Disaster after disaster followed in December. On the 10th, the eve of the invasion of Singapore, the Allies were dealt a stunning blow when one hundred land-based Japanese aircraft sank the Royal Navy's battleship Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser Repulse, causing heavy loss of life. Not only did this feat grievously damage Allied morale in the Orient, but also it was accomplished on the open sea in which capital ships had never before been successfully attacked.
However, there was one small exception to the long string of catastrophes that month: Drayton, a Mahan-class destroyer of 1450 tons, made history with the first verified sinking of a JApanese warship in the war. Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Laurence A. Abercrombie, the "Blue Beetle"--so named because of her bluish experimental color--was on excort duty with a convoy to Palmyra on the afternoon of 24, December when fate decreed a meeting with a full-sized submarine. Abercrombie received the Navy Cross, one of three he gathered during the war.
Collaborator Fletcher Pratt, author of many books on naval warfare, was the military expert for the New York Post.
--S.E. Smith
From: The United States Navy in World War II
Preface to Part I: Chapter 6 Scratch One!
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HMS Prince of Wales (53)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Prince of Wales |
| Ordered: | 29 July 1936 |
| Builder: | Cammell Laird and Company, Ltd.,Birkenhead |
| Laid down: | 1 January 1937 |
| Launched: | 3 May 1939 |
| Completed: | 31 March 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 19 January 1941 |
| Identification: | Pennant number: 53 |
| Fate: | Sunk on 10 December 1941 by Japanese air attack off Kuantan, South China Sea |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | King George V-class battleship |
| Displacement: | 43,786 tons (deep) |
| Length: | 745 ft 1 in (227.1 m) (overall) 740 ft 1 in (225.6 m) (waterline) |
| Beam: | 103 ft 2 in (31.4 m) |
| Draught: | 34 ft 4 in (10.5 m) |
| Installed power: | 110,000 shp (82,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 8 Admiralty 3-drum small-tube boilers 4 sets Parsons geared turbines |
| Speed: | 28.3 knots (52.4 km/h; 32.6 mph) |
| Range: | 15,600 nmi (28,900 km; 18,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: | 1,521 (1941) |
| Sensors and processing systems: | Type 279 radar added Type 284 radar added. Radars added in May 1941. 4 x Type 282 and Type 285 radars added. Radar added between June–July 1941. Type 271 radar added. |
| Armament: | 10 × BL 14-inch (360 mm) Mark VII 16 × QF 5.25-inch (133 mm) Mk. I 32 × QF 2 pdr 1.575-inch (40.0 mm) Mk.VIII 80x UP projectors [1] |
| Armour: | Main Belt: 14.7 inches (370 mm) Lower belt: 5.4 inches (140 mm) Deck: 5–6 inches (127–152 mm) Main turrets: 12.75 inches (324 mm) Barbettes: 12.75 inches (324 mm) Bulkheads: 10–12 inches (254–305 mm) Conning tower: 3–4 inches (76–102 mm).[2] |
| Aircraft carried: | 4 Supermarine Walrus seaplanes, 1 double-ended catapult |
| Motto: | "Ich Dien" – German: "I serve" |
HMS Prince of Wales was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy, built at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, England. She was involved in several key actions of the Second World War, including the battle of Denmark Strait against the Bismarck, operations escorting convoys in the Mediterranean, and her final action and sinking in the Pacific in 1941.
