Ongoing illegal salvage of the HMS Prince Of Wales as of October 2014. Prop shafts are being removed and grates blown off to access engine rooms on this WW2 war grave.
To do that you need to catch them in the act, difficult because many of them are locals familiar with the waters and WILL protect each other by refusing to cooperate with authorities and outsiders.
@@ronclark9724 Those ships belonged to fucking colonial imperialist countries who only steal Malayan and Indonesian resources So you should not be surprised that locals have no sentiment for their former "white masters"They die only for things like "Malaya will always be British" or "Indonesia forever be Dutch"
@@JohnSmith-mb8hiso your saying that taking someone grave that they stood and fought for, should be salvaged because of there background and your financial aid?? Ask me this, if your people fought a war and many died in a ship doing so, would you cared to protect the wrecks?? Id probably say that as a no, you kind of people have no respect to one another for a war that they fought for there own country even if there different sides, people like you are the type of person willing to dig up a war grave just to get an extra buck out of your ass, as your grandpa wouldve rolled over his grave if he had his grave being vandalised.
This kind of a-holes completely destroyed the wrecks of two Dutch cruisers in the Java Sea. They guillotined through those hulls as if they weren’t war graves. Scandalous behaviour! I hope the ghosts of those brave seaman that died in those ships will haunt them forever!
@@lewisparker4488 you have to remember the people on the titanic were meant to die so why not remember them saving all the artefacts, at war you could die so it’s different
@Nun o Yo business for years the British had the market cornered on that as they raided the wrecks of the WW1 high seas fleet in Scapa Flow for all the low radiation steel they could get. Was not too long ago the brits finally classed the wrecks as no touching anymore
@bass & pickrel slayer low radiation steel is steel that was made prior to The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the detonation of the first atomic war heads. That radiation has seeped into the minerals needed for steel. Henceforth it’s unusable for radiation meters. Radiation meters rely on low radiation steel to give effective readings
@@matthewcaughey8898There is a crucial difference here. Ships sunk in battle are war graves. The German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow had surrendered and the war had been over for months. The German sailors voluntarily scuttled their own ships and there were no casualties due to wartime combat. The ships are not war graves, and salvaging non-radiated metal from them for scientific instruments used all over the world was not a crime, nor was it a travesty perpetrated against the graves of sailors killed in combat.
Don't worry people no one will do anything the people that can protect this ship and the graves do not care it's all about money as usual God bless the rn
Real divers have got this in hand reliable sources in koh tao say its been seeded with a lil surprise and strung in barbed wire. Whoever done this i hope they all get a gas error and severe dcs
@@matthewcaughey8898 wreck salvage was kinda started in thailand in 2005 they thought once they had found their lost sub everyone would forget about them. They didnt now they are all doing it in the hope of the same glory.
Knee jerk reaction but if these countries who's waters theses graves sit in cant stop this maybe we should stop our overseas aid or withdraw other support.
The HMS Prince of Wales was a King George V battleship of the British Royal Navy, built at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, England. He was involved in several key naval actions of World War II, such as the Battle of the Danish Strait against the German battleship Bismarck, convoy escort operations in the Mediterranean and his last combat and sinking in the Pacific Ocean in 1941. The first encounter between the Prince of Wales and the Germans occurred when he was still being conditioned in the dry dock, as he was the object of an air attack that caused him damage. He was fully involved in the battle against the German ships Bismarck and Prinz Eugen in the Battle of the Straits of Denmark, in which he managed to damage the first and force him to take the disastrous decision to return to port. The Prince of Wales suffered serious damage in this combat and had to return to the port of Rosyth to be repaired. The Prince of Wales was also the ship that transported Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the conference with the president of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt from which the Atlantic Charter came out. On October 25, 1941, he left for Singapore to join Force Z, a British naval detachment, and there he docked on December 2 with the rest of the force. At 2:11 on December 10, Force Z was sent to investigate the news about the landing of Japanese forces in Kuantan. Upon arriving there they found that the reports were false, and at 11:00 in the morning bombers and torpedo bombers from the Empire of Japan began a surprise attack on Force Z. In a second wave at 11:30 a number of torpedoes hit in the Prince of Wales on the port side, destroying the shaft of the external propeller. A third attack with torpedoes was developed against HMS Repulse, but he managed to avoid them all. A fourth attack of Mitsubishi G4M torpedo planes plunged the Repulse at 12:33. Six planes of this wave attacked the Prince of Wales and managed to touch him with four torpedoes that caused flooding in the English ship. Finally, a 500-kg bomb hit the platform of the catapult, penetrated through the main deck and exploded, bursting the port side of the Prince of Wales. At 13:15 the order was given to leave the ship and only five minutes later the British battleship sank. Admiral Tom Phillips and Captain John Leach were among the 327 victims of the sinking.
