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At 17.35 hours on December 8, 1941, a group of British warships known as Force "Z" left Singapore to seek confrontation with our nation's latest enemy, Japan. The fleet consisted of the Capital ships HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse along with the destroyers Tenedous, Electra, Express and Australian man 'o' war Vampire. Two days later they were off the East Coast of Malaya, near Kuantan, when the "Aircraft Alarms" sounded. This was a day every man present would never forget.
In a matter of minutes Japanese bombers were overhead. On board Repulse, Petty Officer Collet reported to the transmitting station from his height finder: "Enemy bombers, 21,000 feet." The guns on both warships burst into life, though no hits were scored. Suddenly, ominous dark specks could be seen descending from the under-belly of the planes. In this first attack the Japanese were focusing their attention on the thinly armored decks of the battle cruiser Repulse. Despite frantic maneuvering she was enveloped by bomb splashes; this was followed by a tremendous explosion, which reverberated throughout the ship - a 250 kg bomb, tore through the upper deck before detonating near a fan chamber.
During an interview with engine room stoker John Dykes, while compiling Sailors' Tales, he recalled the terrifying moment. "Just after the alarm sounded, I was with a Fire Party (part of damage control), until ordered up top to assist in the fuelling of one of our Walrus seaplanes… the bombs came down; one exploded in the area that I'd been in only minutes previously. Shortly afterwards I returned down below; it was a sickening sight. Many of the lads I'd been with on the Fire Party had been killed and scores more had severe injuries. At the time I didn't think about how lucky I'd been."

HMS Prince of Wales increased speed to 25 knots, as her small arms opened up once more; the noise was deafening, reaching a crescendo as the planes flew within feet of the guard-rails. Her 5.25in secondary armament had switched from controlled fire to barrage, in an attempt to ward off the marauding bombers; sadly to no avail. Men on the upper deck watched in horror as the tracks of incoming torpedoes drew ever closer; there was no escape. For a split second the forward motion of the ship was halted; eye witness accounts state that the force of this explosion was so severe it felt as though the 35,000 ton battleship was thrown in the air.

Within seconds the Prince took on a list of 11 degrees and her speed was reduced to 15 knots, both her steering gear and main electrical systems had been fatally damaged. This meant that she could no longer maneuver with any degree of control. More alarmingly, most of the power supplies to her dual-purpose 5.25 guns were inoperative. The Japanese quickly assessed that the battleship was immobilized. In an instant they shifted the main strength of their force against the 25-year-old Repulse, converging on her from several angles.

The speed and agility of these bombers had anti-aircraft gunner Reg Woods mesmerized, and he relived the opening phases of the battle for me: "I saw a low flying formation of planes coming towards us; they certainly didn't resemble the Swordfish our airforce flew; they looked more like Spitfires.

Captain Tennant exercised superb seamanship as he successfully evaded countless waves of torpedo attacks. His tremendous skill is still etched in the memory of able seaman Ted Matthews: "Our skipper had us falling everywhere in his attempts to comb the incoming torpedoes; he maneuvered this 32,000-ton warship more like a destroyer than a battle cruiser. In our elevated position on the high angle aircraft director the roll of the ship was alarming, if it hadn't been for the life-threatening situation, it could almost have been exhilarating."

The tenacity of the Japanese was rewarded when a tremendous explosion rocked Repulse on the port side, amidships. Thankfully she appeared to shrug off this attack and her gun crews repaid the enemy, felling a couple of bombers. Within seconds a further strike met with success; this time on the starboard side just aft of the cutter (rowing boat). Repulse still managed to operate effectively and moved towards the stricken Prince of Wales to offer assistance.

Any hopes harbored of escaping this onslaught were quickly dampened. Captain Tennant had already combed the tracks of 19 torpedoes, when the killer blow was dealt. Three planes approached from the direction of the Prince of Wales, waiting until the very last moment before dispatching their warheads. Repulse was unable to maneuver her way clear of this triple attack. The three "fish" disappeared under the ship; suddenly a gigantic plume of water erupted from the port side, immediately followed by a sudden and dramatic list to port. The fight was over. Repulse was lost. Within three minutes the battle cruiser would settle on the ocean bed, along with 513 of her complement.

