Showing posts with label Torpedo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Torpedo. Show all posts

Friday 10 December 2021

Raging Eagles Over South China Sea : The Sinking of The HMS Prince Of Wales And HMS Repulse




HMS Prince of Wales and Mitsubishi G4M1 of
the Kanoya Air Group in the Sea Battle off Malaya.
Image : Tamiya 

 


80 years ago on 10th Dec 1941, a ferocious naval battle took place in the South China Sea off the coast of Kuantan, Malaysia. It was an encounter between the warships of the Royal Navy's Eastern Fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy's land based attack bombers. The British fleet, comprising of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, the battlecruiser HMS Repulse and four destroyers had sortied from their main base in Singapore two days earlier without the benefit of air cover or submarine screen. Against them were veteran aviators of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, battle-hardened by bombing campaigns in China. The outcome was an astounding victory for the Japanese with the sinking of the two British capital ships and the loss of hundreds of their crew. 

Known to the Japanese as the Naval Battle off Malaya ( マレー沖海戦 Mare-oki kaisen ), it was the first time in history that air power alone had defeated competent naval units maneuvering in the open ocean. It heralded the rise of aviation as the arbiter of naval engagements and the eventual demise of the battleship. 

It is a seldom known fact that so jubilant were the Japanese with their achievements, a wartime song was immediately commissioned and composed on the fly at their national broadcaster NHK's headquarters in Tokyo that very same day, to be released with the evening news. The song would be titled " Annihilation of the British Eastern Fleet ".

For the British, the loss of The HMS Prince of Wales and the HMS Repulse was an omnious sign of many more bad things to come. It laid the door open for the Imperial Japanese Army's invasion of the Malay Peninsula that would eventaully lead to the fall of Singapore, once thought to be an impregnable fortress.

This article is the second in a series commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Fall of Singapore. The first in the series here.


The Eastern Fleet


The British Eastern Fleet was a naval formation that grew out of a flawed empire defence policy dating back to 1919. Financially drained by the First World War and unable to maintain a military force large enough to protect all their empire assets and interests in the Far East against a potential adversary such as Japan, the British formulated a series of war plans which called for the construction of a main fleet base in Singapore which would be used to supply and support a relief force that would be assembled and sent from Europe to the Far East during periods of heightened tensions or hostilities. 

This arrangement allowed most of the ever-shrinking Royal Navy's fleet assets to be kept in home waters to protect the British Isles while only a token few vessels would be deployed east of the Suez Canal. It would be known as the Singapore Strategy.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Singapore was transformed into a major military bastion with the construction of the Sembawang Naval Base and its supporting infrastructure. When completed in 1938, it had what was then the largest dry dock and the third largest floating dock in the world. It was protected by two newly completed airfields, RAF Tengah and RAF Sembawang and by 15 inch naval guns in two coastal artillery batteries and numerous fixed gun installations of smaller calibre. 

When war with Japan seemed imminent in October 1941, the Admiralty dispatched one of its newest battleship the HMS Prince of Wales with its escorting destroyers to Singapore. The task group was joined by the WWI era fast battlecruiser HMS Repulse in Celon and arrived at the Sembawang wharves on 2nd December. Shortly after, the Eastern Fleet were to be formally constituted on 8th December with the merger of the East Indies Squadron and the China Squadron when the Japanese invaded Malaya and the Pacific War broke out. Admiral Sir Tom Philips, until then Commander-in-Chief China Station, was appointed C-in-C Eastern Fleet.


Major command areas of the Royal Navy 1939 - 1945.
The Eastern Fleet was formed from the amalgamation 
of the East Indies and China Stations.
Image : navalhistoryarchieve.org


War Comes To Malaya And Singapore


The Japanese invasion of British Malaya had began just after mid-night on 8th Dec 1941 without a formal declaration of war. General Tomoyuki Yamashita's 25th Army made amphibious landings at Kota Bharu in the north-east of the Malay Peninsula and at Singora and Pattani in southern Thailand. The invasion convoy had already been sighted by Lockheed Hudson bombers of No. 1 Squadron RAAF off Cape Ca Mau, French Indochina, on 6th December. However given the uncertainty of their destination and intentions, Commander-in-Chief Far East Command Air Chief Marshal Robert Brooke-Popham did not authorise any offensive operations against the convoy until attacks were made against friendly territories. Unfortunately, the convoy could not be located on the following day due to bad weather, but the turn of events prompted C-in-C Eastern Fleet Adm Philips to recall the HMS Repulse which was then enroute to Port Darwin, Australia, back to Singapore. 

Shortly after at 0400 hours on 8th December, IJN bombers based in French Indochina also conducted the first of many bombing raids on Singapore City causing destruction and casualties.



HMS prince of Wales departing Singapore 8th Dec 1941. Wikipedia.



HMS Repulse departing Singapore 8th Dec 1941. Wikipedia



Departure of Force Z


Hoping to intercept and destroy the Japanese invasion fleet at Kota Bharu and Singora, Admiral Philips ordered the HMS Prince of Wales, the HMS Repulse and the destroyers HMS Electra (H-27), HMS Express (H-61), HMS Tenedos (H-04) and HMAS Vampire (D-68) to sortie north. He believed that as long as adequate fighter support could be provided and if he could achieve surprise, there would be a reasonable chance of destroying Japanese reinforcements and severing their line of supply, bringing reprieve to the hard pressed Commonwealth ground forces. As such, air reconnaissance forward of his intended course and fighter cover over the area of his intended strike was requested. The task force was designated Force Z and departed Singapore at 1735 hours on 8th December, keeping to a north-east course into the South China Sea, thus avoiding the heavily mined coastal waters of the Malay Peninsula. 

By 0900 hours on 9th December, the fleet passed to the east of the Anambas Islands and thereafter followed a northerly course. Onboard his flagship the HMS Prince of Wales, Adm Philips would learn from his Chief of Staff Adm Palliser whom he had left in Singapore as his representative and to co-ordinate naval requirements with the other services, that the fighter cover he had requested off Singora on 10th December could not be provided. The RAF had already withdrawn from its Kota Bharu Airfield and most of its Northern Malaya airfileds had sustained damage from Japanese bombing raids. The Brewster Buffalo F2A fighters of No 453 Squadron RAAF on standby at RAF Sembawang were still available though as the dedicated fleet defense squadron. He was also warned of strong Japanese bomber forces that were believed to be stationed in southern Indochina.  


Naval Battle off Malaya important land marks and sites.


Detection 


Unkown to Adm Philips, the IJN already had several submarines forming a picket line stretching from the eastern end of the Singapore Straits all the way north to the South China Sea off the coast of Trengganu to detect and provide early warning on British fleet movements. At 1345 hours the Japanese submarine I-65 reported the discovery of 2 Repulse-type warships following a course of 340 at 14 knots at a location bearing 196 degrees and 225 nautical miles from Pulo Condore ( modern day Con Son Island, Vietnam ). 

I-65 was a Kaidai5-class cruiser submarine assigned to the 5th Submarine Squadron, 30th Submarine Division and was helmed by Commander Harada Hakue ( 原田毫衛 ). For a few hours it shadowed the British fleet on the surface making 18 to 20 knots, taking advantage of the poor weather to avoid being detected itself. It had a temporary lost of contact with the British fleet at 1550 hours but managed to reacquire its quarry at 1652 hours. Subsequently, the submarine was forced to dive because of an unexpected buzzing by a Kawanishi E7K Alf seaplane from the cruiser Kinu. The pilot had mistaken the I-65 for an enemy submarine. When submarine resurfaced, the enemy fleet had disappeared. 

By then, the poor weather and squalls that had help conceal the British fleet from the Japanese search planes had cleared. At around 1700 hours three seaplanes had detected the task force and continued to track it until nightfall. For the first time since departing Singapore, Adm Philips realised his fleet had been discovered by the enemy.


Mission Aborted


At 1835 hours, the destroyer HMS Tenedos was low on fuel and was sent back to Singapore. Force Z then maintained a westerly course until an hour after sunset in an attempt to mislead the seaplanes into believing they were bound for Singora. They would later change course under the cover of darkness and head for Singapore.

