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Navy King George V Class Battleship 38,000 Tons (Standard) 43,786 (Full Load) 745' 1" x 740' 1" x 112' 5" 10 × 14" Mark VII guns 16 × 5.25" DP guns 48 x 2 pdr (1.5") AA 1 x 40 mm AA 8 s 20 mm AA Aircraft: 4 Walrus  RAN 1941   IJN December 10, 1941 |
Ship History Built by Cammell Laird and Company at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, England. The new warship was origianlly to be named King Edward VIII but after his abdication renamed Prince of Wales. Laid down January 1, 1937 as King George V Class Battleship. Launched May 3, 1939 as HMS Prince of Wales (53). Her fitting out continued until the start of World War II in Europe on September 1, 1939. During late August 1940 during the Battle of Britain Liverpool Blitz (Merseyside Blitz) German bombers scored a near-miss that exploded between her port side that severely buckled and spring her outer plates. Commissioned January 19, 1941 in the Royal Navy (RN) under the command of Captain John Leach. Completed March 31, 1941 and underwent accelerated sea trials and training training exercises off Scapa Flow. Her main gun batteries were experiencing issues and some of the problems were resolved by technical representatives from Vickers-Armstrongs. Wartime History On May 22, 1941 Prince of Wales and HMS Hood (51) escorted by destroyers were ordered from the United Kingdom south of Iceland to intercept German battleship Bismarck if it entered the Atlantic Ocean. The next day, they were ordered to steam at 27 knots towards the Denmark Strait. On May 24, 1941 during the Battle of the Denmark Strait Prince of Wales and Hood engaged German battleship Bismarck and Heavy Cruiser Prinz Eugen. After the sinking of Hood, seven large caliber shells hit Prince of Wales forcing the battleship to disengaged under a smokescreen and join HMS Suffolk and HMS Norfolk. During the brief battle, Prince of Wales scored three hits on Bismarck. On May 25, 1941 at 1:31am agian briefly exchanged gunfire with the Bismarck. Twelve hours after the start of the engagement, Prince Of Wales broke off pursuit low fuel. Afterwards, to Rosyth, Scotland for six weeks of repairs. In early August 1941, embarked Prime Minsister Winston Churchill and steamed to Newfoundland for a secret meeting with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt that resulted in the signing of the Atlantic Charter. Next, she was assigned to the Mediterranean Sea for convoy escort duty. On September 27, 1941 shot down several attacking Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) aircraft with her 5.25" guns and afterwards was dispatched to intercept Italian Naval vessels but were unable to locate and her convoy reached Malta safely. Afterwards, returned to Gibraltar then to Scapa Flow arriving October 6, 1941. On October 25, 1941 departs the United Kingdom escorted by destroyers bound for the Far East via Freetown and Cape Town in South Africa to refuel then via Mauritius and the Maldives. On November 28, 1941 arrives Colombo and the next day joins HMS Repulse (34). On December 2, 1941 arrives Singapore and becomes the flagship of Force Z under the command of Admiral Sir Tom Phillips. On December 8, 1941 at the start of the Pacific War, Prince Of Wales anti-aircraft guns opened fire at Japanese planes attacking Singapore but fail to score any hits or stop the attack. At 5:30pm departs Singapore with Force Z including Prince Of Wales and HMS Repulse (34) escorted by destroyers HMS Electra (H27), HMS Express (H61), HMS Tenedos (H04) and HMAS Vampire (D68) on a mission to attack Japanese transports off Kota Bharu on Malaya. The warships were to have Royal Air Force (RAF) air cover, but none were available. On December 9, 1941 at 2:15am spotted by Japanese submarine I-65. Later in the evening, spotted by Japanese reconnaissance planes. Sinking History On December 10, 1941 at midnight Force Z was informed the Japanese were landing at Kuantan and were diverted to investigate. At 2:11am again spotted by Japanese submarine. At 8:00am arrived off Kuantan and learned the reported landing was a diversion and turned southward. Meanwhile, Japanese land based bombers from the 22nd Air Flotilla in Saigon were launched armed with bombs and torpedoes to sink the battleships. At 10:15am a Type 96 / G3M2 Nell spotted Force Z and shadowed the warships and broadcast a signal for the inbound formation of bombers. At 11:00am the first attack by eight Type 96 / G3M2 Nells armed with 250kg bombs targeted HMS Repulse from 11,500' / 3,505m with an aerial photograph both battleships during the attack. Repulse was straddled by two bombs with a third scoring a hit that penetrated the hangar and exploded against the armor deck causing casualties aboard and damaging the Supermarine Walrus inside the hangar that was pushed overboard. Anti-aircraft fire damaged five bombers. At 11:30am the second attack by seventeen Type 96 / G3M2 Nells armed with torpedoes that divided into two groups and made torpedo attacks. Prince of Wales was hit by a single torpedo that damaged the propeller shaft and caused it to enter the hull resulting in severe flooding and rendered the rudder useless. The damage also cut the power to her 5.25" guns and many pumps. Other electrical failures left parts of the ship in total darkness and added to the difficulties of damage repair parties as they attempted to counter the flooding. Meanwhile, HMS Repulse avoids seven torpedoes and bombs dropped by six other Type 96 / G3M2 Nells. A third torpedo attack targets HMS Repulse but she was not hit. A fourth attack by Type 1 / G4M1 Bettys armed with torpedoes scored hits on HMS Repulse that sank at 12:33pm. Six Bettys also attacked Prince of Wales and scored three torpedo hits and a single bomb hit that causing further damaged and flooding. At 1:15pm the crew were ordered to abandon ship. At 1:20pm the damaged battleship capsized to port and remained afloat for several minutes before sinking stern first off Kuantan in the South China Sea at roughly Lat 3° 33′36″N Long 104° 28′42″E. A total of 327 crew were lost in the engagement and sinking including Admiral Sir Tom Phillips and Captain John Leach. Memorials During the attack and sinking, a total of 327 sailors were lost, including Vice-Admiral Phillips and Captain Leach. List of crew killed in action aboard HMS Prince of Wales on December 10, 1941. Shipwreck The wreck lies nearly upside down on the bottom of 68m / 223'. After the sinking, the Japanese Navy sent a team to search for the shipwreck but never found the shipwreck of Prince of Wales. Postwar, it became a Royal Navy tradition for warships that pass the sinking site to perform a memorial service in the vicinity for both Repulse and Prince of Wales. During 2001, the shipwreck was designated as a "Protected Place" under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, just before the 60th anniversary of her sinking. The Royal Navy maintains a White Ensign flag on the mast of the shipwreck. Also, a British flag attached to a line on a buoy is tied to a propeller shaft and periodically renewed. During 2014, the shipwreck of Prince of Wales and Repulse were illegally salvaged by scrap metal salvagers using explosives and divers. The illegal salvages were first reported in the Daily Telegraph on October 25, 2014. During May 2023, it was reported that a Chinese vessel Chuan Hong 68 illegally salvaged more steel from both shipwrecks and was seized by Malaysian authorities. Ship's Bell The ship's bell was raised in 2002 with the blessing of the Ministry of Defense and the Force Z Survivors Association. It was restored, then presented for permanent display by First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Alan West, KCB DSC ADC to the Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool. Today, the bell is part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy collection at the National Museum of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. During 2019, the bell was used to make a replica for her sucessor, HMS Prince of Wales (R09) commisioned December 10, 2019. Memorials On December 10, 2019 her sucessor, Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09) was commissioned in the Royal Navy on the 78th anniversary of the sinking as the eighth ship with the name. On December 10, 2023, a memorial was unveiled by the King Abdullah of Pahang at Teluk Cempedak beach, commemorating Prince of Wales and Repulse. References HMS Prince of Wales Roll of Honour Overview Expedition 'Job 74' [PDF 5.6 megs] Survey May 17-27, 2007 Prince of Wales Stern Damage Report [PDF 4.6 megs] by Kevin Denlay Prince of Wales Hull Indentation Report [PDF 2.3 megs] by Kevin Denlay Death of a Battleship, 2012 Update [PDF 4 megs] by William H. Garzke, Jr., Robert O. Dulin Jr. and Kevin Denlay (members of the SNAME Marine Forensics Committee), presented at the 2012 Marine Forensics Symposium, Maryland, USA TNA: ADM 267/61 Extract from C.B. 0237 Report dated April 1942 of a Committee Presided Over by the Justice Bucknill The Loss of H.M.S. 'Price of Wales' [PDF] National Museum of the U.S. Navy Loss of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Disaster in the Pacific, December 1941 pages 553, 556-558, 562, 563, 565 (map), 566-568 The Telegraph "Celebrated British warships being stripped bare for scrap metal" by Julian Ryall October 25, 2014 The Times "Malaysia seizes Chinese ship suspected of looting wartime British wrecks" by Gavin Blair May 30, 2023 Free Malaysia Today "King unveils memorial for HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales" December 10, 2023 Thanks to Kevin Denlay for additional information, research and analysis Contribute
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 Photo Archive  Map December 8-10, 1941  68m / 223' |
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