On 25 October Prince of Wales and a destroyer escort left home waters bound for Singapore, there to rendezvous with the battlecruiser Repulse and the aircraft carrier Indomitable. Indomitable however ran aground off Jamaica a few days later and was unable to proceed. Calling at Freetown and Cape Town South Africa to refuel and generate publicity, Prince of Wales also stopped inMauritius and the Maldive Islands. Prince of Wales reached Colombo, Ceylon, on 28 November, joining Repulse the next day. On 2 December the fleet docked in Singapore.[21] Prince of Wales then became the flagship of Force Z, under the command of Vice-AdmiralSir Tom Phillips.[25]
Japanese troop convoys were sighted on 6 and 8 December – the same day as the Pearl Harbor attack, Pearl Harbor being east of the Date Line – and Singapore was raided by Japanese aircraft. In response Prince of Wales's anti-aircraft batteries opened fire but scored no hits and had no effect on the Japanese aircraft. A signal was received from theAdmiralty in London ordering the British squadron to commence hostilities and that evening, confident that a protective air umbrella would be provided by the RAF presence in the region, Admiral Phillips set sail. Force Z at this time comprised the battleship Prince of Wales, the battlecruiser Repulse, and the destroyers Electra, Express, Tenedos andHMAS Vampire.[27]
The object of the sortie was to attack Japanese transports at Kota Bharu, but in the afternoon of 9 December the Japanese submarine I-56 spotted the British ships and in the evening they were detected by Japanese aerial reconnaissance. By this time it had been made clear that no RAF fighter support would be forthcoming. At midnight a signal was received that Japanese forces were landing at Kuantan in Malaya. Force Z was diverted to investigate. At 02:11 on 10 December the force was again sighted by a Japanese submarine and at 08:00 arrived off Kuantan, only to discover that the reported landings were a diversion.[27]
At 11:00 that morning the first Japanese air attack began. Eight Type 96 "Nell" bombers dropped their bombs close to Repulse, one passing through the hangar roof and exploding on the 1-inch plating of the main deck below. The second attack force, comprising seventeen "Nells" armed with torpedoes, arrived at 11:30, divided into two attack formations. Despite some reports to the contraryPrince of Wales was struck by only one torpedo,[28][29] although this was to eventually prove fatal, while Repulse managed to avoid the seven torpedoes aimed at her, as well as bombs dropped minutes later by a further formation of six "Nells". The torpedo struckPrince of Wales on the port side aft, abaft "Y" Turret, wrecking the outer propeller shaft on that side and destroying bulkheads to one degree or another along the shaft all the way to B Engine Room; which in turn caused rapid uncontrollable flooding[29] and put the entire electrical system in the after part of the ship out of action. Lacking effective damage control, she immediately took on a heavy list.[30]
A third torpedo attack developed against Repulse and once again she succeeded in avoiding any hits, but she was hit several times by a fourth attack from torpedo-carrying Type 1 "Bettys", and sank at 12:33. Six aircraft from this wave then attacked Prince of Wales, hitting her with three torpedoes,[28][29] causing further damage and flooding. Finally, a 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) bomb hit the catapult deck, penetrated through to the main deck and exploded there, causing many casualties in the makeshift aid centre in the Cinema Flat. Several other bombs from this attack were very 'near misses', indenting the hull, popping rivets and causing hull plates to 'split' along the seams and intensifying the flooding.[29] At 13:15 the order to abandon ship was given and at 13:20 Prince of Wales capsized and sank; Vice-Admiral Phillips and Captain Leach were among the 327 fatalities.
