Twenty-four hours prior to the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor Japanese fighters near the Gulf of Siam shot down a RAF
Catalina flying boat. The RAF aircraft had stumbled across the
Japanese Southern Expeditionary Fleet proceeding to Malaya with a
powerful invasion force. With many of its carriers approaching Pearl
Harbor, the Japanese invasion force was dependent on land-based air
cover. The Japanese Navy’s 22nd Air Flotilla had relocated to bases
in French Indochina. Also within range were Army aircraft flying out
of the Saigon area. The Japanese had several hundred aircraft at
their disposal. On the British side there was a collection of
approximately 150 mostly obsolete and poorly maintained aircraft
including Brewster Buffalos, Wildebeest torpedo bombers, Blenheim
light bombers, and Hudson patrol aircraft. The British had
reinforced their naval forces in the area in November with the
arrival of Force Z. Force Z included the old battle cruiser Repulse
and the new state-of-the-art battleship Prince of Wales. It had also
included the aircraft carrier Indomitable, but that ship had
unhappily run aground in the West Indies. Force Z was sent north,
under radio silence, to seek out the Japanese invasion force. Guided
by some reports from a submarine, a force of 53 Japanese aircraft
from the 22nd Air Flotilla took off on a mission to intercept the
British force. Flying twin-engine G3M “Nell” and G4M1 “Betty”
bombers, mostly armed with torpedoes, the Japanese pilots flew
southwards through darkness and heavy clouds. Finally spotting
something, the aircraft proceeded to attack position, but realized
at the last minute that they were preparing to attack Admiral
Ozawa’s flagship. About the same time, Force Z made contact with two
scout planes launched from Ozawa’s cruisers. Disappointed that they
had lost any element of surprise, the British force turned back. The
next day the force was spotted by Japanese reconnaissance aircraft
and their position was established for another attack force of
nearly 100 aircraft. The Repulse was attacked first by a low level
bombing run by Nells. Two waves of torpedo bomber attacks then
followed. Captain Tennant, the ship’s commander twisted and swerved
his ship, managing to dodge all the torpedoes. A third wave resulted
in a single torpedo hit; exposing the old ship to nine more torpedo
bombers. Four more torpedoes struck home, and the Repulse rolled
over and sunk. The Prince of Wales was attacked by an initial wave
of nine torpedo bombers, and suffered two hits. Mortally wounded she
was attacked by a second wave of torpedo bombers. This time 4 more
torpedoes struck home. She capsized and sank a few hours after the
Repulse had preceded her. The demise of the Repulse and the Prince
of Wales marked the end of the “Battleship Era.” Never again could
powerful ships feel any secity as long as unopposed enemy airpower
was in range.
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Collector Sized Lithograph:
$40
16" x 11 1/2"
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Giclee on Canvas:
$445
18'' x 27''
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