Submarine I-65's report was received by the cruisers Kinu, Yura and the 81st Naval Communications Unit in Saigon. The reception was poor and it had taken another 90 minutes for the message to be decoded and relayed. The discovery of the British fleet lead Vice Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo ( 小沢冶三郎 ), commander of the Southern Expeditionary Fleet, to order the immediate withdrawal of his now empty transports from the east coast of the Malay Peninsula back to their base at Cam Ranh Bay in French Indochina. He also ordered all his surface combatants including the heavy cruisers Chokai, Mogami, Kumano, Mikuma, Suzuya and elements of the 3rd Destroyer Squadron to sortie 200 nautical miles south to intercept the enemy fleet and prepare for a night encounter. 


Failed Strike


Over at Saigon Airbase, HQ 22nd Air Flotilla only received news of the discovery of the British fleet more than 2 hours after the message was sent, at 1600 hours 9th December. An earlier report from its own reconnaissance plane sent at 0930 hours had erroneously indicated that the capital ships were still in Singapore and bombers of the Kanoya, Genzan and Mihoro Air Groups were being loaded with bombs in preparetion for a raid on Singapore Harbour that very night. 

As a result, the Singapore bombing mission was immediately cancelled and the bombers were instead directed to intercept and attack the British fleet. Some were loaded with bombs while the others had their bomb loads swapped out with torpedoes. It was about half an hour before sunset when the bombers took off. Based on the last known location, course and speed, the pilots had hoped to locate the British ships just after dark but the inclement weather off Cape Ca Mau prevented them from finding the fleet. The bombers eventually jettisoned their bombs in the sea and returned to their bases around midnight after hours of fruitless search. 


Close Encounter


By 1920 hours, unknown to their respective commanders, the British and the Japanese surface fleets were converging from east to west and were separated by probably 20 nautical miles or less. A reconnaissance flight of 3 medium bombers of the Mihoro Air Group spotted a wake and activated a flare at 2000 hours but it turned out to be Adm Ozawa's flagship the IJNS Chokai. This flare was spotted by the British fleet from an estimated distance of 5 nautical miles but the radar on the HMS Prince of Wales mysteriously failed to detect the Japanese cruiser. The two fleets had sailed past each other in the darkness and the poor weather without being aware of the presence of the other. Moonrise would only be due at 2228 hours that night. 

At around 2330 hours, an urgent message from Adm Palliser reported of Japanese landings at Kuantan, located on the east coast of Malaya midway between Kota Bharu and Singapore, not too far away from the fleet's location. Adm Philip decided to investigate and altered course accordingly without signalling Singapore about his intentions. The probable reasons of maintaining radio silence was likely to preserve the element of surprise and also not to give away the fleet's position to the enemy.


Submarine Attack


At 2352 hours IJN submarine I-58 reported having to dive during a close encounter with two destroyers. It later detected the two enemy capital ships and at 0015 hours 10th December fired a spread of five torpedoes at the HMS Repulse without scoring a single hit. The submarine reported its position at 140 nautical miles from Kuantan bearing 57 degrees. The British fleet was blissfully unaware of this contact and torpedo attack and continued to speed towards its objective. I-58 was a Kaidai3A-class cruiser submarine captained by Lt Commander Kitano Soshichi ( 北野惣七 ) and was assigned to the 19th Submarine Division, 4th Submarine Squadron. It had operated out of Samah on Hainan Island. After the unsuccessful torpedo attack, I-58 continued to trail the British fleet until contact was lost before dawn at 0445 hours. 

By then, based on the course and speed information from the I-58 sighting, the Japanese had determined that the enemy fleet was keeping to a true bearing of 180 degrees and was in retreat. Due to concerns of fuel shortage, Vice Admiral Kondo Nobutake ( 近藤信竹 ), commander of IJN's 2nd Fleet, decided to turn around his surface fleet and terminate the interdiction mission. Vice Admiral Ozawa similarly withdrew his submarine force from the pursue leaving the fate of the British fleet to the hands of Rear Admiral Matsunaga Sadaichi ( 松永貞市 ) with his medium bombers of the 22nd Air Flotilla.


Mitsubishi G4M Model 11 Type 1 Attack Bomber (Betty) of the Kanoya
 Air Group during the Sea Battle off Malaya. Image : Hasegawa Model Co.


Nell And Betty


Submarine I-58's report was received by HQ 22nd Air Flotilla at 0315 hours and by 0625 hours Genzan Air Group's ( 元山海軍航空隊 ) 4th Squadron comprising of 9 Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" twin-engine medium bombers lead by Lieutenant Makino left Saigon Airfield on a search mission for the enemy fleet. Another 26 G3M bombers of the Genzan Air Group would leave at 0755 hours, 17 were carrying torpedoes while the remaining 9 were loaded with bombs. 

Next to depart at 0814 hours would be 26 Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" medium bombers of the Kanoya Air Group ( 鹿屋海軍航空隊 ), all armed with torpedoes. They launched from Thu Dau Mot Airfield located 20km north of Saigon. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Squadrons had taken off in sequence and flew in formation at an altitude of 3000m on a course of 187 Degrees. 

Finally at 0820 hours, the Mihoro Air Group ( 美幌海軍航空隊 ) would launch 33 Mitsubishi G3M bombers in four squadrons from Saigon Airfield, 8 with torpedoes and 25 with bombs. The last aircraft took off at 0930 hours. Only 1 G3M of the Genzan Group aborted due to engine trouble.


Mitsubishi G3M2 Model 22 Type 96 Attack Bomber ( Nell ) of the Genzan
Air Group during the Sea Battle off Malaya. Image : Hasegawa Model Co.


Detour To Kuantan


Meanwhile on the other side of the South China Sea at sunrise which was 0627 hours, the British fleet discovered 4 radar contacts but they turned out to be cargo vessels. A Supermarine Walrus amphibious plane took-off from the HMS Prince of Wales at 0645 hours to investigate the purported Kuantan landings but reported nothing amiss. With the fleet soon to be approaching the coast at 0730 hours, the destroyer HMS Express was sent to investigate the landing site and it too detected no enemy activities. The report about the landing was clearly false and Force Z resumed its home bound journey at 0900 hours, totally ignorant that a large fleet of enemy long range bombers was already actively searching for it. The task force had then intended to go around the eastern side of the Anambas Islands to avoid minefields. 



Naval Battle Off Malaya Set at 1/700 scale. Image : Tamiya Model Co.



The Naval Battle Off Malaya


Not anticipating the fleet's westward detour to Kuantan, the Japanese bombers were searching too far south of Force Z's actual location and had began to turn back having found nothing initially when the Number 4 search aircraft discovered the detached destroyer HMS Tenedos some 130 nautical miles east-southeast of the main force. At approximately 1000 hours, it reported the co-ordinates of the destroyer and dropped two 60kg bombs but achieved no hits. Shortly after at 1014 hours, lead by Lieutenant Nikaido Rokuo ( 二階堂麓夫 ), 9 Mitsubishi G3M belonging to the Genzan Air Group's 3rd Squadron arrived on scene, each armed with a single 500kg bomb. They had mistaken the HMS Tenedos for the HMS Repulse and wasted all their ordnance on the destroyer without getting a single hit. Tenedos reported about being attacked and had emerged relatively unscathed, suffering only one casualty. It continued towards Singapore after the air raid. 


Map of the Sea Battle off Malaya.
Image : history.navy.mil


At 1015 hours, flying in a sector north of most other Japanese aircraft, Ensign Hoashi Masato ( 帆足正音 ) in the Number 3 search aircraft finally spotted Force Z from an altitude of 3000m and reported the exact location as 4 Deg North, 103 Deg 55 Min East. It was welcoming news for the bomber pilots as by that time many were already critically low on fuel. Lieutenant Iki Haruki ( 壹岐春記 ), commander of Kanoya Air Group's 3rd Squadron recalled that moment when he was approaching the limit of the 700 mile combat radius of the Mitsubishi G4M. He was so far south that he could see the island of Singapore below to his far right and thought to himself that the situation was not good. Just then, the co-ordinates of the enemy fleet was received but there was some initial confusion as he tried to plot the location on his aeronautical charts - it turned out to be somewhere on land over the Malay Peninsula! He would later learn that Kanoya Air Group commander Captain Fujiyoshi Naoshiro ( 藤吉直四郎 ) was desparate enough to radio their headquarters to request that they be informed of the enemy's position in plain text.     


