Force Z Shipwrecks of the South China Sea: HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse

by Rod Macdonald

Overview

The tragedy of the loss in 1941 of two Royal Navy capital ships, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, the core of Churchill’s deterrent Force Z, stunned the world. Churchill had hoped that sending a small powerful squadron of ships to Singapore would deter a threatened Japanese invasion of Malaya and Thailand. He was to be proved tragically wrong. Denuded of aircraft cover, Force Z was left disastrously exposed to air attack. Within eight days of their arrival at Singapore both ships were sunk with huge loss of life in a mass attack by 85 Japanese bombers. It was the Royal Navy’s greatest loss in a single engagement and the first time a modern battleship had been sunk by air power. With the naval force at the bottom of the sea, and the RAF almost wiped out in Malaya on day one, Singapore was left with no air or sea protection and fell two months later. This is the first book to explore in detail the wrecks of these two vessels and grippingly narrates a summary of the Japanese threat, Fortress Singapore and the subsequent Japanese invasion. Today the wrecks of these two famous British warships lie on the bottom of the South China Sea, 200 miles north of Singapore and 50 miles offshore. The author was invited as a civilian expert on a military expedition to dive and survey these wrecks and now, for the first time, the wrecks are revealed as they are today. Beautifully illustrated with specially commissioned artist’s illustrations of the wrecks, each one is looked at in detail. The story of the loss of these two ships, and of the sacrifice of the men who served in them, is remembered. This has been a personal quest for the author whose grandfather was serving in Singapore when Force Z arrived. His wife and the author’s father and two brothers were among the last civilians evacuated from Singapore before the final siege. His grandfather was taken into internment at Changi Gaol by the Japanese and suffered there for three years until Singapore was reoccupied by the British in 1945. Had the Fall of Singapore not happened the way it did the author would not be here to write this truly remarkable book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781849952309
Publisher:	Whittles Publishing
Publication date:	02/10/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	21 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Rod Macdonald is a renowned shipwreck author and experienced diver.

Also Known As:

The MenJon SchumanSeth Boyd

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction xi

Personal statement xv

Book 1 Force Z Capital Ships

Chapter 1 Battleship and Battlecruiser 3

A bit of background 3

Armour 4

Battleships 4

Battlecruisers 5

Armament 6

Gunnery 7

Shells & propellant 11

Torpedo & mine protection 12

Propulsion 13

Later developments 13

Naval tactics 14

Chapter 2 HMS Prince of Wales (Battleship 1939): From Birkenhead 1937 to Singapore 1941 16

Construction & specifications 16

World War II 20

Bismarck action 20

The Atlantic Charter 27

Force H - the Mediterranean 30

Force G - Singapore-bound 30

Chapter 3 HMS Repulse (Battlecruiser 1916): From Clydebank 1915 to Singapore 1941 31

Construction & specifications 31

World War II era No 1 Battlecruiser Squadron and the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight 33

Inter-war years 34

1930s reconstruction 36

World War II 37

Book 2 Force Z in Action

Chapter 1 Singapore: Island Citadel or Citadel Illusion? 41

Chapter 2 The Japanese Threat 52

Chapter 3 SS Automedon and its Aftermath 57

Chapter 4 Force Z is Conceived 61

Chapter 5 Japan Gambles to Secure an Empire and its Resources 64

Chapter 6 Force Z is Deployed - Arrival at Singapore 67

Chapter 7 8 December 1941 - Sortie 73

Chapter 8 10 December 1941 - The Battle 83

The RAF in Malaya 85

Kuantan 86

Air search and the attack on HMS Tenedos 88

11 a.m. The initial high-altitude bomb attack on Repulse 90

1138 a.m. Torpedo attack on Prince of Wales 92

Torpedo attack on Repulse 97

12 noon. The lull 98

12.19 p.m. The final round 99

Starboard torpedo attack on Prince of Wales 99

Repulse attacked from all directions 101

12.32 p.m. Repulse sinks 102

12.41 p.m. Final bombing attack on Prince of Wales 103

1.18 p.m. 'H.M.S. Prince of Wales Sunk' 104

1.20 p.m. RAF aircraft arrive on scene 106

Aftermath 107

Chapter 9 The Fall of Singapore 109

Book 3 Force Z Shipwrecks of the South China Sea

Chapter 1 The Wreck of HMS Prince of Wales 123

The wreck in detail 126

The Bow section 126

The Midships section 129

The Stern section 133

Chapter 2 The Wreck of HMS Repulse 137

The wreck in detail 138

The Bow section (stem to B turret) 138

The Midships section 146

The Stern section 150

Bibliography 155