HMS Prince of Wales
was the second of five King George V class battleships, built under the
limitations of the Washington and London naval limitation treaties. Restricted
to 35,000 tons, these vessels mounted 10 x 14" main guns. Well balanced
designs, they offered a good turn of speed, good armour protection, dual-purpose
secondary mounts, and decent firepower. These numerous and valuable vessels
served well in the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Pacific theatres of operations.
Completed in March of 1941, and surviving only until December 10th of that same
year, Prince of Wales led an eventful if short life. While still under
construction, she was damaged by German bombs, which delayed her completion by
several months. She joined the fleet at Scapa Flow while still being completed,
with civilian contractors still trying to get two of her three turrets
operational. When the German Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen sortied
into the North Atlantic, her commander, Captain Leach, signalled that his ship
was ready for action, and she sailed in company with HMS Hood to intercept,
civilian contractors included. They and the ship's crew worked furiously, and
after the German battleship had quickly dispatched Hood, the incomplete Prince
of Wales scored three critical hits on the Bismarck before breaking off the
action, herself hit by five 15" and four 8" shells. She retired under
the cover of smoke, with 8 of her 10 main guns out of action, 600 tons of
flooding, secondary directors destroyed, and most of her bridge crew dead.
After repairs, Prince of Wales carried Winston Churchill to Newfoundland to meet
with President Roosevelt in July. She then was assigned to the Med and Force H,
participating in Operation Haltberg. Then it was back to the Home Fleet, and
then off to the Far East as the heart of Force Z. In company with Repulse, she
reached Singapore on December 2. Six days later she was sunk by Japanese land
based aircraft, 8 miles from Repulse.
The two vessels were attacked about midway between Singapore and Saigon. Details
of the attack will be covered in the battle history pages in the near future.
HMS Prince of Wales was struck by one torpedo which opened the hull, jammed the
steering, disabled most of the AA mounts, and destroyed part of the propulsion.
Unable to manoeuvre, she was struck repeatedly by more torpedoes and bombs,
floundering an hour and a half after the first strike. |