Level bombing of the HMS Prince of Wales ( top ) and HMS
Repulse.  Ministry of Navy permit number 783. Wikipedia


Once the deciphered information on the British fleet's location was disseminated by HQ, all bomber squadrons began converging and executed their attacks piece meal without waiting for the rest as they were already low on fuel. First to arrive at 1115 hours were 8 Mitsubishi G3M of the Mihoro Air Group's Shirai Squadron ( 白井中隊 ). They were each armed with two 250kg bombs and carried out level bombing on the HMS Repulse. A total of 14 bombs were dropped, as one aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire shortly after making the first bombing run and was unable to drop the second bomb, while another bomber could not release its second bomb due to a mechanical issue. While there were many near misses, the HMS Repulse was struck by one bomb during the first bombing run close to its starboard rear catapult. It penetrated the hangar and the upper deck and exploded in the marine mess area, causing a few casualties among the damage control team but otherwise relatively minor damage.


Genzan Air Group's torpedo-armed Mitsubishi G3M bomber.
Image : Hasegawa Model Co.


Just as the Mihoro bombers were retreating, two squadrons of Mitsubishi G3M bombers belonging to the Genzan Air Group joined the battle. Lead by Lieutenant Ishihara Isao ( 石原薫 ) and Lieutenant Takai Sadao ( 高井貞夫 ), a total of 16 aircrafts, all armed with torpedoes, attacked the two capital ships. 8 torpedoes were launched against the HMS Repulse but it managed to elude all of them with skillful maneuvering. Interestingly, it was said that Takai was initially unsure if the HMS Repulse was a Kongo-class battleship because of the similarity in profile, but his doubts disappeared the moment he saw the British flag and he launched the torpedo attack.

The HMS Prince of Wales on the other hand was not so lucky. Of the 5 torpedoes launched against it, 1 hit the port stern area where the outer propeller shaft emerged from the hull, instantly twisting the shaft and rupturing the seal that prevented seawater from entering the shaft tunnel. It caused flooding of the B engine room and several other compartments aft. The effect of the loss of propulsion and flooding caused the HMS Prince of Wales to list 11.5 degrees to port and its speed to decreased to 16 knots. The listing had meant the starboard 5.25 inch anti-aircraft guns could not be depressed low enough to counter low-flying attackers. The torpedo hit had also taken out most of the ship's auxillary electrical power which was crucial in running the steering gear, the pumps, the internal communications system, the ventilation system and for powering the gun turrets. The battleship was essentially doomed without the ability to steer, to carry out damage control and to defend itself against further waves of air attacks. During that encounter, British anti-aircraft fire accounted for the destruction of 1 bomber.

At 1150 hours, 8 torpedo carrying Mitsubishi G3M bombers of the 4th Squadron, Mihoro Air Group arrived, lead by Lieutenant Takahashi Katsusaku ( 高橋勝作 ). The squadron also had difficulty identifying the HMS Repulse because of the striking resemblance to the IJNS Kongo. They were only convinced the warship was British after receiving anti-aircraft fire. Except for the squadron leader's aircraft which suffered from a malfunction, 7 bombers launched 7 torpedoes against the HMS Repulse but all missed the battlecruiser. 3 bombers suffered minor damage from anti-acraft fire but Takahashi's plane took on significant damage as he had to repeat the torpedo run for a second time. At 1158 hours Captain Tennant, commanding officer of the HMS Repulse, took his own initiative to break radio silence to call for help. " From REPULSE, to any British Man of War, enemy aircraft bombing. My position 134NYTW22X09.". It would be the first and only radio message transmitted by Force Z since its departure from Singapore. At 1216 hours, 11 Brewster Buffalo F2A fighters left Singapore but would not be expected to arrive at the battle site some 240km away until 1300 hours or later.

Trouble for the British fleet was far from over as 26 Mitsubishi G4M of the Kanoya Air Group lead by Lieutenant-Commander Miyauchi Shichizo ( 宮内七三 ) arrived next at 1207 hours. They were all armed with torpedoes. Of the 9 bombers of the 1st Squadron, 4 attacked the HMS Prince of Wales while the other 5 bombers attacked the HMS Repulse. It was followed by 8 bombers of the 2nd Squadron, where 2 attacked the HMS Prince of Wales and 6 attacked the HMS Repulse. Collectively, these two squadrons achieved 3 torpedo hits on the starboard side of the HMS Prince of Wales. One at the bow, one opposite B main gun turret and another at the stern aft of Y turret which punctured the hull and bent the outer starboard propeller shaft inwards and over the inner shaft, jamming it instantly. 

The HMS Repulse had so far dodged an amazing 19 torpedoes but her luck was about to run out. Last to have a go were the 9 bombers of Lieutenant Iki Haruki's 3rd Squadron that carried out an anvil attack, bracketing the battlecruiser with torpedoes from both port and starboard from which there was no escape. Iki would recount after the war that descending between the clouds at 300 to 400m altitude during his torpedo approach, he witnessed the 1st Squadron's torpedo attack on the HMS Prince of Wales creating a huge column of water sprout just aft of the bridge. It was like nothing he had seen before, but exactly like the oil paintings depicting the scenes in the Battle of Tsushima Strait during the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. Almost immediately, he saw another torpedo strike the stern of the battleship, and he thought to himself - well that's another hit, no more Prince of Wales, I'll go after ship number two ( Repulse ). 

As he lead his squadron to attack the HMS Repulse from the starboard side, the battlecruiser made a hard turn to starboard and he soon found himself on the vessel's port side while his fellow squadron mates from flights 2 and 3 responded to the Repulse's maneuvres by turning further to starboard to get a better angle of attack and ended up on the opposite side. Caught in a pincer attack which had formed by coincidence, the Repulse received one torpedo hit on the port side followed by another 3 hits in quick succession. 

Lt Iki recalled his torpedo run that day, approaching the warship and listening to the manual range and altitude read out from his chief observer Warrant Officer Yahagi Yuji ( 矢萩友二 ). He released his torpedo when he was 800m away from the Repulse and at an altitude of 30m. Under fire, he immediately steered his aircraft hard to port with the closest approach to the ship at 300m. Then his observer Petty Officer Maekawa Tamotsu ( 前川保 ) screamed " Hit !". Any jubilation from the successful torpedo attack would be short lived as the number 2 bomber in Iki's flight exploded in a ball of fire at a distance of 150m from Repulse just as he was turning away. Shortly, Maekawa would scream a second time " Hit again! " and then " Flight leader has been hit! " as the number 3 bomber also exploded 50m from the ship. The two ill fated bombers were flown by pilots Sakurai Toshimitsu ( 桃井敏光 ) and Taue Yoshikazu ( 田植良和 ). It could be inferred that the second torpedo that struck the Repulse after Iki's own must have been released by either one of the dead pilots. The Repulse listed heavily to port within a matter of minutes and then rolled over and sank at 1233 hours with many casulties. 

There were shouts of "Banzai" from the bomber's crew as Iki headed back to Thu Dau Mot Airbase. They celebrated their sucesssful mission with wine taken from the emergency rations. His aircraft was the first to land at Thu Dau Mot after the mission. Later, in his after action report, he would indicate that the two torpedoes that hit the HMS Repulse were released by his two dead squadron mates. He thought it was the least he could do for them.

The final wave of 17 Mitsubishi G3M bombers of the Mihoro Air Group all carrying 500kg bombs arrived at the battle scene at 1230 hours just as the HMS Repulse was sinking. They were the Takeda Squadron ( 武田中隊 ) and the Ohira Squadron ( 大平中隊 ). They carried out level bombing on the already mortally damaged HMS Prince of Wales, without steerage and crawling with the propulsion power from a single propeller shaft. Although most of the bombs missed their target, the Takeda Squadron achieved one hit amidships and that bomb penetrated the upper deck to explode at the Cinema Flat below where the wounded had aggregated, causing an untold number of casualties. The order to abandon ship was given and the destroyer HMS Express came alongside to take off survivors. At 1318 hours, the HMS Prince of Wales rolled over to port and sank, taking with her Admiral Philips and commanding officer Captain John Leach who chose to go down with their ship.


Last moments of the HMS Prince of Wales with HMS Express taking survivors
Photo : IWM / Wikipedia


A total of 813 sailors were lost, 513 from the HMS Repulse and 327 from the HMS Prince of Wales. Survivors from the Repulse were picked up by the destroyers HMS Electra and HMAS Vampire. The RAAF Brewster Buffalos arrived on scene at 1318 hours just as the Prince of Wales sank. All of the attackers had already left for their bases save one. Ensign Hoashi, the pilot whom had earlier discovered the British fleet was still loitering in the area in his reconnaissance plane. He managed to evade the Buffalos and returned to confirm the sinking of the two capital ships.

