Prince of Wales

…of Iceland, and the battleship Prince of Wales and battle cruiser Hood soon engaged it. After destroying the Hood with a shell that exploded in the magazine, the Bismarck escaped into the open sea and soon began heading for Brest in German-occupied France. Sighted by aircraft 30 hours later (May…

… and by the new battleship Prince of Wales; and, though the Hood was sunk, the Bismarck ’s fuel supply was put out of action, so that its commander, Admiral Günther Lütjens, decided to make for the French coast. Separating from the Prinz Eugen (which escaped), the Bismarck threw off her…

…had ordered out the battleship Prince of Wales and battle cruiser Repulse in the expectation of intimidating the Japanese. Instead, Japanese aircraft sank the two ships on December 10. On February 9, 1942, three Japanese divisions overran Singapore, whose defenses were directed seaward, and captured the 90,000-man force. The fall…

…forces; and the British battleship Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser Repulse, sailing from Singapore to cut Japanese communications, were sunk by Japanese aircraft on December 10. By the end of January 1942, two Japanese divisions, with air and armoured support, had occupied all Malaya except Singapore Island. In…