The Era of Bravery is Not Yet Over- Admiral Sir Tom Philips

 Sir Tom Philips and his deputy


The Japanese Imperial Army had evicted the French from Indo-China and the British were aware that they would soon attack Malaya and Singapore. Thus a plan was drawn up to bolster the naval presence in that area. This was particularly vital after the Japanese carrier groups had annihilated the US Pacific fleet at Hawaii.


The Build Up of the Royal Navy

Churchill thus authorized the movement of one battleship (Prince of Wales), one battle Cruiser (Repulse) and one aircraft carrier to Singapore, which was the lynchpin of the defense of that area. The aircraft carrier could not go as it was grounded in the West Indies. The command of this fleet was given to Sir Tom Philips. He was an old fashioned naval officer who had the ethos of the glory of the  Royal Navy ingrained in him.
.The Royal Navy fleet steamed out along with a force of destroyers to intercept the Japanese fleet in the South China Sea. Admiral Yamamoto the Japanese commander in chief had in the meantime strengthened the air elements of the imperial force with more bombers. He planned to use airpower to attack the British fleet.

The Battle

The Japanese had already made a landing in Malaya and the ground forces were hard pressed. December 1941 was a hard month for the allies as the Fleet led by Admiral Philips scoured the sea to give battle to the Japanese fleet. But the much expected naval battle did not materialize and the British commander decided to turn back towards Singapore. However off the coast of East Malaya they were attacked d by Japanese bombers equipped with torpedoes. The planes used by the Japanese were the Mitsubishi GM 3 and 4. The attacks were successful and the British fleet devoid of air cover was almost decimated. The two capital ships absorbed direct hits and began to list dangerously and sank inside a short time. Though over a 1000 personnel were rescued, yet the Royal Navy still lost over 1000 seamen.

The crew of the Naval ships devoid of air cover fought bravely. The Japanese appreciated it  and after the battle a Japanese plane dropped flowers on the scene of the battle.

Last Word

 As the ships were sinking Sir Tom could have easily escaped, but he stood on the deck guiding   the sailors. He preferred to go down with the ship. This is the mettle of men who lead in combat. A similar case happened in the 1971 war when the Indian Frigate Kukhri was hit by a Pakistan submarine  torpedo and sank with loss of 62 hands. Captain Mulla preferring to go down with the ship.