It was a lopsided victory for the Japanese who lost one Mitsubishi G3M of the Genzan Air Group and two Mitsubishi G4M of the Kanoya Air Group to British anti-aircraft fire. 21 airmen in those three aircrafts lost thier lives. In addition, 25 bombers suffered light damage repairable at the unit level, 2 bombers with moderate damage required depot level repairs and another 2 bombers were damage beyond salvage. In total, 85 medium bombers had participated in the battle.



Lt. Iki Haruki as a bomber pilot in WWII 


Irei Bouquets


Lt Iki Haruki's squadron did not suffer from too much battle damage apart from the two destroyed bombers. After the mission he counted "only" seventeen bullet holes in his bomber but the other squadrons of the Kanoya Air Group fared worse and had crash landings and they were short of aircrafts. On 11th December, the day after the epic naval battle, Iki was ordered to proceed to the HQ garrison of the Takao Air Group ( 高雄海軍航空隊 ) in Kaohsiung, Taiwan to replenish the planes. For three days he was flight testing the new bombers as they were being readied by the mechanics. He returned to Thu Dau Mot Airfield on 14th December in a nine plane formation. By 16th December all maintenance works on the freshly arrived bombers were completed and the air group received orders to attack a British wireless telegraph station on Siantan Island of the Anambas Archipelago on 18th December. There was a good harbour on the island that the Malaya invasion force would like to use as an advanced base for the coming attack on Singapore Island. 

Realising that the mission flight path would bring them near to the site of the sunken warships off Kuantan and that there would be no enemy fighters or anti-aircaft fire to contend with, Iki asked his observer Maekawa to buy two bouquets of flowers from a shop near their base. The bombing mission was successfully completed and on the way back, Iki lead his squadron of nine bombers in a formation flight at an altitude of 30m and dropped a bouquet over the location where the HMS Repulse had rested and then similarly another bouquet over at where the the HMS Prince of Wales had sunken. It was to provide solace and closure to not only their fellow aviators who perished in the three bombers that were shot down but also as a tribute to the courageous British sailors who had fought so gallantly before going down with their ships. The ritual of conducting a memorial service to the deceased is known as irei ( 慰霊 ) in Japanese.

According to Iki, the dark sihouettes of the two sunken ships could be easily seen from an altitude of 300m as they had come to rest in shallow waters of 60 to 70 metres. The weather was good, the waves were calm and the water was very clear that afternoon. 

Subsequently, his bouquet dropping act was widely publicised by the various Japanese newspapers. A journalist from Mainichi Shimbun however erroneously reported the event to have taken place a day after the battle and that misinformation had unfortunately perpetuated from then onwards. In 1943, an elementary school textbook had also included a description of Iki's deeds as the heroic story " Chivalry in the Battlefield ", although his name was not mentioned specifically. It had also gotten the date wrong, indicating it as occuring the day after the battle. 

Iki would feel embarassed everytime when people asked him about the episode of bouquet dropping. He would simply say that he did not do it in order to be praised. To him, it was just a natural behavior as a warrior to express his sorrow to his comrade-in-arms when they had lost their lives in the line of duty. Even to the enemy wardead, there has to be respect and empathy beyond hostilty. After the War ended, Iki's spontaneous gesture of honouring the fallen airmen and sailors, friend and foe alike, so intrigued the British that he would be interviwed many times by them. He would be blessed with longevity, passing away in 2011, age 99 years old.



Cover page of music score for the songs
"Annihitaion of the British Eastern Fleet" and "Decisive Victory"
published in April 1942. Image : Kosho.or.jp



Instant Wartime Song


News of the stunning victory of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service ( IJNAS ) over the British Eastern Fleet in the South China Sea was released by the Ministry of Navy, Imperial General Headquarters at 4pm Tokyo time 10th December 1941, barely an hour after the HMS Prince of Wales had sunken. Japanese national broadcaster NHK ( 日本放送協会 Nippon Hoso Kyokai ) announced the victory at 4:20pm over the radio, and the Japanese people were jubilant and thrilled when they heard the news. None however were more excited about the victory than NHK's producer and later director Maruyama Tetsuo ( 丸山鉄雄 ). He immediately decided that the vanquishing of the British fleet was the perfect subject for the creation of a broadcasting news song ( 放送ニュース歌謡 hoso nyusu kayo ) which is also sometimes referred to as the current affairs song ( 時局歌 jikyokuka ). These are songs commissioned by radio stations to complement their regular news bulletins and they had already existed before World War II but their popularity soared with the progression of the global conflict. The only problem was, he had wanted it to be broadcasted with the 7pm news on NHK Radio 1 ( callsign JOAK ), which was due in about 3 hours!


Cover of Takahashi Kikutaro's Song Collection
published in 1938. Image : Fusensha.ocnk.net


With little time to spare, he asked the prolific composer Koseki Yuji ( 古関裕而 ) and lyricist Takahashi Kikutaro ( 高橋掬太郎 ) for help. Normally, the composer would start work on the song only after the lyrics were written, but the extremely short notice had meant that Koseki and Takahashi had to work on the song simultaneously in order to be able to finish it on time. They had consulted each other over the phone as the song had gradually taken shape.


Koseki Yuji ( centre ) with Fujiyama Ichiro ( right )
and Mari Yoshiko ( left ). Original Photo : Columbia Japan


The selected performer was the popular Japanese singer Fujiyama Ichiro ( 藤山一郎 ) who was also a well known musician, composer and conductor. He was truely surprised when he arrived at the studio, assuming that the lyrics and the song were already completed and ready for his practising, only to discover that Takahashi was still in the middle of writing the words!

Eventually, the excitement and thrill of receiving the good news on the Japanese victory in the southern oceans pushed Takahashi and Koseki to overcome all technical difficulties and time constrains to complete the song on time. It would be titled " Annihilation of the British Eastern Fleet " ( 英国東洋艦隊潰滅 Eikoku Toyo Kantai Kaimetsu ). Due to the urgent circumstances which it was composed, a short portion of Setouchi Tokichi's famous Warship March ( 軍艦行進曲 Gunkan Koshinkyoku ) was even interjected between the first and second verses of the original song. This rather plagiaristic interlude would be removed in later versions.

The lyrics writing and composing was done right to the last minute and there was only one rehearsal before the newly completed song was broadcasted. Although its creation was rushed, the song was rhythmic and powerful and conveyed the excitement of war and victory. It was said that Fujiyama sang it beautifully and after the event Maruyama was full of praise for the successful effort by the trio. He would later reflect that from the announcement of the news to the completion of the song was only three hours, a normally impossible technical feat in both lyrics writing and composing, and that it can only be a joyous milestone in the world of news songs. 

After that, NHK continued to commission news songs following many significant Imperial Japanese military conquests such as " The Song of the Fall of Singapore " and " The Fall of Manila " but they did not quite create the same impact on the populace at the same magnitude as the " Annihilation of the British Eastern Fleet " did. 

Incidentally, the " Annihilation of the British Eastern Fleet ", popular as it might have been, was not made into a record during the War. It could be that it was then not NHK's priority to have the song released on vinyl. Perhaps feeling that it would be a business opportunity lost, Columbia Records Japan had poet, writer and lyricist for children's song Sato Hachiro ( サトウハチロー ) write lyrics to Koseki Yuji's original melody and created a new song called " Decisive Victory " ( 断じて勝つぞ Danjite Katsuzo ). Sung again by Fujiyama Ichiro and also the Columbia Choir, it was already recorded on 20th Dec 1941 but was not released in vinyl until Febuarary 1942.  

Interestingly, while on a troop entertainment tour of South East Asia in Oct 1942 under the auspices of NHK, the ship that was ferrying Koseki and his delegation of fellow artistes was approaching the Kuantan coast on the Malay Peninsula when out of the blue the " Annihilation of the British Eastern Fleet " was performed by the spontaneous efforts of those on board. Such was the popularity of the song at that time. 

Not long after, the end of World War II and the defeat of Japan in Aug 1945 would bring an end to the golden era of military songs ( 軍歌 gunka ) and news songs. It was not until August 1966, twenty five years after it was composed that the " Annihilation of the British Eastern Fleet " was finally released on record. It was included in the " Japanese Military Song Collection In Stereo " by Columbia Records Japan. The performer was still Fujiyama Ichiro.

When I first heard the " Annihilation of the British Eastern Fleet " being played, I thought it was slightly inferior to the " Song of the Fall of Singapore " and I still hold to that opinion today. But the more I listened to it, the more appealing it became. In fact, for a song created in less than three hours, it should be considered a masterpiece. Besides, Fujiyama's vocals are just awesome. 

