Battleship: The Loss of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse

by Patrick Mahoney and Martin Middlebrook

Book Overview

On the third day of the war with Japan, two Royal Navy capital ships were sunk off Malaya by air torpedo attack. They had not requested the air support that could have saved them and 840 men died in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684163330
• ISBN13: 9780684163338
• Release Date: January 1979
• Publisher: Scribner
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Excellent work - recommended

I must start this review with telling you that I have read this book at least 10 times. It covers both the backgrond, both why the ships were sent to Singapore, but also insight about capital ships record until dec. 41. Both losses and successes. One thing often ignored is that no battleship had been lost at sea previously and therefor some decisions from Philips may look more logical to him than to us armchair admirals. The voyage to Singapore and the events that lead Philips out on his foray are described and also Japanese moves. Then the attack, hits, damage and so on are described with good detail almost like a report from the damage control officer. By bad luck the first torpedo hit made massive damage on Prince of Wales and effects of this hit are shown with drawings over flooding and effects on electricity, pumps and other areas are described also. Then the final round that ended in the sinking of the ships are described, after that comes rescue, aftermath and analysis. All this are the whole time enrichened by lots of witnesses from people involved (massive number)both British and some Japanese that bring the story almost to a film, you can see everything going on in your mind, and a book that gives you that feeling is very good. I always likes books that are balanced and not afraid to critisize your own leader, and Philips surely get his share. One thing that strike me when you compare the demise of IJN Yamato and Musashi is that often the IJNs AA are critized but as I remember those ships shot down at least more US aircraft than POW and Repulse with their fantastic score of three IJN aircraft (heavy not agile twin engine bombers). This may be a testimony more to the fact that all ships (both axis and allied)were equally poor against aircraft early in the war but that VT fuzes, 40 mm Bofors and sturdier aircraft made life much more difficult later for IJN whilst IJN did not improve enough. The death of the battleship is the theme and this is a book that you should not miss and also good value for money

INTERSERVICE RIVALRY ROOT CAUSE OF DISASTER

On December 10, 1941, the British battleships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse were sunk off the coast of Malaya by Japanese torpedo aircraft. This was the first time in history that a modern, well-armed dreadnought had been sunk on the high seas by aircraft alone. The destruction of these two battleships with such apparent ease seemed to justify the pre-war prophecies of aviation advocates such as "Billy" Mitchell and to signal the end of the battleship era. Martin Middlebrook and Patrick Mahoney present a very detailed and balanced account of this significant naval action and they attempt to assess its historical impact. As usual, Middlebrook provides excellent background information on the key individuals, the ships themselves, their mission and the circumstances of their deployment to Singapore. Strategically, these ships were ordered by Winston Churchill to the Far East to help deter the coming war with Japan. Admiral Phillips, a high level staff officer with an understanding of war plans, was given charge of the squadron and tasked with a deterrence mission. Unfortunately, the battleships arrived in Singapore on 2 December 1941 and Japan attacked only six days later. The deterrence function of the warships was thus a failure. Much of the book then focuses on Admiral Phillips controversial decision to sortie from Singapore in an attempt to find and destroy the Japanese invasion convoys bound for Malaya. Phillips went charging off into a very uncertain situation with only two battleships and four destroyers. He apparently believed that his magnificent warships could fight their way through to smash the Japanese convoys, while suffering acceptable levels of damage. Only a minimal effort was made to coordinate with the Royal Air Force for fighter cover prior to the sortie; a fighter squadron was dedicated to supporting the battleships but given no specific instructions. Prior to this account, I had always believed that the battleships were sunk rather easily by a well-coordinated Japanese air attack. In fact, the Japanese squadrons were low on fuel and disordered, the attacks conducted piece-meal. HMS Repulse did a superb job dodging about nineteen torpedoes before receiving fatal hits. On the other hand, the much better-built HMS Prince of Wales was crippled early in the fight by a lucky torpedo hit that caused massive flooding and knocked out most of her electrical systems. The Japanese achieved 11 torpedo hits out of 49 launched and 2 bomb hits of 23 dropped. Just as the Prince of Wales was sinking, ten British fighters arrived over the scene. Admiral Phillips had never radioed for air support and this squadron only arrived due to the independent call for assistance by HMS Repulse. Middlebrook notes that had Phillips called for these fighters just two hours earlier, they could have disrupted the unescorted Japanese bombers and probably have helped save at least one of the battleships. The main culprit for this disaster i

a sad story indeed

This very readable account of the folly of Force Z was very thoroughly researched, using official documents, logs, interviews and other conventional sources. The book combines a narrative of events with analysis of the strategic and tactical aspects involved, a detailed technical rundown regarding construction, armour, armament, and much more of the POW. The authors alternate between academic discussion and survivor's narratives, thereby maintaining tension and interest from beginning to end. It is interesting to note that the King George V class of battleships (of which the Prince of Wales was the second ship) was quite a mediocre design (see combinedfleet.com section on battleships), this a direct result of Britain building only two battleships between 1918 and 1936, resulting in a starvation of design innovation and shipyard expertise. Central in this book is the description of the errors and folly of the voyage of Force Z, and this leaves the impartial reader with deep regret upon reading of the unnecessary sacrifice of so many, who fought very bravely.

Interesting Story of Airpower vs Battleships

This book covers the story of the HMS Prince of Wales and the HMS Repulse from their arrival in the pacific in late 1941. It starts by covering the decisions which led to these ships being sent to the Far East despite a still viable German navy, then discusses the ships themselves, their crews, and their histories. The book is written in a narrative style and makes heavy use of actual messages radioed to and from the vessels. These do an effective job of establishing the situation and give the reader insight into why certain decisions were made. Also used are official Japanese documents so the reader gets a view of the battle from both sides.Diagrams of the ships show the locations of bomb and torpedo hits. During the interludes between air raids, the author covers the damage inflicted thus far in an almost checklist manner: pumps, counter flooding procedures, communication status, ventilation and lighting, steering, anti-aircraft armament... I can almost picture the officers taking account of what they have to work with and forming plans on how to prepare for the next assault.After the sinkings, the remaining chapters cover the rescue of the crews and an analysis of the battle and its aftermath. Overall it's an easy read and presents an interesting view of a battle which was one of the first to prove Billy Mitchell right.