The report calls the torpedo bombers Naval type 96, and says the high-level bombers were probably the same. The Allies later called this type Nell. U.S. Navy photo 80-G-179013, 1942. This photograph is not the attack off Kuantan.
1941-12-10
Loss of Prince of Wales and Repulse
South China Sea, off Kuantan, Malaya
Admiral Sir Tom Phillips sailed from Singapore at 1735 on 8 December 1941. His flag was in Prince of Wales. Captain John Leach had her. Captain William Tennant had Repulse. With them were the destroyers Electra, Express, Vampire, and Tenedos. Electra, Express, and Tenedos have no pages here. He was going after the Japanese transports reported landing on the east coast of the Kra Isthmus. On the afternoon of 9 December three Japanese naval reconnaissance aircraft sighted the force from Prince of Wales. He cancelled the attack and turned south for Singapore. Tenedos was sent back at 1834 that day, short of fuel, and was not in the air attack. About midnight a signal reported a landing at Kuantan. The force turned for Kuantan at 0052 on 10 December, at 25 knots, and arrived at 0800. Express reported the place quiet. No enemy force was there. While the ships steamed east to look at a small vessel passed earlier, shore-based Japanese naval aircraft found them. The torpedo bombers were twin-engined monoplanes, Naval type 96. The high-level bombers were probably the same. The first aircraft were sighted at 1100. The times are zone GH. At 1118 nine high-level bombers attacked Repulse. One bomb hit the port hangar and did no serious damage. At 1144 nine torpedo bombers attacked Prince of Wales from the port side. Two torpedoes hit together abreast P.3 and P.4. She listed 13 degrees to port. Both port shafts were out, the steering failed, and she was never again under complete control. Two aircraft were shot down. At 1225 nine torpedo bombers came at Repulse from several directions. The first hit jammed the rudder. Three more hit. She capsized and sank at 1235, at 3-45 N, 104-24 E. Electra and Vampire picked up her survivors. Tennant counted 27 officers and 486 men lost, and 42 officers and 754 men saved. At 1246 nine high-level bombers attacked Prince of Wales. One bomb hit near S 3 turret. Express came alongside at 1305. Prince of Wales capsized to port and sank at 1320, at 3-36 N, 104-28 E. The report counts four, possibly five, torpedoes and one bomb on Prince of Wales, and five torpedoes and one bomb on Repulse. About eight aircraft were shot down. The sinkings are not credited to one plane, or to one type. No surface ship took part. The report calls the torpedo bombers twin-engined monoplanes, Naval type 96, and says the high-level bombers were probably the same. Japanese Monograph No. 107 calls the Kanoya aircraft Type 1 torpedo bombers. The photographs are those two types. They are not the aircraft that made this attack. Six Buffalo fighters took off from Kallang at 1215 and arrived as Prince of Wales was sinking, after the Japanese aircraft had left. The destroyers reached Singapore between 2310 and 2400. No attempt was made to interfere with the rescue. Jupiter and Encounter were under repair and did not sail. Phillips had decided not to take the cruiser Durban. Fighter cover off Singgora at daylight on 10 December had been refused before the force sailed. Rear-Admiral A. F. E. Palliser, chief of staff, stayed at Singapore. Phillips and Leach were lost with Prince of Wales. Tennant survived.
Sunk in this fight
2 ships.
Malaya and the Gulf of Siam, operations 6-10 December 1941. Naval Staff History, Battle Summary No. 14 (revised), 1955, Plan 2. Crown copyright expired. North is up. The sheet says the positions and movements are approximate. British tracks are in red. Japanese tracks and reports are in blue. Force Z sailed from Singapore at 1735 on 8 December. The sheet marks Repulse sunk and Prince of Wales sunk about 1320, east of Kuantan, and it prints 1233 on Repulse. The report on this page gives Repulse at 1235, 3°45'N, 104°24'E, and Prince of Wales at 1320, 3°36'N, 104°28'E. The blue ships did not meet Force Z. No surface ship took part in the sinking. The sheet does not name the aircraft. The loss is not credited to one plane.
First torpedo attack on Force Z. Naval Staff History, Battle Summary No. 14 (revised), 1955. Crown copyright expired. The scale is in cables. Prince of Wales opened fire at 1141½ and was hit at 1144. Repulse is shown turning clear. The crosses are the aircraft. The sheet does not name them. Not credited to one plane. The times are the Admiralty plot. The narrative on this page is the Layton report.
Second torpedo and bomb attack. Naval Staff History, Battle Summary No. 14 (revised), 1955. Crown copyright expired. The scale is in cables. Repulse is shown at 1156 and at 1159, combing all tracks. A bomb attack is marked at 1158. Prince of Wales is marked uncertain at 1156. The sheet does not name the aircraft. Not credited to one plane.
Third torpedo attack. Naval Staff History, Battle Summary No. 14 (revised), 1955. Crown copyright expired. The scale is in cables. From 1219. Repulse is marked hit at 1223. Prince of Wales is marked 1223, approximate, 3 or 4 hits. The dashed lines are the aircraft. The sheet does not name them. Not credited to one plane. The Layton report times this attack at 1225 and the sinking of Repulse at 1235.
The aircraft
Japanese Monograph No. 107 calls the Kanoya torpedo bombers Type 1. The report on this page does not. The Allies later called this type Betty. U.S. Navy photograph, Marianas, about 1942 to 1944. This photograph is not the attack off Kuantan. The sinkings are not credited to one type.
