Editing HMS Repulse (1916) (section)

====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>