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| On board the HMS Belfast in London 2017 |
The Singapore Strategy
As Japan expanded its territory in Southeast Asia, the British embarked on a military plan called the Singapore Strategy. Japan had already taken Indochina from the French in September 1940, and was already on track to challenge British rule over Malaya, Hong Kong and Burma.
The idea was to prop up Singapore as a forward naval based to deter the Japanese expansion into the British colonies of Malaya and Borneo. Thus the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, battlecruiser HMS Repulse, and the destroyers HMS Electra, Express, Encounter and Jupiter were dispatched to Singapore. Initially, the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable was also part of this task force (Force Z) but it ran aground in the Caribbean.
Now bear in mind that sending ships to defend Singapore was an enormous investment. Not only do you have to prepare men and supplies (including food), you have to ensure sufficient refueling points along the way. A trip from Gibraltar (where HMS Prince of Wales was located) to Singapore is a 15,000 km (or 1-3 months travel) commitment, and it involved sailing through the Mediterranean, which was being challenged by the Italian Navy.
This example alone showed that the British administration was serious about defending their Southeast Asian possessions.
10 December 1941
Force Z eventually arrived on Singapore on 2 December 1941. Upon hearing the Japanese advance into Malaya on 8 December, Admiral Sir Tom Philips dispatched his fleet northwards to engage the Japanese. HMS Jupiter and Encounter were defective and were replaced by destroyers HMS Tenedos and HMAS Vampire.
Force Z was spotted by Japanese aircraft and submarines on 9 December, and the Japanese organised a counter-fleet. However, at night, Admiral Philips suspected that his fleet was discovered and ordered a retreat to Singapore.
This retreat was spotted by another Japanese submarine on the morning of 10 December and two Japanese air groups were sent to engage Force Z. HMS Tenedos was the first to report being attacked at 1000. While HMS Tenedos suffered no significant damage, the Japanese planes managed to get an exact location on the British Fleet.
At 1140, HMS Prince of Wales suffered a torpedo hit at the propellor shaft. This flooded an engine room and tilted the ship, limiting its movement. At 1220, it suffered three more torpedo hits to its bow, rendering it immobile. Finally at 1241, a Japanese bomber managed to penetrate the deck with its load, causing HMS Prince of Wales to capsize.
HMS Repulse was hit by four torpedoes at 1140, and sank at 1233.
The British had lost 840 men, including Admiral Philips, while the Japanese lost 18 men and 4 aircraft.
Effects on Singapore
The lost of HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse meant that the British fleet in Southeast Asia were without capital ships (large warships). This meant that the British had no realistic way to defeat the Japanese Navy in the short term. Their navy withdrew to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).
This meant that the Japanese now controlled the South China Sea, and could afford to supply their Malayan invasion by sea. Japan was now one giant step closer to Singapore.
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