Titanic is a great example (though not a warship) or if you want a very deep ship, the Sammy B is a great example. Almost untouched is the Sammy B due to how deep it lies
Shes seen the loss of some of her crew, they protected her till the bitter end. Let her rest, shes seen enough of this world the last thing she wants to see is someone cutting her up for greed.
This breaks my heart. This is a War Grave. I don’t care that people wanted to sell the precious metals. I don’t care if even poor people wanted to sell the precious metals. The memory of these men and the knowledge of how they died is precious. Something must be done to protect this wreck
They died defending predatory empires who were far away from their own territories and jurisdictions exploiting the locals, occupying their land and stealing their natural riches so there is nothing glorious about their demise.
Sadly, this has happened with many sunken warships in the Pacific. Whole wrecks such as the 300 ft USS Perch submarine, the 329 ft HMS Encounter and the 574 ft HMS Exeter have disappeared from the sea bottom due to illegal salvaging.
All steel made before the first atomic bomb explosions is very valuable and necessary to the modern world. This is a logical consequence of the circumstances we’re in. If we hadn’t changed the chemistry of our atmosphere with nuclear explosions there would be far less incentive for people to illegally salvage these ships. Not justifying, just explaining for anyone curious why these wrecks are sought after.
Cover the entire wreck with old dangerous fishing nets. They might leave these war graves alone when a few of these thieves start getting tangled up and drowning.
I think I know a perfect solution to this dilemma. For all good principle and interests, all things considered, the resource extraction described here, (marine salvaging) MAY BE magnificently, properly, progressively legalized as an entirely new resource to people who N E E D it NOW, well-regulated and judiciously-taxed, done in a way that ALL parties are satisfied beyond imagined now, BUT BETTER! Here's how: War graves are nationally and internationally priceless, but must be managed reasonably, that's all, just reasonably; putting priority with the living people(s) there, . . . is one of the two horns of the dilemma. So, logically, "go between the horns", let REASON prevail and (somehow) de- and re-sanctify these wrecks, e.g., after 50 or 100 years, systematically, formally, scrupulously, in NEW ways to allow specific commercial salvage operations, with all historical, humane, legal priorities considered and met throughout such holy and sacred decommissions these blessed wrecks allowing BEST use of these STILL and otherwise precious resources - for everyone AND those most due such resources, devoted to the people resources. In my humble opinion, if any of these war-dead sailors' bodies remains, knowing what we know now, could VOTE for what to do with these shipwrecks, what would they do and say?! I think like ancestral parents, they'd be happy to help out, to do the right thing in tough times for noble humanity to survive and go on, n'est pas? So, here, we(stern civilizations, governments concerned nations) must timely reasonably adjust as such, that's all, and the solutions appear and abound just over the horizon of contemporary imagination.
This is of course not at all surprising behavior by the Chinese. Ethics and sportsmanship are not their national good traits. In fact, if there is $1 to be made in stealing something, even from deceased UK sailors, it would be the Chinese who would rather salvage steel from a war grave than just go dig up their own massive reserves of iron. Absolutely no sense of propriety in that entire country.
What "survivors"? They know the location and depth of the "free scrap metal" and will return once they get time off for "good behavior." They are Pirates! And dead crew tell no tales.
Who decides what's legal and illegal under the ocean? Personally, I don't see what's wrong with recycling any usable parts or metal from a ship wreck. Why just let it rust away? It won't make any difference to the long-dead people in the ship.
I see where you're coming from with recycling the metal, but that ship is the grave of 327 men. By gutting the ship like that, they are graverobbing. We don't do that to our cemeteries. That's what those people are doing there. If it lost no one in its sinking, it'd be a different story. However that ship is a cemetery and should not be disturbed.
They should be using Satellites to monitor the sites for Barge activity, in the case of Prince of Wales the same Chinese barge has been salvaging it illegally has been spotted over the site four times and detained twice, Yet nothing can be done about it, Malaysia is thinking about turning into a Special Admin Nature Area giving it more protection from the Pirates
@@normfreilinger5655 How about a sign reading, " All grave robbers will be put to death !! No exceptions!" And then enforce it. GUARANTEED to stop ✋all war grave robbing.