It was now the turn of Prince of Wales to be dealt a coup de grace. By this point in the battle, conditions on board were desperate. Since the initial torpedo strike the Prince had been damaged by another attack. Her list was increasing by the minute and it was obvious that she could not survive.

On board that day was 18-year-old ordinary telegraphist Bill Johns. As with many of her crew, the memories of an earlier battle in May 1941 was still uppermost in his thoughts. This was when the newly commissioned (though not fully prepared) battleship had been with the ill-fated HMS Hood. He said: "Being under cover I wasn't too sure what was happening until water began to enter our communications office in the depths of the ship. Almost immediately we received orders to evacuate the room and make our way to the upper deck. After a lengthy climb we came into daylight; it was a scene of total devastation. I was put under the direct control of a chief stoker; we had to help carry the wounded to the sick bay… most of the men we took down below perished with the ship, their injuries were so severe they were unable to save themselves before it was too late."

After numerous torpedo hits, Prince of Wales was in a dire situation; it was estimated she had taken on board an unbelievable 18,000 tonnes of water. In a short while she, also, would succumb to the inevitable. This final blow came in the form of a high level bombing attack. Alan McIvor, a sight setter on a port 5.25 gun turret, has vivid recollections of the last moments of the Prince: "I was standing at the open entrance to our turret; suddenly there were three tremendous explosions in between our funnels, which threw me back inside. I soon realized that I'd been very lucky, for such was the force of the detonations they lifted our gun turret off its trunion, if I hadn't been sheltered from the main blast, I wouldn't be here today."

McIvor's head had been badly cut in the incident and he was losing a lot of blood. Petty Officer Crowther made him cross over the gangplank to the relative safety of HMS Express, which was lying alongside his stricken ship. It was the last he ever saw of him: "I've no idea if he survived the sinking," he said.

At 13.20 hours Prince of Wales lurched to port, capsized and sank, taking 327 men with her. A desperate rescue operation swung into action. The escorting destroyers working miracles, saved hundreds from a watery grave. In just over two hours of bitter fighting, the pride of the British Navy had been destroyed by 94 Japanese warplanes. More than 840 men perished, many more would die during the coming battle for Singapore. Without question it was the greatest disaster our navy suffered in the Second World War.

During my years of research covering the loss of these ships, I have conferred with governments and individuals from all over the world; one such person offered assistance far in excess of all others. He is Colonel Maetani, of the Japanese Military Attaché in London. I wrote to him, enquiring if they had any knowledge of the whereabouts of survivors from the Kanoya and Mihoro squadrons that destroyed Repulse and Prince of Wales, as I also wished to cover the battle from their viewpoint. Several weeks later he replied with the name and address of one such person, Lieut. Haruki Iki of the Kanoya Air Corps.

After many letters I became increasingly touched by the sincerity of Iki, and feel that one act carried out by him is in total contrast to the normally ferocious attitude displayed by the Japanese against their wartime adversaries. On December 11, 1941, he flew solo over the sight of the previous day's battle, dropping two wreaths.

I asked what prompted this show of respect. His reply shocked me. One was for the fellow members of his Kanoya Air Corps who had perished at the hands of British gunfire and the other was for all the British sailors who had died in the battle. He said their display of bravery in defence of the ships had gained them the utmost admiration from all the pilots in his squadron.

On May 22 this year, the Repulse and Prince of Wales Survivors' Association will gather in Plymouth. Amid all the joy and laughter, I guarantee that many a tear will be shed in memory of their lost shipmates, whose final resting place is the South China Sea.

© This article appeared in the May 1998 edition of Saga magazine ©

With kind permission of Saga Magazine and the author of Sailors Tales, Alan Matthews

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