Editing HMS Repulse (1916) (section)

===Second World War===
At the beginning of the Second World War, ''Repulse'' was part of the Battlecruiser Squadron of the [[Home Fleet]]. She patrolled off the Norwegian coast and in the North Sea in search of German ships, as well as to enforce the blockade for the first couple months of the war.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 3, 6</ref> Early in the war, the aft triple 4-inch gun mount was replaced with an 8-barrel 2-pounder mount.<ref name=rr17>Raven and Roberts, p. 217</ref> In late October, she was transferred to [[Halifax Regional Municipality|Halifax]] with the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Furious|47|2}} to protect convoys and search for German raiders. ''Repulse'' and ''Furious'' sortied from Halifax on 23 November in search of the {{ship|German battleship|Scharnhorst}} after it had sunk the [[armed merchant cruiser]] {{HMS|Rawalpindi||2}}, but ''Repulse'' was damaged by heavy seas in a storm and was forced to return to port.<ref>Burt 1993, p. 224</ref> ''Repulse'' escorted the convoy bringing most of the [[1st Canadian Infantry Division]] to Britain from 10 to 23 December 1939 and was reassigned to the Home Fleet. In February 1940, she accompanied the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Ark Royal|91|2}} on a fruitless search for six German [[blockade runner]]s that had broken out of [[Vigo]], Spain.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 11, 15</ref>

[[File:HMS Repulse escorting a troop convoy A6793.jpg|thumb|''Repulse'' escorting the last convoy to reach Singapore, December 1941]]
''Repulse'' was assigned to support Allied operations during the [[Norwegian Campaign]] in April–June 1940. On 7 April, ''Repulse'', along with the bulk of the Home Fleet, was ordered to sea to intercept what was thought to be another attempt to break-out into the North Atlantic. The ship was detached the following day to search for a German ship reported by the destroyer {{HMS|Glowworm|H92|2}}, but the destroyer had been sunk by the {{ship|German cruiser|Admiral Hipper}} before ''Repulse'' arrived and she was ordered to rendezvous with her sister ''Renown'' south of the [[Lofoten Islands]], off the Norwegian coast.<ref>Haarr 2009, pp. 86, 93, 105</ref> On 12 April, ''Repulse'' was ordered to return to [[Scapa Flow]] to refuel and she escorted a troop convoy upon her return.<ref>Haarr 2010, pp. 116, 139</ref> In early June the ship was sent to the North Atlantic to search for German raiders and played no part in the evacuation of Norway.<ref>Rohwer, p. 25</ref>

Accompanied by ''Renown'' and the 1st Cruiser Squadron, ''Repulse'' attempted to intercept the {{ship|German battleship|Gneisenau||2|up=y}} as it sailed from [[Trondheim]] to Germany in July. Until May 1941, the ship escorted convoys and unsuccessfully searched for German ships. On 22 May, ''Repulse'' was diverted from escorting Convoy WS8B to assist in the search for the {{ship|German battleship|Bismarck||2|up=y}}, but she had to break off the search early on 25 May as she was running low on fuel. The ship was refitted from June–August<ref>Burt 1993, pp. 224–225</ref> and received six [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|Oerlikon {{convert|20|mm|adj=on}}]] [[autocannon]] as well as a [[List of World War II British naval radar#Type 284|Type 284]] surface gunnery [[radar]].<ref name=rr17/> ''Repulse'' escorted a troop convoy around the [[Cape of Good Hope]] from August to October and was transferred to [[East Indies Command]].<ref>Burt 1993, p. 225</ref>