Why attract the attention of nearby officials? (They may be in on it or "take a cut.) Attach World War II-type Limpet mines as the "scrap metal pirates" head out to sea. Their sudden disappearance will just be another "nautical mystery,"
@@Otokichi786 We could assign it as a new "U.N Fleet " that operate under international law, which means they can legally sink pirates. But your idea is pretty cool.
What makes me angry is why were these 2 vessels had no escorts or spotter aircraft deployed. R I P all those souls ,plus the the rest who were sacrificed during the surrender of Singapore. It seems the Siamese Border guards were preventing British forces entering trying to get to Songkhla and disrupt the Nippon invaders. Looking at all those graves near the river Kwai ,makes me sad and very angry .
After seing this again i think i have an idea to save the wargraves from these dirtbags. They should place on every ship above the water a signal buoy who's signals are sendet via Satelite to the coast guard in that area,where one of these graves are lying on the ground.So if somebody try to remove pieces or what ever,they could be alarmed by that and they could catch them. Plus there should be a warning at the signal buoy,that if they catch them in action,that they will sink every pirate ship from the air or water if they catch them in action. I think they only interestet in the areas where the ships,are not to deep in the ground. The also should do that for the Hms Hood,even if its pretty deep,but you never know.They should ask the guy who saved the Bell of the Hood.I think his got the money and tools and knowledge to do such a thing.It is just an idea,but i think this could be done.However. May all those souls who lost their lifes in the sea during world war one and two rest in peace♾⚓🔔🙏🚢🕯
I would dearly find the scrum who did this, better to find the one who have the orders who have the word and see how long they can hold their breath. BZ shipmates, we will always remember yo u. Safe hearts and clear waters, we will always remember you shipmates.
Dear Jez Whitaker , I am make a video for HMS Prince of Wales model unbox , I want to talk about some people robbed this War Grave , can I use your video in my video?
It would creep me out knowing that the fish would dine on my body if I as to go down with a ship. And of all the ways to die drowning is what I fear most.
The only way to stop illegal salvage is to make it unprofitable. To do that, the Royal Navy would actually have to sink the salvage ships (after removing their crews at gunpoint) just like they would do with a Somali pirate mothership. But these salvagers aren't pirates, they aren't hurting anyone. And so the Malaysian government would be extremely unhappy with the UK if the RN started sinking Malaysian civilian ships and taking their crews prisoner, even if they were engaged in illegal salvage. They might even send their own warships out to protect them.
Remember how French secret service operatives sank the Greenpeace ship? Limpet mines on Pirate salvage ships would work as well. Nothing like having your barge or ship sink in open sea, far from land to act as a "financial disincentive."
Why are propeller shafts valuable? I understand a prop made of bronze is valuable but the shafts are just steel and they're really old to boot. It's not like they could be used on a new ship. Also, beyond stupid souvenirs like gauges or telegraphs, I don't see the point of getting into the engine room either. (Just to note; I completely agree with those people complaining about robbing a war grave, I just find the crime to be somewhat puzzling.)
The shafts were cast/machined pre-atomic age before the event of the first atomic tests, so the material is not radiated with radio activity. Hence that is also why the metal of the imperial german navy vessels sunk at scapa flow is also so valuable.
Let me get this straight. You think passing a 'law' in a western court trying to govern the waters off formally exploited European colonies is going to be taken seriously?
Wasn't it recent that an article has mentioned that much of this shipwreck had been smashed and flattened for it's steel in Geiger counters? Still a shame to desrepect the war dead.
HMS Prince of Wales was sunk by a Type 91 Long Lance Torpedo fired from only 500 meters away by a G4M bomber flying low to the ocean. . Of the 6 fired, one hit the area where the port shaft exited the hull. The explosion caused the shaft to spin wildly off center and then break off entangling the other port prop. The open shaftway was not watertight and the broken shaft flooded the aft end of the ship (engineering compartments). The ship sank due to design flaws that never anticipated an off center shaft incident.. The Japanese fighters were incredulous that the British never sent any fighter escort. The Ship was fairly new, only a year old, and its crew were not trained well enough in damage control. Poor Admiral Phillips. After taht the British Navy was aware what a great weapon the Japanese Torpedo was. An engineering marvel that used oxygen as its fuel, left hardly any wake and had a range of 40,000 meters.
Hardly “poor” damage control. The damage in the propeller shafts caused the ship to LOSE all power which means NO damage control and NO anti air guns. Then the ship started to lift and the guns they could turn manually couldn’t aim low enough to defend the ship anymore.
