| “Naval Battle Off Malaya” 1944 oil on canvas painting by Kenichi Nakamura (May 14, 1895 – August 28, 1967). HMS Prince of Wales (foreground) and HMS Repulse (left) were dispatched without an aircraft carrier to Singapore on December 2, 1941, designated as Force Z. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Declaration of War on December 7, the United Kingdom Royal Navy prepared for offensive operations to stop a Japanese invasion of Singapore. With the 4 escorting destroyers HMS Electra, HMS Express, HMS Encounter and HMS Jupiter, United Kingdom Royal Navy Admiral Tom Phillips (February 19, 1888 – December 10, 1941) was pressed to use his ships in an offensive role; he assembled his flotilla to try to intercept and destroy Japanese invasion convoys in the South China Sea on December 10. No capital ship to that time had been sunk by air attack. Unable to locate the Japanese invasion fleet, Force Z was attacked by Mitsubishi G3M Type 96 “Nell” twin-engine medium bombers from the Minor and Genzan Air Corps, 22nd Air Flotilla, Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” Type 1 twin-engine medium bombers from the Kanoya Air Corps, 21st Air Flotilla, based at Saigon. The rumbling sound of the attacks was heard in Singapore. The Royal Navy didn’t call the Royal Air Force (RAF) until an hour after the Japanese attack. By that time, the Japanese had achieved 8 hits – 4 on each capital ship – out of 49 launches. HMS Repulse had capsized with 513 lost; HMS Prince Of Wales nearly swamped HMS Express as she capsized, taking 327 officers and ratings with her. Admiral Tom Phillips went down with his ship. The shock of the loss of Force Z led to mutinies among colonial troops in United Kingdom Asian possessions, and a huge loss of morale in the Allies. United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) rated it the greatest shock of the war. Nakamura was an adherent of the Yōga art movement, making paintings in accordance with western artistic conventions, techniques and materials. This painting appeared in the February 27, 1950, issue of LIFE Magazine, which noted that Nakamura incorrectly depicted a destroyer sinking in the background of the painting. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1654.jpg |
| Image Size | 532.93 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1920 x 1404 |
| Photographer | Kenichi Nakamura |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 10, 1941 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Straits Settlements |
| Country | Singapore |
| Archive | National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo |
| Record Number | X00101 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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