British Battleship Prince of Wales

The British battleship Prince of Wales was the second vessel of the King George V class.
Soon after her completion in March 1941, she was involved in the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck.
In October she was sent to Southeast Asia to fortify the important British post of Singapore.
However, her short career of only nine months came to a dramatic end when she was intercepted by Japanese bombers in the so-called Battle of Malaya.
 On 8 December, after the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor, the Prince of Wales left Singapore after receiving news that Japanese troops had begun landing in Malaya.
The British Southeast Asia Fleet under Admiral Philips, including the Prince of Wales, intended to meet the enemy at 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 on the morning of 10 December, the Prince of Wales was spotted by a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft.
Soon after, she was attacked and badly damaged by Japanese Type 96 "Nell" and Type 1 "Betty" attack bombers.
With her speed reduced, she was caught in waves of aircraft attacks until she exploded and sank stern first.

Plastic model kit

• also includes the Japanese attack bombers Type 96 "Nell" and Type 1 "Betty"

Scale 1:700

unbuilt / unpainted