HMS Repulse (1916)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 HMS Repulse on manoeuvres in the 1920s | |
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Repulse |
| Ordered: | 30 December 1914 |
| Builder: | John Brown & Company, Clydebank,Scotland |
| Laid down: | 25 January 1915 |
| Launched: | 8 January 1916 |
| Commissioned: | 18 August 1916 |
| Motto: | Qui Tangit Frangitur "Who touches me is broken" |
| Nickname: | Repair[1] |
| Fate: | Sunk by Japanese air attack off Malaya on 10 December 1941 |
| General characteristics (1916) | |
| Class & type: | Renown-class battlecruiser |
| Displacement: | 27,200 long tons (27,600 t) (normal) 32,220 long tons (32,740 t) (deep load) |
| Length: | 750 ft 2 in (228.7 m) p.p. 794 ft 1.5 in (242.0 m) (o.a.) |
| Beam: | 90 ft 1.75 in (27.5 m) |
| Draught: | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Installed power: | 112,000 shp (84,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × shafts, 2 × Steam turbine sets, 42 × water-tube boilers |
| Speed: | 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph) |
| Crew: | 967 1222 (1919) |
| Armament: | 3 × 2 – 15-inch (381 mm) guns 6 × 3, 2 × 1 – 4-inch (102 mm) guns 2 × 1 – 3-inch (76 mm) anti-aircraft guns 2 × 1 – submerged 21 in (533 mm)torpedo tubes |
| Armour: | Belt: 3–6 in (76–152 mm) Decks: 1–2.5 in (25–64 mm) Barbettes: 4–7 in (102–178 mm) Gun turrets: 7–9 in (178–229 mm) Conning tower: 10 in (254 mm) Bulkheads: 3–4 in (76–100 mm) |
| General characteristics (1939) | |
| Displacement: | 34,600 long tons (35,200 t) |
| Length: | 794 ft 2.5 in (242.1 m) (o/a) |
| Beam: | 89 ft 11.5 in (27.4 m) |
| Draught: | 29 ft 8 in (9.0 m) |
| Installed power: | 112,000 shp (84,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × shafts, 4 × direct-drive steam turbines |
| Speed: | about 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph) |
| Range: | 3,650 nmi (6,760 km; 4,200 mi) |
| Complement: | 1,181 |
| Armament: |
3 × 2 – 15-inch (381 mm) guns
8 × 21 in (530 mm) Mk II torpedo tubes4 × 3 – 4-inch (102 mm) guns 6 × 1 – 4-inch (102 mm) AA guns 2 × 8 – 40-millimetre (1.6 in) 2-pounder "pom-pom" AA guns |
| Armour: | Belt: 2–9 in (51–229 mm) Decks: 1–4 in (25–102 mm), otherwise no change |
| Aircraft carried: | 4 × seaplanes |
| Aviation facilities: | 1 × double-ended aircraft catapult |
HMS Repulse was a Renown-class battlecruiser of the Royal Navy built during the First World War. She was originally laid down as an improved version of the Revenge-class battleships.
In late 1941 Winston Churchill decided to send a small group of fast capital ships, along with one modern aircraft carrier to Singapore, to deter expected Japanese aggression. In November, Repulse which was in the Indian Ocean was ordered to Colombo, Ceylon to rendezvous with the new battleship HMS Prince of Wales. The carrier HMS Indomitablewhich was assigned to join them was delayed when run aground in the Caribbean. Prince of Wales and Repulse and their escorting destroyers comprised Force Z which arrived in Singapore on 2 December 1941. On the evening of 8 December Force Z departed for an attempt to destroy Japanese troop convoys and protect the army's seaward flanks from Japanese landings in their rear.[35]
Force Z was spotted during the afternoon of 9 December by the Japanese submarine I-65and floatplanes from several Japanese cruisers spotted the British ships later that afternoon and shadowed them until dark. Admiral Sir Tom Phillips decided to cancel the operation as the Japanese were now alerted. Force Z turned back during the evening, after having tried to deceive the Japanese that they were heading to Singora. At 5:00 a.m. on 10 December Admiral Philips received a signal of enemy landings at Kuantan and correspondingly altered course so that he would arrive shortly after dawn.[36]
The crew of Japanese submarine I-58 spotted Force Z at 2:20 a.m., reported their position, and fired five torpedoes, all of which missed. Based on this report the Japanese launched 11 reconnaissance aircraft before dawn to locate Force Z. Several hours later 86 bombers from the 22nd Air Flotilla based in Saigon were launched carrying bombs or torpedoes. The crew of a Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" reconnaissance bomber spotted the British at 10:15 a.m. and radioed in several reports. The pilot was ordered to maintain contact and to broadcast a directional signal that the other Japanese bombers could follow.[37]
The first attack began at 11:13 a.m. when 250 kilograms (551 lb) bombs were dropped from eight G3Ms from an altitude of 11,500 feet (3,505 m). The battlecruiser wasstraddled by two bombs, then hit by a third which penetrated through the hangar to explode on the armoured deck below. This inflicted a number of casualties and damaged the ship's Supermarine Walrus seaplane, which was then pushed over the side to remove a fire hazard.
