WW II WRECKS - HMS PRINCE OF WALES

Facts:
This British King George V Class  Battleship was completed in March 1941, only a few month before she was destroyed in the South China Sea. Known as Force Z, together with HMS Repulse, she was the Flagship and stationed in Singapore in the hope that their presence would help deter a Japanese attack. The 40,000 ton ship with a length of  227 meters sailed, together with HMS Repulse, on the  8th December 1941 northwards and carried following armament:

Guns:
2 x 4 x 14”
1 x 2 x 14”
4 x 2 x 5.25” DP
4 x 8 x 2pdr pom-pom AA
4 x 4 x 0.5” MG AA

History:
She was sighted together with the Battlecruiser by a Japanese submarine, which alerted the 22nd Air Flotilla with its 88 bombers based near Saigon. At 10.20 hours on the 10th of December a shadowing aircraft was spotted, followed by a striking force comprised of 30 bombers and 50 torpedo bombers. The HMS Prince of Wales opened fire with her 5.25inch high angle guns. After a few already quite damaging attacks, the final one came at 12.42 hours with nine high-level bombers. She was hit by one 500-lb bomb and at 13.20 hours she listed sharply to port and then rolled over and sunk.

Diving:
Today, 51 nm north of Tioman and 8 nm from the HMS Repulse, she lies absolutely upside down in about 69m of water. Because of the depth she is seldom visited and Trimix is here the gas of choice. The best way to dive here is to attach the shot at 48m to one of her props and to descend straight on her starboard side to about 66 meters. From here swim towards mid ship and soon it will be possible to swim under her where vents and open doors can be seen everywhere, maybe a sign of the rush to leave the ship. Once you reach the 5.25 inch guns it is time to turn around. The torpedo responsible for damaging the starboard outer propeller shaft ripped open a whole of about 8m by 5m, which can be explored before reaching the huge props and the up line. This is a great place to observe the rich fish life while doing your deep stops.