Force Z was the name given to the British battlefleet that sailed to Singapore in the Autumn of 1941. Churchill himself described it as 'the best deterrent' and 'the one key weapon' that would prevent the Japanese gaining a foothold in the South Pacific. But behind the impressive name lay a less impressive reality - Force Z consisted of only two ships: the battleship Prince of Wales and the twenty-five year old cruiser Repulse. In a time when the days of the battleship as an effective weapon in maritime warfare were numbered, such an action proved to be a terrible mistake. This book traces the history behind this tragic bluff. From the end of the First World War to the inevitable sinking of these two ships, it is a comprehensive history of the decline of the battleship in modern warfare, culminating in the battle that proved finally that a navy without air cover could not survive as an effective fighting force.

Richard Hough served in Fighter Command for the R.A.F. from 1940-1945. After the war he began writing books on naval history. Other titles include The Fleet that had to Die and Naval Battles of the Twentieth Century.