Working on the Swordfish and POW at the same time allows me to take a small break from either and enjoy the other.
I found a recent (circa 2012-16) 80 page report regarding the sinking and using that, I have written a short history depicting the dio which I plan on displaying when I show it.
The loss of the Prince of Wales
On Dec 8th, 1941 (Dec 7th Hawaii time) Force Z consisting of HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Repulse and accompanied by the destroyers Electra, Express, Vampire and Tenedos, sortied from Singapore to attack a reported Japanese landing force north at Kota Bharu on Dec 10th. Force Z was shadowed by Japanese observation planes during the late afternoon of Dec 9th and since surprise seemed impossible, Force Z turned to return to Singapore around 2000 hours. Unaware, Force Z was also spotted by a Japanese Submarine that day and as a result the Japanese transports had been moved north to safety. Shortly before midnight, Force Z received another report of a Japanese landing at Kuantan, which is on the Malayan coast nearer Singapore, and set course for there. Upon arriving off Kuantan on the morning of Dec 10th, the British fleet did not find a Japanese landing force. After investigating a tug towing several barges nearby, Force Z set course for Singapore once again. Shortly afterward, Force Z was sighted and attacked by a force of Japanese twin engine G3M Nell and G4M Betty Bombers armed with bombs and torpedoes.
1113 hours, HMS Repulse was the first to be attacked with eight 250-Kg bombs, one striking and exploding amidships.
1141 hours, another attack commenced on the port side of the HMS Price of Wales with nine bombers carrying type 91 aerial torpedoes. The aircraft made their initial approach at a speed of 150 to 180kts at an altitude of around 180 feet (55 meters). The torpedoes were set to a depth of 12 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters). Eight of these planes attacked the Prince of Wales while one peeled off to attack the Repulse. The Prince of Wales began a slow turn to port while at a speed of 25kts to comb the wakes, but before the maneuver could be completed, eight torpedoes were released at a height of 100 to 115 feet (30 to 5 meters) and at a distance of 1970 to 4920 feet (600 to 1500 meters) from the ship.
1144 hours the Prince of Wales avoided seven torpedoes however one impacted port aft, severally damaging and bending the port propeller shaft, breaking the shaft struts while debris from the impact severally damaged the port center propeller blade. The bent port shaft failed and broke at several flanges due to severe vibration. This took several minutes as Lt Wildish, in command of boiler room B, which drove the port shaft, did not have any idea to the extent of the damage due to the loss of communications caused by the torpedo explosion. Because of the forward speed of 25kts, the shaft began to windmill despite the efforts of Lt Wildish to slow the shaft which put and immense strain on the flange bolts. Eventually, vibration caused by the damaged shaft, caused failures at several flanges which also critically damaged the stern shaft tube and several bulkheads allowing hundreds of gallons of sea water to fill the engine room’s bilges. Emergency pumps were started, and the space was abandoned, and watertight doors were sealed.
The loss of the port side shaft and center propeller severely limited the maneuverability of the ship which left her vulnerable to additional attacks.
1223 hours two torpedoes struck the starboard side. One at the bow and another stern further damaging the shafts and bending the outer shaft so far, the propeller wedged under the center starboard shaft.
1223 1/2 hours the last torpedo struck the starboard side under the compass platform. At this point the Prince of Wales was in serious trouble.
1241 hours she fell under attack again from eight high level bombers approaching from the port side. One 500Kg bomb hit the ship, six miss and one bomber failed to drop its bomb. Lights out.
1245 hours HMS Prince of Wales is listing 3 degrees to port and increasing.
1250 hours HMS Prince of Wales radios Singapore for tug assistance.
1300 hours destroyer Express comes along side to evacuate personal and receive the wounded.
1310 hours all shafts stop and the order to abandon ship was given.
1324 hours HMS Prince of Wales capsizes and sinks.
327 sailors were lost on the Prince of Wales, 513 off the Repulse. Nearly 1000 survivors were rescued from both ships.
On Dec 11th Lt Haruki Iki flew to the site of the battle, dropping two wreaths of flowers into the sea to honor combatants from both sides who had died in the battle. One was for the fellow members of his Kanoya Air Group, while the other was for the British sailors whose display of bravery in defense of the ships had gained them the utmost admiration from all pilots in his squadron.
The Prince of Wales rests upside down at the bottom of the South China Sea at a depth of 232 feet (68 meters) about 75 miles (120 kilometers) off the coast of Kuantan
I've done some experimentation on torpedo wakes and believe the larger wake on the left will work best.
Starting on the kit, I skipped the screws and rudder due to the waterscape and went straight to the deck. The Hunter deck I purchased is very thin and has great adhesive. It was less expensive than other manufacturers and as far as I can tell, just as accurate and nice. I'm going to approach the painting a little differently. I am going to paint and partially weather the hull prior to attaching the superstructure or PE to the deck. That way it will (should) lessen the chance if breaking off the PE and fiddly bits.
This is how she looked in Singapore. The paint got pretty beat up coming from England.