Its only illegal to scavenge wrecks from 1914. Its because they were in living memory of the families of the men who dies on them. Its unlikely that theres any human remains left on them due to all the fish and other creatures that would have scavenged inside the sunken ships. Whilst its upsetting if the ship is in open seas theres little that anyone can do to stop it as its outside territorial waters. The military vessels still belong to the UK govt so it requires them to take action to stop this from happening.
Praise those brave crews together with those in HMS Repulse! They sailed to stop Japan's advance in Malaysia, I admires their heroic voyage, their last voyage very much. It is like 'One Against All' strategy that was a predicted suicide mission, although they sunk without success. It was Winston Churchill's blunders! This one was definately one of his damn faults after battle of Gallipoli WW1!
Not exactly, you have to dive deep into the battle of Malaya to know who is at fault. I would like to say that it was the gross underestimate of the Japanese, lack of resources due to Britain being the only nation against the Nazi Menace, Tactical and Strategical blunders by the British war council in Malaya that was led by lieutenant General Arthur Percival that led to the defeat of malaya. Churchill had wanted more ships and even HMS indomitable to be there but the British admiralty didn't like that. So we could not say that it was entirely Churchill's fault.
@@yuchenji4759 Actually it was Admiral Sir Tom Phillip's fault because he didn't think he needed air cover and didn't request the RAF to provide air cover. The POW and the Repulse were the first capital ships ever sunk by aircraft while underway. Despite the fact that Billy Mitchell had managed to sink a couple of old WWI battleships at anchor, and the Brits made a lucky hit and disabled the Bismarck with a torpedo fired from an antiquated aircraft, many admirals of the time still did not believe they were vulnerable to air attack.
They don't respect the dead or religion... They have different beliefs... And laws... The sickest part of this is many of these people with different cultures wish to immigrate to the UK...
The bronze props and stern tube bushings are worth a lot in scrap, plus they think there are artifacts to be had. It's sick I know. But scum likes to make a buck! Hopefully someone will report illegal possession or trading!
Not us.Malaysian and singaporean helped british alot. King of Johore sponsored five BL 15 inch mk1 gun to defend singapore. Please read about Battle of Singapore our own version siege of Sevastopol, where Liutenant Adnan fought until his last breath just to delay japanese advance before British and Anzac could evacuate. The Vietnamese fisherman who salvage the war graves th-cam.com/video/FCQtZp9jFfQ/w-d-xo.html
My uncle was an officer on HMS Prince of Wales. I have the War Office telegram telling my grandmother he was a survivor. Gran told me as a kid that my uncle and others who survived...were on a ship bound for the UK....and that was also sunk. But i have never found any records of this event.
its a good thing some items are now being salvaged, items underwater are deteriorating fast and is doing no good under water so saving some items is probably for the best
You bastards dont understand do you? Everyone dies, everything deteriorates, but we enjoy, respect, and care for it while its here, and no one should use the terrible excuse of, "well, since you're not using it..." No! This is unforgivable. You cannot do whatever you feel like just because it makes sense to you, some one might think genocide is the best way to deal with overpopulation, but of course that's terrible and isn't the answer. This is the symbol and grave of men who actually did something with their lives instead of sitting back and looking after themselves.
OK. The dead in her are long long long gone. Even the bones. There's nothing left of them. Meanwhile the ship is crumbling too. In another sixty years even large structures will be reduced to almost nothing. The opportunity to retrieve items of historic value for the good of all and the detriment of none is fast going. There's a hundred kneejerk comments here about how sick this. is. Has anyone thought WHY it's sick? Who does it actually harm?
There are still human remains in them. When they are found they are taken ashore and buried in a mass grave. This has happened on several ships that have been plundered.
as anyone may read on wiki (german) about sinking HMS Prince of Wales: "One of the torpedoes hit the shaft pants of the port outer shaft, whereby the shaft, which was running at high speed, was torn from its bearings, which led to water ingress through the shaft tunnel and severe damage to the interior of the ship. The water flowing in through the destroyed shaft tunnel caused a strong list that made turning the anti-aircraft towers considerably more difficult. Due to the flooding of part of the generator rooms, the drive for half of the guns failed." (translated by google) Therefore, maybe no "illegal salvage" ...
If government wasn't making it so hard to make a living now a days ,... this would not be happening ! People are getting desperate ! I am not saying its right...
