Product Description

A famous account of one of the most dramatic and tragic episodes of the Second World War * Published to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the outbreak of World War II * Also famous as a major television documentary under the same title

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #154498 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

About the Author
Richard Hough served in Fighter Command for the R.A.F. from 1940-1945. After the war he began writing books on naval history. Other titles include The Fleet that had to Die and Naval Battles of the Twentieth Century.

Customer Reviews

Too much preamble.
In an over-researched work, author Richard Hough seeks to almost provide a complete history of the Royal Navy from the advent of the steel battleship through to 10 December 1941 when the capital ships which formed Force Z, HMS' Repulse and Prince of Wales, were lost off Malaysia.

Only 3 days earlier, the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbour where they had sunk almost the entire American naval battle fleet with only minor loss to themselves. Of course they had the best possible advantage, not only that of complete surprise, but also that of making the attack prior to the actual declaration of war being received by the USA. The relevance of discussing Pearl Harbour in connection with the loss of Force Z is simple. Only a few days before that scandalous Japanese attack, a US Army-Navy pamphlet was published which carried a photograph of the 32,600 ton dreadnought battleship USS Arizona underway at sea below which was the telling caption "It is significant that despite the claims of air enthusiasts no battleship has yet been sunk by bombs."

As with the US Navy, so the Royal Navy was also of the impression that the battleship was far mightier than the humble aircraft. As far as the US was concerned, Pearl Harbour changed all that. Unfortunately, the British were still not convinced! So it was that, in the full knowledge of the events of Pearl Harbour, Admiral Phillips sailed from Singapore without air cover on a mission to intercept an ageing Japanese battleship. It was a ship he never saw. Even when informed that they were being followed by an enemy spotting aircraft, he took no action but continued on his way. When the full aerial might of the Japanese came, it was as ruthless as it was efficient and neither the Repulse nor Prince of Wales stood any chance of survival. Admiral Phillips did not survive the engagement.

Altogether, a good account although, as I say, a little too much preamble for my liking.

NM