SINKING OF REPULSE AND PRINCE OF WALES

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26092, 20 April 1950, Page 4

SINKING OF REPULSE AND PRINCE OF WALES

•THE GRAND ALLIANCE"

[By the Rt. Hon. WINSTON CHURCHILL] MI.

Parliament met at 3 p.m., and in suite of the shortness of notice the House was full. Under the British Constitution the Crown de^ ar es on the advice of and Parli ment is confronted with the fact. We were therefore able to be better than our word to the United States, and actually declared war upon Japan before Congress could act. Both Houses voted unanimously in favour of the decision. We were not told for some time any details of what had happened at Pearl Harbour, but the story has now been exhaustively recorded. . It is sufficient here to state the sanent facts and to note the ruthless efficiency of the Japanese airmen. By 8 25 a.m the first waves of torpedo and dive-bombers had struck their blow. By 10 a.m. the battle was over and the enemy withdrew. Behind them lay a shattered fleet hidden m a pall of fire and smoke, and the vengeance of the United States. The battleship Arizona had blown up, the Oklahoma had capsized, the West Virginia and California had sunk at their moorings, and every other battleship, except the Pennsylvania, which was in dry dock been heavily damaged. Over 2000 Americans had lost their lives and nearly 2000 others were wounded. The mastery of the Pacific had passed into the Japanese hands, and the strategic balance of the world was for the time being fundamentally changed. I convened a meeting, mostly Admiralty, in the Cabinet War Room at 10 o’clock on the night of the 9th to review the naval position. We were about a dozen. We 1 tried to measure the consequences of this fundamental change in our war position against Japan. We had lost the command of every ocean except the Atlantic. Australia and New Zealand and all the vital islands in their sphere were open to attack. We had only one key weapon In our hands. Prfhce of Wales and Rtepulse

The Prince of Wales and the Repulse had arrived at Singapore. They had been sent to these waters to exercise that kind of vague menace which capital ships of the highest quality, whose whereabouts is unknown, can impose upon all hostile naval calculations. How should we use them now? Obviously they must go to sea and vanish among the innumerable islands. There was general agreement on that. I thought myself they should go across the Pacific to join what was left, of the American Fleet. It would be a proud gesture at this moment, and would knit the English-speaking world together. We had already cordially agreed to the American Navy Department withdrawing their capital ships from the Atlantic. Thus in a few months there might be a fleet in being on the west coast of America capable of fighting a decisive sea battle if need be. The existence of such a fleet and of such a fact would be the best possible shield to our brothers in Australasia. We were all much attracted by this line of thought. But as the hour was late we decided to sleep on it, and settle the next morning what to do with the Prince of Wales and the Repulse. Within a couple of hours they were at the bottom of the sea.

A Tragedy of Chance The tragedy of these ships, in which chance played so fatal a part, must now be told. Tlie Prince of Wales and Repulse had reached Singapore on December 2. On December 5. Admiral Tom Phillips arrived in Manila by air to discuss possible joint action with General MacArthur [Commander in the Philippines] and Admiral Hart [Commander of the United States Asiatic Fleet]. Next day, news came that a large Japanese seaborne expedition had entered the Gulf of Siam. It was clear that decisive events were at hand. Phillips got back to Singapore on the morning of the 7th. Soon after midnight on the Bth it was reported that a landing was actually in progress at Kota Bharu, and later that other landing made near Singora and also at Patani. A major invasion of Malaya had begun. Admiral Phillips judged it his duty to strike at the enemy while they were disembarking. He reported his intentions to the Admiralty. He requested the Singapore Air Command to move fighters to our northern airfield, and requested the utmost help from our meagre Air Force —namely, reconnaissance 100 miles north of his squadron on December 9, reconnaissance off Singora from daylight on December 10, and fighter protection over Singora on the morning of December 10. This last all-important aid could not be given, first because of the expected attack on Singapore, and second, because the northern airfields were already untenable. The Admiral had sailed at 5.35 p.m. on the Bth with the Prince of Wales and Repulse and the destroyers Electra, Express, Vampire, and Tenedos when this signal reached

