A 136 years of the Royal Navy’s global supremacy ended with the sinking of the battleship, Prince of Wales and battle cruiser, Repulse by the Japanese. Neither the Admiralty, or politicians, understood that British naval domination was shaky beforethis débâcle.  

The sinking of the British warships was aided by naval officers infected by hubris. None more so than commander Admiral Phillips.

What went wrong? Why did Tom Phillips ignore the air threat to his fleet? Why did he leave Singapore and go north at all, given the immense Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) strength in ships and aircraft? Why did he maintain wireless telegraphy silence after Force Z had left Singapore….. Force Z was puny….¹

The cream of the Royal Navy was sunk in an hour by Japanese  torpedo bombers.

A government cover-up began immediately with Hansard reporting that nothing informative would be said,

Major Stourton asked the Prime Minister whether he is now in a position to make a further statement regarding the circumstances of the loss of His Majesty’s Ships “Prince of Wales” and “Repulse”; and whether, at the time of the sinking of these two ships, they were protected by an adequate escort of seaborne or land-based fighter aircraft?

§Mr. Attlee [deputy PM] I regret that I am not able to add to the statements which have already been made on this subject.

§Major Stourton  Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is considerable public anxiety on this issue? Will the Government trust the people for once, and tell the whole truth? (my emphasis)²

Attlee was protecting Winston Churchill. Churchill’s wilful ignorance of Japanese military capabilities was fuelled by his Victorian racism. He knew the task force was incapable of halting the Japanese onslaught and yet insisted they proceed without air cover. Britain’s only viable aircraft carrier was in the USA after being damaged in the Caribbean. Japan’s destruction of the USA’s fleet at Pearl Harbour two days before the sinking of the British warships was criminally ignored. The Pearl Harbour surprise attack had demonstrated Japanese prowess and Britain’s ships went like lambs to the slaughter.

The sinking of these ships was cataclysmic. It ended the era of battleships as the principal naval weapon for every navy. Air craft carriers were now pre-eminent.

Notes

1 Prince of Wales and Repulse: Churchill’s “Veiled Threat” Reconsidered – International Churchill Society 2 LOSS OF HIS. MAJESTY’S SHIPS “PRINCE OF WALES” AND “REPULSE.” (Hansard, 8 January 1942)