Note that the IJN did not actually annihilate the entire Eastern Fleet as the title of the song might have suggested. The Eastern Fleet's assets included many other warships stationed from Durban to Hong Kong, but it effectively did so by removing at one fell swoop the two most powerful warships of the fleet. It would be many months into 1942 before the appearance of another British battleship in the Far East theatre.

You may listen to the song below or from this link. The footage I believe has been taken from the 1942 war film " The war at sea from Hawaii to Malaya " ( ハワイ.マレー沖海戦 ) by Toho Eiga.


                                                                          Annihilation of the British Eastern Fleet



英国東洋艦隊潰滅 ( Eikoku Toyokantai Kaimetsu )

Annihilation of the British Eastern Fleet



滅びたり滅びたり Horo bitari horo bitari

Perish! Perish!

敵東洋艦隊は Teki Toyo kantai wa

The enemy's Eastern Fleet,

マレー半島クワンタン沖に Mare Hanto Kuwantan oki ni

Off the coast of Kuantan, Malay Peninsula,

今ぞ沈みゆきぬ Ima zo shizumi yukinu

Is sinking now

勲し赫たり海の荒鷲よ Isaoshi kaku tari umi no ara washi yo

The meritorious storm eagles of the sea

沈むレパルス Shizumu Reparusu

Sink the Repulse

沈むプリンス.オブ.ウェールズ Shizumu Prinsu obu Weruzu

Sink the Prince of Wales


戦えり戦えり Tataka eri tataka eri 

To war! To war!

わが強者らは Waga tsuwamono ra wa

Men of great strength.

皇国の興廃を Kokoku no Kohai wo 

The fate of the Empire,

今ぞ身に負いぬ Ima zo mi ni oi nu

Now lies in our hands.

傲れるイギリス東洋艦隊を Ogo reru Igirisu toyo kantai wo

The proud English Eastern Fleet,

荒ぶ波に沈め去りぬ Susabu nami ni shizume sarinu

Shall sink beneath the rough seas


記憶せよ記憶せよ Kioku seyo kioku seyo

Remember! Remember!

いざ永遠にこの日を Iza towa ni konohi wo 

This day forever!

打ち向う敵艦を一拳屠り去りぬ Uchi muko u tekikan o ikkyo hofuri sarinu

The enemy warship has been slaughtered with a single punch,

開戦三日目に早この戦果ぞ Kaisen mikkame ni haya kono senka zo

Glorious results just three days since the start of the war. 

沈むレパルス Shizumu Reparusu

Sink the Repulse!

沈むプリンス.オブ.ウェールズ Shizumu Purinsu obu Weruzu

Sink the Prince of Wales!


万歳ぞ万歳ぞ Banzai zo banzai zo

Banzai! Banzai!

聞けあがる勝鬨 Kike agaru kachidoki

Hear the shout of victory!

マレー半島シンガポール Mare Hanto Shingaporu

The Malay Penisula, Singapore,

はやくも破れ去る Hayaku mo yabu re sa ru

Shall fall rapidly.

無敵の海軍見よこの荒鷲 Muteki no kaigun mi yo kono ara washi

Behold the Storm Eagles of the invincible navy.

勲仰げ仰げ勲 Isao aoge aoge isao

Meritorious services worthy of respect. Revere their exploits.  


作詞 高橋掬太郎  Lyrics : Takahashi Kikutaro

作曲 古関裕而  Compser : Koseki Yuji



                                               Version with first 3 verses and Gunkan March interlude from 0:42 to 0:57

This incomplete version with only the first three verses uses archival news footage from NHK and contains the Gunkan March interlude between verses 1 and 2.



The Straits Times of Singapore Headlines 11th Dec 1941
Image : Singapore Press Holdings

How The Japanese Won


The decisive victory of the Japanese in the Naval Battle of Malaya was certainly not a fluke. For years leading to the start of the Pacific War, Japan had progressively build up its military capabilities and had posessed the most powerful navy in the world by 1941, with eleven aircraft carriers and several naval air fleets, all equipped with very modern and advanced aircraft types. In particular, its long range land-based naval bombers ( 海軍陸上攻撃機 kaigun rikujo kogeki ki ), frequently abbreviated to just Rikko ( 陸攻 ), were a formidable force. Not only were these medium bombers designed to have very long range and high speed, though sometimes achieved at the expense of crew protection, the aviators were highly trained and many have gained combat experience through the trans-oceanic bombing campaigns of the Sino-Japanese War. 

The affable squadron commander Lieutenant Iki Haruki for example was said to have already completed 200 bombing missions at the beginning of the Pacific War, making him one of the most experienced among the Rikko fraternity. He went through very rigorous and realistic training for torpedo strikes against surface fleets and claimed to have practised executing torpedo attack final approaches at an altitude of 10m in anticipation of the very shallow waters at Pearl Harbor. The altitude for a typical IJNAS torpedo run is 30m, as we have seen during the attack on the British warships off Kuantan. The pilots and bombers of the IJNAS are affectionately given the nickname of Sea Eagles or Storm Eagles ( 荒鷲 arawashi ).

Japan's occupation of airfields in French Indochina from July 1941 onwards was also a crucial factor in its ultimate victory in the Naval Battle of Malaya. Had the medium bomber squadrons been based in Taiwan or even Hainan Island which Japan had also occupied, they would not have the necessary range to strike at British Malaya or the South China Sea.

In addition, the high level of coordination and information sharing between the surface fleet, submarine fleet and the aviation corps also ensured that the British fleet would not escape the entrapment in the South China Sea. 

The Japanese Navy also took the threat of the British capital ships against their own cruisers and battleships in the Southern Expeditionary Fleet very seriously and therefore spared no effort in planning and preparing for their elimination, beginning from the moment of the British announcement of the HMS Prince of Wales' deployment to the Far East. In anticipation of the arrival of the British capital ships in Singapore, the IJN began equipping their most elite Rikko bombing group the Kanoya Air Group with a total of 72 of the latest Mitsubishi G4M Betty medium bomber. Originally based in Taichung in central Taiwan and part of the 21st Air Flotilla, half the air group consisting of three squadrons were transferred to French Indochina to reinforce the 22nd Air Flotilla's Genzan and Mihoro Air Groups which operated older Mitsubishi G3M Nell bombers. The Kanoya detachment had arrived at Thu Dau Mot Airfiled only on 6th December 1941. As the turn of events had shown us, they would later have a huge impact on the outcome of the battle. 

Six warships against two submarine squadrons, a destroyer squadron, a cruiser division and a reinforced rikko air group, it is easy to predict which side would emerge victorious.       


Aftermarth


The loss of the two most powerful warships of the Eastern Fleet had given the IJN full conrol of the seas aound the Malay Peninsula and had reduced Singapore to a land base. Without its battleships, Singapore was no longer capable projecting naval power to the region as the British had hoped when they formulated the Singapore Strategy two decades prior. It would fall to General Yamashita's 25th Army on 15th Feb 1942.

After the disastrous Naval Battle of Malaya, the Eastern Fleet spent the next few months withdrawing to Sumatra and then to Ceylon, after the Dutch East Indies also fell to the Japanese. The shock of defeat from Hawaii to Singapore and Java finally galvanised the Allied Forces to form a joint naval command to fight back against the ever-expanding Japanese Empire in early 1942. It was known as the Ameican-British-Dutch-Australian Command or ABDA. Though short-lived, it was the beginning of an awakening and a long struggle to regain allied supremacy in the Far East / Western Pacific. 

The first article of the series commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Fall of Singapore can be found here.

*Time format used in the article is local Singapore time unless otherwise stated. Tokyo time ( then ) is 1 hour 30min ahead.





Thursday 15 October 2020

Victory-Class Missile Corvettes : Crooked Masts And Other Quirky Stuff ...




Missile Corvette P88 RSS Victory in its original configuration
Photo : Lurssen





The Victory-class missile corvette ( MCV ) of the Republic of Singapore Navy ( RSN ) might be small but do not let its size fool you. At 530 tonnes, these tiny multi-role platforms are not much bigger than the fast attack crafts favoured by many small navies of the world but they do pack a huge punch and could pose a serious threat to much larger opponents.

Based on the MGB 62 design by German shipbuilder Lurssen Werft, in its original configuration, its impressive list of capabilities included anti-surface warfare ( ASuW ), anti-submarine warfare ( ASW ), anti-air warfare ( AAW ) and electronic warfare ( EW ), encompassing the domains of  maritime surveillance / interdiction and confined / shallow waters operations.

