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A Piece of Naval History
The British Battleship Prince
of Wales was the second ship of the King George V class. Soon after her
completion in March 1941, she was involved in the historic hunt for the German
battleship Bismarck. In October she was deployed to South-East Asia to fortify
the important British post of Singapore. However, her short career of a mere 9
months came to a dramatic end when intercepted by Japanese bombers in what was
to be known as the "Battle of Malaya". Tamiya is proud to add the Prince of
Wales as she stood during this historic naval battle to our high quality Water
Line Series. Kit also features Japanese planes Type 96 "Nell" and Type 1 "Betty"
attack bombers for a complete set to accurately recreate battle scene.
Battle of Malaya
On December 8, following the
outbreak of the Pacific War, the Prince of Wales left Singapore after receiving
intelligence that Japanese troops had begun to land in Malaya. The British
Eastern Fleet under Admiral Philips, including the Prince of Wales, intended to
meet the enemy at the Kuantan and attack a Japanese convoy. However, the
intelligence was wrong and Kuantan was "as quiet as a rainy Sunday afternoon".
On her way back to Singapore in the morning of December 10, the Prince of Wales
was spotted by a Japanese scout plane. She was soon after attacked and badly
damaged by Japanese Type 96 "Nell" and Type 1 "Betty" attack bombers. With her
speed reduced, she came under waves of aircraft attacks, until she exploded and
sunk stern first.
Type 1 Attack Bomber "Betty"
An Imperial Japanese Navy
ground attack bomber delivered from 1940. Thanks to the dual mounted Mitsubishi
air-cooled 14 cylinder engines, she boasted a combat range of over 4,200km.
Widely used throughout the Pacific during WWII, she could carry a weapon's load
of up to 1,000kg.
Type 96 Attack Bomber "Nell"
Delivered since 1936, this
Imperial Japanese Navy plane boasted a maximum range exceeding 4,000km. With
dual mounted Mitsubishi air-cooled 14 cylinder engines, the "Nell" could carry a
weapon's load of up to 800kg.
About the Model
- Highly detailed 1/700 scale model of the
Prince of Wales.
- Overall length: 322mm
- Fine detailed weapons, including 35.6cm L45
- quadruple guns, dual-purpose 13.3cm twin
guns and 40mm Pom-Pom guns.
- Kit includes 1/700 scale Type 96 "Nell" (3
units) and Type 1 "Betty" (4 units) Japanese bombers.
- Stand and base is included to depict
Japanese fighter bombers in flight.
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