the new aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable that was detailed to join Force Z had been damaged after running aground and never joined the squadron. This consisted of the two capital ships and four destroyers. In 1941 a powerful naval squadron known as Force Z was sent to Singapore to act as a deterrent to Japanese expansion in South East Asia. The 10th December 2011 marks the 70th anniversary of the sinking of the battleship Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser Repulse in the South China Sea.
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