HMS Prince of Wales (1939)

HMS Prince Of Wales was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy, built at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, England. The Prince had a brief but active career and helped to stop the Bismarck but her sinking by aerial attack in 1941 signalled the end of the battleship as the predominant class in naval warfare.

Related Topics:
''King George V''-class - Battleship - Royal Navy - Cammell Laird - Birkenhead - England - ''Bismarck'' - Sinking by aerial attack - 1941 - Naval warfare

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In September, 1939, when war was declared, she was fitting out. In August, 1940, while still at the fitting out dock, she was attacked by German aircraft. She suffered one near miss that caused severe flooding because the ship's pumping system was not yet in operation. The Admiralty determined that she would be needed in case the Bismarck deployed, so her construction was advanced, by postponing several tests, shortening builders trials, and deferring post shakedown availability. She was commissioned on 19 January 1941 under the command of Captain John Leach, but not physically "completed" until 31 March.

Related Topics:
1939 - 1940 - German - Admiralty - 19 January - 1941 - John Leach

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Shortly after her commissioning, Prince Of Wales joined Hood in stalking and attacking the German battleship Bismarck and the accompanying heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. The Prince Of Wales sailed with civilian technicians still aboard. On 24 May, following the sinking of Hood, receiving 7 large-caliber hits, and the disabling of much of her weaponry, Prince Of Wales disengaged under a smokescreen, but not before scoring three hits on Bismarck, one of which hit a forward fuel tank. After this action, she shadowed the Bismarck along with the cruisers Suffolk and Norfolk. Gunfire was exchanged with the Bismarck briefly at 0131hrs on 25 May. Twelve hours later, Prince Of Wales broke off pursuit due to her fuel running low. She then returned to the shipyard for 6 weeks of repair.

Related Topics:
''Hood'' - ''Bismarck'' - Heavy cruiser - ''Prinz Eugen'' - 24 May - Suffolk - Norfolk - 25 May

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In August, Prince Of Wales carried Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill across the Atlantic to Argentia, Newfoundland, where he secretly met with United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt for several days in a secure anchorage, beginning on August 10, 1941. This meeting resulted in the signing of the Atlantic Charter on August 12, 1941. After this trip, she was assigned to the Mediterranean for convoy escort duty, where she shot down several attacking planes on 27 September.

Related Topics:
Prime Minister - Winston S. Churchill - Argentia - Newfoundland - United States - President - Franklin D. Roosevelt - August 10 - 1941 - Atlantic Charter - August 12 - Mediterranean - Convoy - 27 September

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On 25 October, Prince Of Wales, along with the destroyers Electra and Express, left for Singapore to be come the flagship of the Far East Fleet under Admiral Sir Thomas Phillips. She arrived at Singapore in early December, joining the battlecruiser HMS Repulse. The new aircraft carrier Indomitable was also scheduled to join Force Z, but she ran aground in Jamaica during trials, and needed repair.

Related Topics:
25 October - ''Electra'' - ''Express'' - Singapore - Far East Fleet - Thomas Phillips - Battlecruiser - HMS ''Repulse'' - Aircraft carrier - ''Indomitable'' - Force Z - Jamaica

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These ships were sent to Singapore to serve as a deterrent to Japanese aggression. However, the Japanese were not deterred and commenced their invasions on December 7, the same day that they attacked Pearl Harbor. Admiral Phillips decided to try and intercept the landing fleets, and Prince Of Wales and Repulse set off, along with four destroyers, Electra, Express, Tenedos, and Vampire, to search for the Japanese. However, they were not successful and the Japanese submarine I-65 spotted them as they returned to Singapore. Japanese aircraft and submarines shadowed the fleet, and on December 10, 1941, without any air cover, both the Prince Of Wales and the Repulse were attacked and sunk by 86 Japanese bombers and torpedo bombers from the 22nd Air Flotilla based at Saigon.

Related Topics:
Japan - December 7 - Pearl Harbor - ''Tenedos'' - ''Vampire'' - ''I-65'' - December 10 - 1941 - Attacked and sunk - 22nd Air Flotilla - Saigon

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Being a modern battleship, the Prince Of Wales was expected to fare better than the World War I veteran Repulse but this was not so. Even before setting out, the Prince's surface scanning radar was inoperable, depriving Force Z of one of its most potent early-warning devices. Early in the battle, the Prince was disabled by a lucky torpedo hit at where the propeller shaft entered the hull, which caused severe flooding and rendered the rudder useless. Altogether, she suffered 6 torpedo and 1 bomb hits in this action. Several hundred men were killed when the ship sunk, with Vice-Admiral Philips and Captain Leach being among those lost when they chose to go down with their ship. However, the Prince's stronger hull enabled much of the crew to be saved, in stark contrast to the older Repulse which suffered a heavy loss of life.

Related Topics:
World War I - Battle - Torpedo

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They were the first capital ships (battleships/battlecruisers/carriers) to be sunk solely by airpower on the open sea, a harbinger of the diminishing role this class of ships was to play in naval warfare thereafter. Even more noteworthy, the Prince Of Wales was a new fast battleship with updated anti-aircraft defenses. These proved insufficient although three Japanese planes were shot down during the attack, two by the Repulse.

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The wreck lies nearly upside down in 155 feet of water at approximately 3 degrees 33.6 minutes North Latitude, 104 degrees 28.7 minutes East Longitude. A British flag attached to a line on a buoy that is tied to a propeller shaft is changed periodically.

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