Force Z

This article is about the Royal Navy squadron. For the commando unit, see Layforce.

Force Z was an Allied naval detachment consisting of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, the battlecruiser HMS Repulse, and four destroyers, HMS Electra, Express, Encounter, and HMS Jupiter. Initially an aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable was included, but she ran aground in the Caribbean, and was not replaced by HMS Hermes which was regarded as too slow.

A renamed Force G, Force Z arrived at Singapore on 2 December 1941. It was sent to intercept Japanese landings in Malaya. Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk by Japanese air attack on 10 December 1941.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces mobilized everywhere with the task of eliminating opposition to the empire. Force Z happened to be caught with-in Japanese territory at the time. This lead the fleet to be a prime target for Japanese military forces in the Pacific. Without air cover and reinforcements, Force Z had little to defend itself with against the air assault by Japanese forces.

Further reading

• 'The Hunting of Force Z' by Richard Hough. published William Collins 1963, Fontana 1964