Force Z
Encyclopedia
Force Z was an Allied naval detachment consisting of the battleship , the battlecruiser , and four destroyers, , , , and . Initially an aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable
HMS Indomitable (R92)
HMS Indomitable was a modified Illustrious class aircraft carrier of the British Royal Navy. The Illustrious class came about due to the 1937 Naval Programme...

 was included, but she ran aground in the Caribbean, and was not replaced by HMS Hermes
HMS Hermes (95)
HMS Hermes was an aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy. The ship was begun during World War I and finished after the war ended. She was the world's first ship to be designed and built as an aircraft carrier, although the Imperial Japanese Navy's was the first to be commissioned...

 which was regarded as too slow.

A renamed Force G, Force Z arrived at Singapore on 2 December 1941. It was sent to intercept Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese landings in Malaya
Battle of Malaya
The Malayan Campaign was a campaign fought by Allied and Japanese forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 31 January 1942 during the Second World War. The campaign was dominated by land battles between British Commonwealth army units, and the Imperial Japanese Army...

. Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk by Japanese air attack
Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse
The sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a Second World War naval engagement that took place north of Singapore, off the east coast of Malaya, near Kuantan, Pahang where the British Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse were sunk by land-based bombers and...

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.
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