him. It added the warning that large Japanese bomber forces were based ifc Southern Indo-China. As the frequent rain squalls and low cloud were unfavourable for air action, Phillips resolved t 6 press on. That evening the weather cleared, and he soon had reason to believe that he was being shadowed by enemy aircraft. The hope of surprise was? gone, and heavy air attacks must be expected the next morning near Singora. At this Admiral Phillips reluctantly abandoned his daring enterprise, and after dark turned homewards. He had certainly done his best, and all might have yet been well. About midnight, however, by a hard mischance another enemy landing was reported at Kuantan, more than 150 miles south of Kota Bharu. Admiral Phillips thought it unlikely that his force, last sighted by the enemy on a northerly course, would be expected so far south by daylight on the 10th. After all he might achieve surprise. He accepted the risk and turned his ships towards Kuantan. Japanese Air Force Before dawn on the 10th [a] Japanese submarine reported that the British were steering south, and at 6 a.m. a searching force of nine Japanese aircraft set forth, followed an hour later by a powerful striking force of 84 bombers and torpedo bombers organised in waves of about nine aircraft The report of the landing at Kuantan proved false, but as no amending message had been sent from Singapore tne Admiral remained expectant, until soon after®daylight the destroyer Express reached the harbour and found no sign of the enemy. Some time was then spent by the squadron in searching for a tug and other small craft which had been sighted earlier before resuming their southerly course. But now the crisis came and fortune * was hard. The Japanese air fleet had ranged as far south as Singapore without sighting anything. It was returning home on a northerly course, which by chance led them straight to their quarry. Soon after 11 a.m. the first wave of • bombers appeared. The enemy attacked in successive waves. In the first the Repulse received one hit from a bomb which caused a fire, but this was soon under control and the ship’s speed was not impaired. In the second the Prince of Wales wai struck simultaneously by what seemed to be two torpedoes close together, which caused very severe damage , and flooding. Both port propelleri were put out of action, and the ship was never again under complete control. The Repulse was hot nit in this attack. A few minutes later another wave closed in on the Repulse and again she escaped damage. The ships by now had become somewhat separated, and Captain’ Tennant, having made an emergency signal to Singapore, “Enemy aircraft bombing,” turned the Repulse towards the Admiral. Fata.! Attack At 12.22 p.m. another attack proved , fatal to both .capital ships. At 12.33 p.m. the Repulse turned over and sank. The Prince of Wales had received two more torpedo hits at about 12.23 p.m., and another shortly afterwards, Her speed was reduced to eight knots, and she too was soon la a sinking condition. After another bombing attack, which scored one more hit, she capsized and sank at 1.20 p.m. The destroyers rescued 2000 officers and men out of nearly 3000. The Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sir Tom Phillips, and his Flag-Captain, John Leach, were drowned. I w’as opening my boxes on the 10th when the telephone at my bedside rang. It was the First Sea Lord. His voice sounded odd. He gave a sort of cough and gulp, and at first I could not hear quite clearly. “Prime Minister, I have to report to you that the Prince of Wales and the Repulse have both been sunk by the Japanese —we think by aircraft. Tom Phillips is drowned.” “Are you sure it’s true?” “There is no doubt at all.” So I put the telephone down. I was thankful to be alone. In all the war I never received a more direct shock. The reader of these pages will realise how many efforts, hopes, and plans foundered wi|h these two ships. As I turned over and twisted in bed the fuL horror of the news sank in upon me. There were no British or American capital ships in the Indian Ocean or the Pacific except the American survivors of Pearl Harbour, who were hastening back to California. Over all this vast expanse of waters Japan -was supreme, and we everywhere weak and naked. (To be Continued.) [Copyright 1950 in U.S.A, by the New York Times Company and Time, Inc. (publisher of Time and Life); in the British Empire by the Daily Telegraph, Ltd.; elsewhere by International Co-operation Press Service Inc. World rights reserved. Reproduction in full or in part in any language strictly prohibited.]