First commissioned 30 years ago in 1990, the missile corvettes are fast approaching the end of their service life. The RSN plans to retire them by 2025 and replace them with a new class of warships known as multi-role combat vessels ( MRCV ). That timeline has since been revised and postponed for another 5 years to 2030.

We look at the history and evolution of the Victory-class missile corvette through some quirky facts that you may not have known.




Missile Corvette RSS Vengeance at Ex Kakadu 2008
Source : Royal Australian Navy


It All Started With The MGB



The RSN ordered its first generation missile equipped vessels, the Sea Wolf-class missile gunboat ( MGB ) in 1968 and had integrated and commissioned them between 1975 and 1976. They were armed with the Gabriel anti-ship missile ( AShM ) of Israeli origin. The Gabriel was the world's first operational sea-skimming AShM and had already proven its worth during the Yom Kippur War of 1973 in the Battle of Latakia. The use of semi-active radar homing meant that the MGB would have to track the target with its fire control radar and issue guidance command to the missile in flight. The Gabriel consequently has a maximum range of only 20km, limited by the radar horizon.

Operating these warships with then rather complex weapon systems allowed the RSN to acquire the technological expertise and nurture a core group of combat officers and technical personnel who were able to effectively operate and maintain sophisticated weapons system and platforms. The experience and knowledge gained from the MGB acquisition and integration also gave the RSN confidence to define and design its next generation surface combatant, the missile corvette, based on its unique littoral operational requirements.



Maintaining The Technological Edge



Although the RSN was the first among the South East Asian navies to operate missile boats and the first to have successfully test fired an AShM in 1974, it quickly found itself operationally disadvantaged barely a few years later when a regional near-peer entity acquired a longer range AShM with active radar homing and advanced fire control radar. It was felt that the shorter range of the Gabriel represented a significant handicap and the RSN conducted a study in 1979 to build three 57m boats armed with longer range active radar homing missiles. Another option was to upgrade the existing MGB by removing two to three of the Gabriel missiles and replacing them with more advanced active homing missiles.

The decision to upgrade the MGB came in early 1983, but the RSN ditched the proposed 57m craft and instead decided in December 1983 on acquiring six larger 62m missile corvettes. The anti-ship missile system selected for both the MGB upgrade and the MCV was the McDonnell Douglas ( now Boeing ) RGM-84 Harpoon.


RSN's New Found Mission


Apart from being inadvertently caught up in a regional AShM arms race, justification for procuring the missile corvettes also came in the early eighties when the RSN, having lost its sense of purpose and direction after a long period of preoccupation with policing and patrolling the coastal waters of Singapore especially during the Vietnamese boat people refugee crisis, suddenly discovered it had a critical role to play in keeping Singapore's sea lines of communication ( SLOC ) open as the island nation's trade dependent economy, its energy needs and food imports were entirely reliant on the premise of free and open navigation on the high seas. This realization of the RSN's strategic role was accredited to Mr Peter Ho, then Head of Naval Plans Department, who examined Singapore's trade statistics and discovered the importance of the shipping lanes to the survival and security of Singapore.

In line with this new found vision and responsibility, the RSN could no longer remain a coastal navy contented with near shore operations. Bigger warships with better seakeeping characteristics would be required in order to operate effectively up to a thousand kilometers or more away from the home base. With a length of 45m and displacing just 270 tonnes the MGBs were really more suitable for littoral operations.

At the same time the threat that submarines posed to the trade routes became ever more real as regional navies modernize and either acquired, expanded or upgraded their submarine fleets. This meant that the corvettes would have to have anti-submarine capabilities as well, a first for the RSN.


The V-class MCV



The first corvette was built and launched in Germany in 1988 while the remaining five were constructed domestically by Singapore Shipbuilding and Engineering ( now known as Singapore Technology Marine ). The first three corvettes were commissioned in 1990 while the rest were commissioned a year later.

They all had names starting with the letter V - Victory, Valour, Vigilance, Valiant, Vigour and Vengeance. Apart from the first-in-class RSS Victory, the other 5 ships had their names chosen by the public through a name-the-ship competition in Jan 1988. The series of names that were pre-selected included RSS Vampire, RSS Vulcan and RSS Vendetta but the participants were free to submit other names as long as it began with the letter V. In those pre-internet days, the entry forms had to be distributed nationwide at major shopping malls, libraries and community centres. They also appeared in newspapers and even the Ministry of Defense's own publication the Pioneer magazine. By April, the RSN had received more than 24000 entries. The prizes were sponsored by the builder of the corvettes, SSE.

The six missile corvettes form the 188 Squadron / 8th Flotilla of the RSN based at Tuas Naval Base in the south-western part of Singapore. This year marks the 30th anniversary for the MCV as well as the 188th Squadron.



Name Our Ships competition entry slip circa 1988
Photo : RSN



The Tall Mast



During the age of sail, the mast was an essential part of the ship whose purpose was to carry the sail and by virtue of its height the best position to display navigation lights, signal flags and the best position to place lookouts and snipers. The biggest sailing vessels frequently have multiple masts and they are usually constructed of solid timber.

Modern vessels in contrast have masts not to carry sails but to house electronic equipment necessary for navigation and warfighting in the case of naval vessels. Height still matters as many of these devices operate by line of sight principles and the higher up you position them the greater their effectiveness or the better the range. Navigation radar, fire control radar, surface and air search radar, electro-optic sensors, communications antennae, electronic counter-measure and electronic support measure devices are among the myriad of equipment found on or within the hollow structure of the mast proper. Naval vessels have the tallest masts. If you spot a ship from afar and it has a tall mast, chances are it would be a man-of-war.

The most striking thing a person would notice when looking at the profile view or the silhouette of the Victory-class corvette is the disproportionately tall mast in relation to the length of the hull. While the MCV has a length of 62m, the combined height of the main mast and auxiliary mast could reach about 36m above the waterline. It never failed to remind me of the World War II Japanese battleships with their pagoda superstructures.

It was as if the marine architects had taken the blue prints of a 1200-tonne corvette, kept all the weapons and sensors as it were, left the mast intact but had shrunken the hull. So you end up with a warship that packed the firepower of a corvette but housed in the body of a gunboat. After all, the MCV was based on Lurssen Werft's MGB 62 design with the MGB presumably meaning missile gunboat and 62 indicating the length of the design in meters.

The mast of the Victory-class MCV is so tall and is crammed with so many electronic devices that it has a tendency to make the corvette seem top heavy and perhaps contribute to a higher tendency to roll in adverse weather conditions. Having said that, the MCV has been known to roll more than 40 degrees both ways during a tropical storm, causing pots and pans to tumble in the galley and lookouts on the bridge to have to grip the railings tight. Yet, miraculously the corvette would right itself after each swell to see another day. After all the MCV hull is constructed of light gauge steel built around a special longitudinal framing system for ruggedness and good sea keeping characteristics, with the superstructure being constructed using marine grade aluminium alloy. Accordingly, the MCV is able to withstand conditions up to sea state 5. Kudos to the naval architects who designed the ship.




.
RSS Valiant, KD Jebat and HMAS Ballarat at Ex Kakadu 2005.
 Note the VDS at the stern and the tall mast.
Photo : Royal Australian Navy


The Crooked Auxiliary Mast



In its original configuration before the Ship Life Extension Program ( SLEP ) upgrades, the MCV had a rather signature angled auxiliary mast which towered above the main mast. This slanting was necessary to minimize electromagnetic interference ( EMI ) among the various radars, ESM and ECM installations within or atop the main mast.

The MCV's mast can be broadly divided into two parts - the main mast and the auxiliary mast. The main mast is part of the ship structure and supports the heaviest electronic devices. Its top platform bears the rotating Ericsson Sea Giraffe 150HC air and surface search radar while the front and back facing tracking / fire-control radars are installed on lower pedestals in front of and behind the mast proper. To create even higher points for the placement of ESM and tactical communications intelligence ( TACOMINT ) antennae, the auxiliary mast is installed above the main mast from a position posterior to the search radar.    

In order to minimise EMI between the various installations, the electronic experts at DSO National Laboratories determined that there was a necessity for the ESM and TACOMINT antennae to be placed concentric with the search radar's centre of rotation. Hence the naval architects engineered a customised slanted auxiliary mast with carefully calculated lengths and slant angles to place the antennae directly above the rotating radar. The auxiliary mast was constructed using materials with the desirable mechanical strength, rigidity and fatigue lifespan to hold not only these antennae and their connecting cables but also the navigation radar.

