Atlas of Battles

naval engagement, major, interwar and Second World War

Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse

Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a naval engagement fought on 10 December 1941 at South China Sea. It was part of the South-East Asian theater of World War II, which ran from 1941 to 1945. The recorded result: Japanese victory. Recorded strength: 1 battleship; 1 battlecruiser; 4 destroyers against 88 aircraft; (34 torpedo aircraft,; 51 level bombers,; 3 scouting aircraft).

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Loss of HMS Prince of Wales (53) and HMS Repulse, 10 December 1941: Photograph taken from a Japanese plane, with the battleship Prince of Wales at far left and the battlecruiser Repulse beyond her. A
Loss of HMS Prince of Wales (53) and HMS Repulse, 10 December 1941: Photograph taken from a Japanese plane, with the battleship Prince of Wales at far left and the battlecruiser Repulse beyond her. A . Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought10 December 1941
WhereSouth China Sea3.560N, 104.478E
OutcomeJapanese victory
BelligerentsUnited Kingdom; Royal Navy; Royal Australian NavyagainstEmpire of Japan; Navy Air Service
Part ofSouth-East Asian theater of World War II1941 to 1945

Where it sits in the South-East Asian theater of World War II

Attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse, 1941Battle of Rabaul, 1942Arakan Campaign 1942–1943, 1942Battle of the Admin Box, 1944Siege of Myitkyina, 1944Battle of Ramree Island, 1945Battle of Hill 170, 1945Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations, 1945Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay, 1945Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina, 1945Battle of the Sittang Bend, 194519411945Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse, 1941
12 placed engagements of the South-East Asian theater of World War II in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date10 December 1941
PlaceSouth China Sea
3.560N, 104.478E
KindNaval engagement, interwar and Second World War
Strength1 battleship; 1 battlecruiser; 4 destroyers88 aircraft; (34 torpedo aircraft,; 51 level bombers,; 3 scouting aircraft)
Casualties and losses1 battleship sunk; 1 battlecruiser sunk; 840 killed4 aircraft destroyed; 28 damaged; 2 seaplanes missing; 18 killed
Commanders
  • Niichi Nakanishi
  • Shichizo Miyauchi
  • Hachiro Shoji
Sinking of Prince of Wales and RepulseSinking of Prince of Wales and RepulseBattle of Pulo AuraBattle of Pulo AuraKuantanChukai100 km3.560N, 104.478E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1941

Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q700569, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse, revision 1385561946, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.