Force Z

Force Z
The loss of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, 10 December 1941. Photograph taken from a Japanese aircraft during the initial high-level bombing attack. Repulse, near the bottom of the view, has just been hit by a bomb.
Active1941
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
Size2 × capital ships
4 × destroyers
Garrison/HQSingapore
EngagementsSinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse aka Battle of Malaya
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Admiral Sir Tom Phillips  (Flag Officer)
Captain John Leach   (HMS Prince of Wales)
Captain William Tennant (HMS Repulse)

Force Z was a British naval squadron during the Second World War, consisting of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, the battlecruiser HMS Repulse and accompanying destroyers. Assembled in 1941, the purpose of the group was to reinforce the British colonial garrisons in the Far East and deter Japanese expansion into British possessions, particularly Malaya and Singapore. Lack of aircraft to protect Force Z, underestimation of the Japanese armed forces, and the political rather than naval motive for its deployment are blamed for the destruction of the force.