With the SLEP, much of the original mast mounted equipment have been upgraded or replaced and the legacy EMI considerations no longer existed. The auxiliary mast was therefore straightened, leading to a more normal appearance. Thus looking at the numerous MCV photos, the alignment of the auxiliary mast gives immediate information whether it was a pre or post SLEP ship. 



Pre-SLEP RSS Vigour with slanted auxiliary mast



C Band Surveillance Radar



Larger warships such as destroyers and frigates tend to have their primary surveillance radars operating at the lower frequencies of S Band or L Band for superior detection range. However these lower frequency radars require large ( and therefore heavy ) antennae in order to achieve better angular resolution. As physical size and weight are major limiting factors for many naval applications on small vessels, the C Band surveillance radar system selected for the MCV is a calculated compromise between range and resolution within the loading constrains imposed on the main mast. 

The MCVs were originally equipped with the Ericsson ( now SAAB ) Sea Giraffe 150HC operating in C Band ( NATO G/H Band ) as their main air and surface search radar. It was a small, medium ranged 2D naval radar that is suitable for installation on small surface combatants. It is said to have a maximum instrumented detection range of 130km against fighter aircraft and 7km against very small, stealthy airborne targets.

With the SLEP, the corvettes had their radar system upgraded to the SAAB Sea Giraffe AMB ( Agile Multi-Beam ) which is an advanced 3D active phase array radar operating in the same G/H Band ( old IEEE nomenclature C Band ) between 5.4GHz to 5.9GHz. This multi-role, medium range surveillance radar has a high update rate and is optimised for detecting small air and surface targets, including sea-skimming missiles, in all kinds of environment including the littorals. The instrumented rage of the Sea Giraffe AMB is 180km. 


Post-SLEP RSS Valiant with Sea Giraffe AMB atop main mast.
Note straight auxiliary mast. Photo : Mindef


The Fish



Another unique feature of the Victory-class MCV was the presence of a white ovoid structure with fins at the stern. This was the Thomson Sintra TSM 2064 variable depth sonar ( VDS ) used to detect submarines a.k.a. the Fish. It can be deployed in either active or passive listening modes and was designed to be effective for shallow littoral waters. As the name implies, the VDS can be deployed at different depths beneath the ocean to penetrate different thermal and salinity layers, something which a hull-mounted sonar cannot do.

The naval architects had already done simulations and determined that hull-mounted sonars were not compatible with the hull form and operational profile of the MCV. Fortunately the TSM 2064 is small and light enough to be installed onboard small vessels like the MCV. The Victory-class corvettes are probably among the smallest ships equipped with VDS.

Together with its triple barrel torpedo launchers, the VDS was central to the anti-submarine capability of the MCV. 

Note that the Fish and the torpedo launchers were removed during the SLEP of the MCV between 2011 - 2013, taking away the ASW capabilities of the corvettes. Instead, the MCV gain a new capability in the form of the ScanEagle UAV.



RSS Vengeance with VDS at the stern during Ex Kakadu 2008.
Image : Royal Australian Navy


Unmanned Aerial Vehicles



It might surprise you but the naval architects had made design provisions for the MCV to operate unmanned rotary aircrafts. However, those provisions were not activated as the UAV technology was not mature enough then to produce viable candidates for deployment on a small naval platform like the MCV. One hurdle was the very low reliability of the unmanned rotary system, with very short mean time between failure. Another issue was the prohibitive cost involved in implementing a then immature technology. So it wasn't until early 2009 that ship-based trials with the ScanEagle UAV were successfully conducted on the flight decks of RSN's LST and frigate. Only upon completion of the MCV's life extension program between 2011 and 2013 did we see the addition of the UAV capability to the corvettes.

The ScanEagle is a small, long endurance, low altitude UAV derived from the SeaScan UAV originally used by commercial fishermen to track schools of tuna. It has a wing-span of 3.1m, a length of 1.6m and weighs about 20kg. Its cruising speed is around 55 knots. It has a maximum range of more than 100km and an endurance of about 20 hours. Its service ceiling is about 16000ft. The UAV requires no flight deck or runway and is instead launched by a catapult and recovered by a proprietary SkyHook retrieval system.




The ScanEagle on its launcher on the aft deck of the MCV
flanked on both sides by 8 cell Barak VLS. Photo : RSN
 




Initially a land-based commercial off-the-shelf UAV system, even when adapted for naval use, the ScanEagle is usually deployed on the wide flight deck of large vessels such as frigates and never on smaller vessels the size of the MCV. The MCV never had a flight deck to start off with and its confined aft deck area had to support different activities including missile firing, sea boat launch and recovery, and mooring operations. Installing the ScanEagle launcher in its original configuration would have taken up too much space and would have prevented the undertaking of other deck activities. Instead, the naval engineers of the DSO National Laboratories came up with the idea of a modified launcher mounted on a customized turntable. Controlled rotation of the launcher would create an optimized UAV launch envelop while stowing it when not in use would create the necessary clearances for the firing of the Barak missiles and other deck operations. UAV operations can be conducted even under high sea state conditions as the turntable launcher is always firmly secured to the ship deck even when rotating. This innovative launch system also reduces the launch preparation time by 90% and can be operated by just a single ship crew instead of the usual three man team.




ScanEagle recovery with the SkyHook onboard RSS Valour.
RSN Photo.




Similarly, the SkyHook arrestor system for the recovery of the UAV had also been specially modified for the MCV. It would normally occupy an area of 25m2 but was re-engineered to be extendable for recovery operations and retractable for stowage with a reduced footprint of just 10m2. Despite this, the lack of open space on the aft deck still required the modification of the ScanEagle's flight path to be at an angle to the ship during retrieval in order to minimise safety risks. The SkyHook is mounted on the starboard side of the corvette close to when the torpedo launchers once stood.

The significance of the ScanEagle UAV is that it gives the MCV a surveillance capability that is organic to the ship, thus drastically increasing the situation awareness level of the ship crew. Flying ahead of the ship, the UAV provides, among other things, live video feeds of its surroundings. The ship therefore no longer needs to solely rely on the maritime patrol aircraft or third party inputs for information on its immediate threat environment and target coordinates. The ScanEagle can instead be deployed as long as weather conditions permit. It will allow the MCV to maintain its over-the-horizon surveillance and targeting capabilities even when operating far away from its home base, out of range of any supporting MPA.


Maritime Patrol Aircraft



The Republic of Singapore Air Force acquired six Short SH-7 Skyvan in 1973 ( three 3M-400-15 and three 3M-400-16 variants ) and conducted the first airborne maritime surveillance operation in 1975. Although the Harpoon AShM of the MCV is said to give it a beyond the horizon strike capability, the shipboard radar does not have that over-the-horizon detection range. In order to fully harness the long range strike capability of the Harpoon, the MCV needs help from maritime patrol aircraft to provide it with target coordinates. The MCV is therefore designed to work with the RSAF's Skyvan MPA and later its replacement, the Fokker F-50 Enforcer MPA, by means of secure digital communication and data link. 



Short SH-7 Skyvan Maritime Patrol Aircaft.
Photo : RSAF


RSAF 121 Squadron Fokker F-50 Enforcer MPA
Photo : Jun You via Jetphoto




Airborne Early Warning Aircraft



The MCVs were also upgraded to link up with the now retired E-2C Hawkeye AEW. The APS-138 surveillance radar of the E-2C provides automatic detection and tracking of targets over water and over land up to 200 nautical miles ( 360km ) which is much further than the detection range of the mast-mounted Sea Giraffe 150HC or even the Sea Giraffe AMB air and surface search radar of the MCV. The E-2C has now been replaced by the Gulfstream G550 CAEW.   


Harpoon Missiles



The MCV's 2 deck-mounted MK-141 quad Harpoon canister launchers pack a total of 8 RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles which are capable of hitting ships beyond the horizon, up to 70 nautical miles away. The Harpoon AShM was selected for the RSN's MGB upgrade as well as the MCV project. They are probably the RGM-84D ( Block 1C ) version which was state-of-the-art during the late eighties. It uses inertial guidance mid-course and active radar homing for terminal guidance. A direct hit by a single missile could cripple a medium sized surface combatant such as a frigate and 2 or 3 hits would probably sink it. After three decades in service, the Harpoon launchers still adorns the decks of the MCV with no plans to replace them. 