====Force Z====
{{Main|Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse}}

[[File:HMS Repulse leaving Singapore.jpg|thumb|''Repulse'' departing from Singapore on 8 December 1941]]
In late 1941 [[Winston Churchill]] decided to send a small group of fast capital ships along with one modern aircraft carrier to Singapore, to deter expected Japanese aggression. In November, ''Repulse'' which was in the Indian Ocean was ordered to [[Colombo]], [[Ceylon]] to rendezvous with the new battleship {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|2}}. The carrier {{HMS|Indomitable|92|2}}, which was assigned to join them, was delayed when she ran aground in the Caribbean. ''Prince of Wales'' and ''Repulse'' and their escorting destroyers comprised [[Force Z]], which arrived in Singapore on 2 December 1941. On the evening of 8 December, Force Z set out on an attempt to destroy Japanese troop convoys and protect the army's seaward flanks from Japanese landings in their rear.<ref>Burt 1993, pp. 226–227</ref>

Force Z was spotted during the afternoon of 9 December by the {{Jsub|I-65}}, and [[floatplane]]s from several Japanese cruisers spotted the British ships later that afternoon and shadowed them until dark. [[Admiral]] Sir [[Tom Phillips (Royal Navy officer)|Tom Phillips]] decided to cancel the operation as the Japanese were now alerted. Force Z turned back during the evening, after having tried to deceive the Japanese that they were heading to [[Singora]]. At 00:50 on 10 December, Admiral Philips received a signal of enemy landings at [[Kuantan]] and correspondingly altered course so that he would arrive shortly after dawn.<ref>Stephen, pp. 107–108</ref>

The crew of {{Jsub|I-58|1925|2}} spotted Force Z at 02:20, reported their position, and fired five torpedoes, all of which missed. Based on this report the Japanese launched 11 reconnaissance aircraft before dawn to locate Force Z. Several hours later 86 bombers from the 22nd Air Flotilla based in [[Saigon]] were launched carrying bombs or torpedoes. The crew of a [[Mitsubishi G3M]] reconnaissance bomber spotted the British at 10:15 and radioed in several reports. The pilot was ordered to maintain contact and to broadcast a directional signal that the other Japanese bombers could follow.<ref>Shores, et al., pp. 113–116</ref>

[[File:Japanese high-level bombing attack on HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse 1941-12-10.jpg|thumb|''Repulse'' is at the bottom of the frame, having been hit by a bomb, 10 December 1941]]
The first attack began at 11:13 when {{convert|250|kg|lb|0}} bombs were dropped from eight G3Ms from an altitude of {{convert|11500|ft|m|0}}. The battlecruiser was [[wikt:straddle|straddled]] by two bombs, then hit by a third which penetrated through the hangar to explode on the armoured deck below. This inflicted a number of casualties and damaged the ship's [[Supermarine Walrus]] seaplane, which was then pushed over the side to remove a fire hazard. Anti-aircraft fire damaged five of the Japanese bombers, two so badly that they immediately returned to Saigon. In the ensuing attacks, ''Repulse'' was skilfully handled by her captain, [[William Tennant (Royal Navy officer)|Bill Tennant]], who managed to avoid 19 torpedoes as well as the remaining bombs from the G3Ms.<ref>Shores, et al., pp. 116–120</ref> The gunners on the ''Repulse'' shot down two planes and heavily damaged eight more. However, ''Repulse'' was then caught by a synchronised pincer attack by 17 [[Mitsubishi G4M]] torpedo bombers and hit by four or five torpedoes in rapid succession which proved fatal.<ref>Shores, et al., pp. 120–121</ref> At 12:23, ''Repulse'' listed severely to port, quickly [[capsizing|capsized]] and went down by the stern<ref>{{cite book |last1=Middlebrook |first1=Martin |author-link=Martin Middlebrook |title=The Sinking of the Prince of Wales & Repulse: The End of the Battleship Era |last2=Mahoney |first2=Patrick |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |year=2014 |location=United Kingdom}}</ref> with the loss of 508 officers and men. The destroyers {{HMS|Electra|H27|2}} and {{HMAS|Vampire|D68|2}} rescued the survivors, including Captain Tennant.<ref>Stephen, pp. 112–114</ref>