Anti-aircraft fire damaged five of the Japanese bombers, two so badly that they immediately returned to Saigon. In the ensuing attacks, Repulse was skillfully handled by her captain, Bill Tennant who managed to avoid 19 torpedoes as well as the remaining bombs from the G3Ms.[38] However, Repulse was then caught by a synchronised pincer attack by 17 Mitsubishi G4M torpedo bombers and hit by four or five torpedoes in rapid succession. The gunners on the Repulse shot down two planes and heavily damaged eight more, but the torpedo damage proved fatal.[39] At 12:23 p.m. Repulse listed severely to port and quickly capsized with the loss of 508 officers and men. The destroyers HMS Electra and HMAS Vampire rescued the survivors.[40]
The wreck site was designated as a 'Protected Place' in 2002 under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, 60 years after her sinking.[41] Survivors described five torpedo hits on Repulse, four on the port side and one on the starboard side. The four portside hits were: two amidship, one abreast of the rear turret and one near the propellers. The starboard side hit was amidships. A 2007 diving expedition confirmed two of the hits by examination of the wreck: the portside hit near the propellers and the starboard hit amidship. The portside midships section of the wreck was buried in the ocean floor thus the hits there could not be confirmed. The area abreast of the rear turret was accessible and no sign of a torpedo hit was found.
 | |
| Career (US) |  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Percival Drayton |
| Builder: | Bath Iron Works |
| Laid down: | 20 March 1934 |
| Launched: | 26 March 1936 |
| Commissioned: | 1 September 1936 |
| Decommissioned: | 9 October 1945 |
| Struck: | 24 October 1945 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 20 December 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Mahan class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 1,500 tons |
| Length: | 341 ft 4 in (104.04 m) |
| Beam: | 35 ft (10.67 m) |
| Draft: | 9 ft 10 in (3 m) |
| Speed: | 37 knots (69 km/h) |
| Complement: | 158 officers and crew |
| Armament: |
|
USS Drayton (DD-366) was a Mahan-class destroyer in the United States Navy before and during World War II. She was the second ship named forCaptain Percival Drayton.
Underway as plane guard for Lexington in TF 12 when the Japaneseattacked Pearl Harbor, Drayton, with the force returned to Pearl Harbor 13 December 1941 after searching for Japanese raiders. Between 24 December 1941 and 7 January 1942, she escorted a convoy to Christmas Island, making two attacks on submarines en route. Four days later she got underway in the screen of Enterprise for an air strike on Bougainvilleon 20 February, returning to Pearl Harbor on the 24th. After screening a tanker to Suva Harbor, Fiji Islands, Drayton sailed for the United States 25 March and arrived at San Pedro, California, 5 April. She joined in training exercises and patrol duty on the west coast until 1 August 1942.
_underway_1941.jpg)
Drayton sailed from Pearl Harbor 17 November 1942 for action in the Solomon Islands. She sortied from Espiritu Santo 29 November with TF 67 to intercept a Japanese naval force guarding transports en route to reinforce Guadalcanal. That night, the American ships battled a determined Japanese force off Tassafaronga. When the action was over, Drayton picked up 128 survivors, including the commanding officer from Northampton, and returned to Espiritu Santo 2 December. Drayton continued to operate in the Solomons campaign, bombardingMunda, New Georgia, and protecting transports bound for the Russell Islands. She escorted the unladen transports to Wellington, New Zealand, then returned to Noumea 7 March 1943 for exercises and patrol with TF 64.
Drayton sailed from Nouméa 13 May 1943 as escort for a transport convoy and arrived at Townsville, Australia 4 days later. Through the summer, she escorted Australian transports carrying troops from Townsville to Milne Bay for the lengthy fighting on vast New Guinea. Drayton patrolled and gave fire support during the invasion landings at Lae on 4 September and bombarded Finschhafen on 22 September.
