Force Z was the British naval force sent out to intercept the Japanese landings in Malaya. But first we must back up a little. Prior to the force being sent Japan and Britain were not at war. Japan had invaded French and Dutch possessions in Southeast Asia, but had not made a move against British possessions. To prevent this Britain sent a naval force to Singapore. The force was relatively small in comparison to the Japanese Combined Fleet.

The original plan was to have a strong naval force in Singapore to deter the Japanese just long enough in the hopes of the US Pacific Fleet to provide extra strength. Churchill had hoped the US would provide help to Britain, but he was wrong in this. Force G was sent to Singapore, its name changed when it arrived. The force was based around HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Repulse, and HMS Indomitable. There were also other ships already on station in Singapore ready all to join in to stop Japan if she should strike. HMS Indomitable was unable to take part in the operation since she was in dry dock at the time. Her aircraft would have been no match for the Japanese planes at the time and in hind sight it was lucky she was not involved.

A bulk of the militaries of Australia, New Zealand, and Britain were tied up in North Africa, the North Atlantic, and the Med fighting the Germans. What defense that could be sent to its possessions in South East Asia was few and far between. But those who were there knew they had to hold. The Naval force arrived in Singapore and set about getting ready to meet the potential enemy.

Japan sprung into action all over the Pacific on December 7/8, depending on the date line. Pearl Harbor was attacked and the US Pacific Fleet placed out of actions. Landings took place all over South East Asia on December 8th. British land forces in Malaya were hard pressed to hold back the onslaught of Japanese. Singapore was bombed by Japanese bombers. With the threat of more landings in Malaya the ships had to be used in an offensive role.

Late on December 8th the force put out to sea. POW, Repulse, Electra, Express, Vampire, and Tenedos made up the surface force. The force was over flown by Japanese scout planes but they were not reported. Japanese submarine I65 picked up the force, shadowed the ships, and reported their location back the Japanese headquarters.

The Japanese tried to make a night attack on Force Z to prevent it from reaching the invasion force. The attacked never took place due to bad weather. At 2055 on December 9th Force Z turned back toward Singapore, the element of surprise had been lost. During the night I58 attacked the force and reported its location. Now of the ships saw the torpedoes and never knew they had been spotted.

Early the next morning Japanese bombers took off to attack the force as it headed back to Singapore. The attacks did not materialize until 1113 on December 10th. Japanese torpedo planes attacked both Repulse and POW. Soon both ships were hit and damaged enough to begin sinking. Repulse had yet to receive the same protection as her sister ship Repulse. It is suggested Repulse was hit by as many as eight torpedoes during the attack. Shortly after being hit she began to list and the crew was ordered to abandon ship. At 1223 she sank with heavy casualties.

Prince of Wales was hit by one torpedo in the first attack. This hit caused a major amount of damage as it hit the starboard shaft while truing at maximum revolutions. This hit caused flooding, which in turn caused a list, and cut the ships top speed. The list did not allow the port side AA guns to be able to bring to bear against the low level attackers. Her rudder was also damaged and she could not maneuver properly. She was a doomed ship and at sank at 1318.

With this attack and the others in the proceeding days Japan was firmly in power all over the Pacific. Both HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse are considered Crown properties and war graves. Prince of Wales continues to fly flags of the royal Navy.


Photos from Wikipedia.