MCV Harpoon missile firing. Photo : Mindef





Barak Missiles



The Barak missile of Israeli origin can be used against low flying aircraft and also as point defense against incoming missiles and projectiles. They are launched from 2 banks of 8-cell vertical launch unit located at the aft deck. The missile has a minimum effective range of 500m and maximum effective range of 10 - 12km. The Barak is a low cost, low maintenance air defense system and comes with its own set of fire control radar and optronic directors which can be seen mounted on the roof above the bridge of the MCV. It provides the ship with an automated, all-weather, 360 degree azimuth anti-missile capability.

The Barak system was still in development when the MCVs were commissioned in 1990 but provisions had been made by the naval architects for the installation of a hard-kill point defense system. Singapore was said to have actively participated in the joint development of the Barak system with IAI and Rafael. It was specially tailored for small ships and the RSN's unique operating environment. The Barak system was eventually acquired by the RSN in 1996 and retrofitted on all six corvettes. The first successful firing of the Barak missile by the RSN took place on 10th Sep 1997 in the South China Sea. Launched from RSS Valour, a Barak missile successfully intercepted an airborne target simulating a modern sea-skimming missile in both size and speed at a range of 6km.



Barak missile launch by RSS Vigour during Ex Simbex 2018
Photo : RSN




Oto Melara Main Gun



The Oto Melara Super Rapid 76mm 62 caliber naval gun is probably the biggest caliber a small ship can accommodate. It is compact enough not to require too much space below deck for installation. Not surprisingly, many navies have adopted the Oto Melara 76mm in its various forms on their small vessels. The Super Rapid has a firing rate of 120 rounds per minute and is effective against air and surface targets up to 16km away. Depending on the ammunition used, it may even be effective for short range point defense against missiles. Although it has a very high rate of fire, in practice the Super Rapid is frequently fired in short burst of three rounds. On the MCV the Oto Melara is mounted on the foredeck immediately in front of the bridge and any live firing is guaranteed to be a smoky and noisy affair.


Oto Melara 76mm Super Rapid on RSS Valour
Photo : Wikipedia


The muzzle cover of the 76mm Oto Melara Main Gun
Photo : Mindef


Rotating magazine of the Oto Melara 76mm seen below deck 
of a Formidable-class frigate. Photo : RSN



Torpedoes



Before the SLEP the corvettes had the Whitehead Alenia A244-S Mod 1 torpedo for use against submarines. These 324mm light weight torpedoes are stored and launched from two EuroTorp B515 triple tube launchers mounted on the deck of the MCV aft of the Harpoon missile canisters. They have a maximum range of 6000m and can reach a max depth of 600m, which is a lot deeper than the regional waters around Singapore. It has a maximum speed of 30 knots and has both active and passive acoustic homing capabilities. Their removal during the SLEP signaled the end of ASW operations for the MCV. This role was transferred to the Formidable-class stealth frigates, RSN next generation surface combatant.


Whitehead Alenia A244S torpedo.
Photo : Leonardo




Heavy Machine Guns



Four CIS 12.7mm ( 0.5inch ) heavy machine guns are mounted along the bridge wing to guard against small crafts, swimmers and anything that is close enough but not worth expanding a shell or missile on. 



CIS 12.7mm HMG on the bridge wing of RSS Valiant.
Photo : RSN


Complement



The MCV's complement of 46 includes 7 to 8 officers - commanding officer, executive officer, operations officer, navigation officer, communications officer, weapon electronics officer, marine engineer officer and occasionally an auxiliary officer. The medical officer is not part of the ship's peacetime complement. 

Since 2015 the RSN has began the deployment of reservist naval officers and ratings to fill every post on some of the MCVs. At least two teams had been created and both had achieved operational readiness status. They are held to the same high standards expected of their regular counterparts.



The bridge of RSS Valour during an encounter exercise with
 the Australian Navy, Ex Singaroo 2020. Photo : RSN



The multi-function ward room where visitors can be received
and officers can have their meals and discussions. Photo : RSN 



Longest Serving Ship Class In The RSN



Commissioned 30 years ago, the MCVs currently reign as the longest serving class of ships in the RSN. They are not the oldest vessels still in active service though. That honour probably goes to the Challenger-class submarines which were originally commissioned by the Swedish Navy in 1968 and 1969. 


The Fastest Ship In The RSN



Powered by 4 MTU 16V 538 TB93 Diesels the MCV has a top speed " in excess of 30 knots " in the usually vague and non-committal MINDEF speak. It currently holds the crown for the fastest class of ship within the RSN. Only the Sea Wolf-class missile gunboat was faster but they have all been decommissioned in 2008. 

When the corvette is at speed these German diesels produce a high pitch whine that is almost soothing to the ears, like a lullaby, so long as you are not in the engine room. The capability of performing high speed dashes is central to the " sprint and drift " tactic used in ASW operations but is probably most appreciated by all onboard during the return leg of an extended sea deployment. Frequently the MCV will be the first vessel type to reach home waters after the conclusion of a large scale naval exercise that involves multiple ship classes, like Exercise Starfish under the Five Power Defense Arrangement.


The cramped engine room with MTU diesels. Photo : Mindef


Best Ship Award


In the past 30 years since their commissioning, the MCVs clinched a total of 16 awards in the annual Singapore Armed Forces Best Unit Competition. RSS Vigour, the winner of this year's Best Fleet Unit Award, accounted for a quarter of these with a total of four awards so far.



RSS Vigour proudly wears the Battle Effectiveness big E logo.
Photo : Mindef



Ship Life Extension Program



The SLEP extends the operational lifespan of the corvettes and through the introduction of advanced surveillance, communications, as well as command and control systems, also allows them to be incorporated into the Integrated Knowledge-based Command and Control ( IKC2 ) capabilities of the third generation Singapore Armed Forces. First made public in 2009, the MCV SLEP was completed by September 2013 with RSS Valour being the final ship that was upgraded. 

Though the corvettes lost their anti-submarine role with the removal of the torpedo launchers and the variable depth sonar, they gained a new capability in the form of the ScanEagle UAV. The search radar was upgraded from the Sea Giraffe 150HC to the Sea Giraffe AMB. These changes enhanced the corvette's surveillance capabilities and allowed them to " see further ".

The combat management system ( CMS ) was also revamped with a customised solution that helps the Combat Information Centre ( CIC ) team to make faster and more effective decisions. Indigenously developed by the Defense Science Technology Agency ( DSTA ) and DSO National Laboratories, the CMS has a decision support engine for data fusion, identification and threat evaluation to allow the ship crew to quickly and accurately grasp the tactical situation around the corvette. The upgraded CMS utilizes ethernet LAN instead of serial links of the legacy CMS and this broader bandwidth allows it to handle significantly more tracks and transfer data at higher speeds. It enhances the depth and the timeliness of the information presented to the ship's command team. The capabilities of this enhanced MCV CMS is said to be on par with those installed on RSN's Formidable-class stealth frigates, not at all surprising since the CMS of both ship classes are designed by the same people!


RSS Vengeance high and dry at Changi Naval Base during IMDEX 2019. 
Seldom does one get to see the keel. Photo : MDC



RSS Vengeance, RSS Victory and the stern of RSS Stalwart
during IMDEX 2019. Photo : MDC


Changi Naval Base day before IMDEX 2019
The crooked ships and wharf are artifacts


An enlarged image of the above.






The Last Leg



If anything this article should have illustrated how much thought and detailed planning had gone into the missile corvette project from the initial conceptualization to acquisition, construction and henceforth just so that these tiny warships can achieve their greatest efficiency and always remain relevant to the Singapore Navy. 

However, after 30 years of service with the RSN, the MCVs are beginning to face obsolescence even with the SLEP. Parts and components become harder to procure as time progresses and the cost of maintenance increases exponentially as the ship ages. There is also only so much that a non-stealthy old hull can be upgraded given physical and electrical limitations. Originally planned to be phased out in 2025, the COVID-19 pandemic probably brought the MCVs some reprieve as their retirement has now been postponed to 2030. This new deadline will probably represent the final extension of service as the SLEP upgrades were projected to last for a maximum of 20 years, at most. The corvettes will eventually be replaced by the multi-role combat vessel ( MRCV ), a yet-to-be-revealed design featuring stealth technology and the capability to be a mothership of sorts to airborne, surface and sub-surface unmanned platforms. Until then, the MCVs will continue to protect the vital SLOC which connects Singapore to the rest of the globe. Bravo Zulu to all from the 188 Squadron, past and present, for a job well done!