After brief overhaul at Brisbane, Australia, Drayton returned to the New Guinea area, escorting transports to Arawe, New Britain, for the landings of 15 December, and covered the marine landings near -Cape Gloucester 26 December. She screened high-speed transports from Buna Roads to the invasion of Saidor 2 January, and aside from a brief voyage to Sydney to replenish, remained on patrol and escort duty for the occupation of the Bismarck Archipelago.
Drayton carried troops for the invasion of Los Negros Island in the Admiralty Islands. Here she joined in the bombardment 29 February 1944 and remained to provide fire support. She returned with reinforcement troops from Milne Bay 4 March and began operating as headquarters for the Landing Craft Control Officer for the Admiralties. Drayton bombarded Pityilu Island 12 March then sailed forSeeadler Harbor, Manus, escorting an LST convoy before returning to New Guinea.
The destroyer got underway from Milne Bay, New Guinea, 22 March 1944 and escorted transports to Canton Island on her way to the west coast. Following an overhaul at San Francisco, California, Drayton trained out of Pearl Harbor before arriving at Eniwetok 8 August. For the next 2 months she patrolled off Maloelap, Wotje, Jaluit, and Mille—bypassed Japanese-held atolls in the Marshall Islands.
-Tarn.jpg)
Drayton reported to the 7th Fleet at Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, on 20 October 1944; 5 days later, she got underway for patrol and escort duty in newly invaded Leyte Gulf, where she arrived 29 October. Her service in this operation included a voyage to New Guinea to bring back transports laden with reinforcements. On 6 December while screening a convoy of LCMs and LCIs to San Pedro Bay, Drayton was attacked by a twin-engine bomber which scored a near miss, killing two and wounding seven of the destroyer's crew. The next day she repulsed a group of strafing planes before they could damage her charges, and later the same morning engaged 10 or 12 enemy fighters. One aircraft crashed into the No. One 5 inch gun mount, killing 6 and wounding 12 men. Drayton extinguished her fires and carried out her mission, convoying her charges safely to harbor and then sailing unassisted to Manus, New Guinea for repairs.
Her repairs completed, Drayton sailed from Manus 26 December 1944 for the invasion ofLingayen Gulf, Luzon, 9 January 1945. She gave fire support until the 13th, then sailed to San Pedro Bay to escort a support convoy to the beachhead. From 27 January to 18 February, she served on patrol and gave fire support, bombarding enemy troops in the foothills and destroying a strong point in a cave.
Continuing to operate in the Philippines, Drayton participated in the landings at Mangarin Bay, Puerto Princesa, Cebu, Ormoc Bay, andMasbate City.
On 23 April 1945, Drayton stood out of San Pedro Bay for the invasion of Borneo, screening the actions at Tarakan from 1 to 27 May and at Balikpapan from 1 to 21 July. Returning to Manila 29 July, she got underway 7 August, and arrived at New York 12 September.
| Fletcher Pratt | |
|---|---|
Fletcher Pratt, as pictured in the June 1929 issue of Science Wonder Stories
| |
| Born | April 25, 1897 Buffalo, New York |
| Died | June 10, 1956 (aged 59) Long Branch, New Jersey, USA |
| Pen name | Irvin Lester , George U. Fletcher |
| Occupation | Novelist, historian |
| Nationality | American |
| Genres | Science fiction, fantasy, history |
Murray Fletcher Pratt (1897–1956) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasyand history. He is best known for his works on naval history and on the American Civil War and for fiction written with L. Sprague de Camp.
Pratt was a military analyst for Time magazine (whose obituary described him as "bearded, gnome-like" and listed "raising marmosets" among his hobbies),[2] as well as a regular reviewer of historical nonfiction and fantasy and science fiction for the New York Times Book Review.
Wargamers know Pratt as the inventor of a set of rules for naval wargaming before the Second World War. This was known as the "The Fletcher Pratt Naval War Game" and involved dozens of tiny wooden ships, built on a scale of one inch to 50 feet. These were spread over the floor of Pratt's apartment and their maneuvers were calculated via a complex mathematical formula. Noted author and artist Jack Coggins was a frequent participant in Pratt's Navy Game, and De Camp met him through his wargaming group.
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