The issue is that Thailand has no connection to WW2 and for them it is simply a resource to be exploited, I think that the tragedy of the commons applies; If they did not do it, somebody else would!
I don’t agree with prohibition on looting old wrecks. Eventually the ocean will claim them. Anything that can be salvaged should be to anyone who can reach it.
try taking things off the USS Arizona dickhead and you can face a lengthy sentence stealing from US Property and a war grave. That is if the US Navy lets you live for tresspassing on a US Military Base. Pearl Harbor is an active Navy Base
What's the problem? They all became fish food along time ago. When their intentions were to make others into the same. plus it's getting rid of crap from the sea floor. I say crap, which is a slight contradiction as the steel on those second world war wrecks is not contaminated with radiation like todays materials. Except for low background steel. So there is good salvage money to be had.
Great job done by Japanese torpedo bombers in Nov 1941 in South China Sea. Prince of Wales had earlier managed to escape by launching smoke screen bombs ,in the Battle of Denmark Straits in May 1941 . The honour of sending HMS Prince of wales to the locker of Old Davy Jones was left for the Japanese.
The Tirpitz was salvaged as scrap. The Yanks salvaged some of the ships sunk at Pearl Harbour. I don't have problem with salvaging the remains of sunk ships. Those ships will all be remembered as they were not as they are now.
afe nijmeijer This is Illegal Salvage, if Malaysia Indonesia or Uk wanted to raise these ships they would, but they wanted to keep these wrecks as a war grave and nature pool for fishes, It’s not done by Nation states rather by greedy capitalists, Interested in making a profit for their billion dollar medical companies,Unless the Nation who owns it or is in its waters then they should remain as they are
Most of the ships that the Americans salvaged after Pearl Harbor were put back into service during World War Two. Only the ones too badly damaged ( such as the USS Arizona (turned into a war memorial )or the USS Oklahoma.
actually these ships where from WW2 the other ship Prince of wales was involved of the Battle of Denmark this is illegal salvaging and it is disrespectful thankfully they didn't destroy the 2 wrecks how ever they did steal parta from them
The ones who scrapped parts of it should get put in prison for doing this to a war grave.
Prison would be too nice as punishment for these bottom feeding vermin. Making shark food out of them would be a better punishment.
They are Chinese apparently
They need to have their ankles tied to concrete and drop them on the same spot in the ocean
shoot them when caught
@@JordZz1981 Well if they are let's hope they caught the virus and chocked to death on their own blood.
just sink the salvagers so they can feel the same as the Lost Crew feels when this Battleship sunks
To do that you need to catch them in the act, difficult because many of them are locals familiar with the waters and WILL protect each other by refusing to cooperate with authorities and outsiders.
Maybe someone with money could go out and mine the surviving largely-untouched wrecks so that the salvagers get an unpleasant surprise.
This is sickening,that was my gr uncles ship,he survived but I'm sure he'd hate to see what's happening to her.
At the very least the government should cease giving these nations any foreign aid.... Any....
@@ronclark9724 Those ships belonged to fucking colonial imperialist countries who only steal Malayan and Indonesian resources So you should not be surprised that locals have no sentiment for their former "white masters"They die only for things like "Malaya will always be British" or "Indonesia forever be Dutch"
@@JohnSmith-mb8hiso your saying that taking someone grave that they stood and fought for, should be salvaged because of there background and your financial aid?? Ask me this, if your people fought a war and many died in a ship doing so, would you cared to protect the wrecks?? Id probably say that as a no, you kind of people have no respect to one another for a war that they fought for there own country even if there different sides, people like you are the type of person willing to dig up a war grave just to get an extra buck out of your ass, as your grandpa wouldve rolled over his grave if he had his grave being vandalised.
@@sankyu3950 Man i am not supporting robing war graves just tells you local people perspective
@@JohnSmith-mb8hi Shoulda left them to fend for themselves against the Japanese then.
This kind of a-holes completely destroyed the wrecks of two Dutch cruisers in the Java Sea. They guillotined through those hulls as if they weren’t war graves. Scandalous behaviour! I hope the ghosts of those brave seaman that died in those ships will haunt them forever!
I know this video was shot over 4 years ago, and hopefully there hasn't been more damage from illegal salvagers.
Scavenging war graves like this is just wrong. We can be thankful that the vast majority of them lie in waters far to deep for this to happen.
Stuff is being stolen off the Titanic.
@@lewisparker4488 Yes, but very few have the money and resources to go after very deep wrecks.
@@lewisparker4488 you have to remember the people on the titanic were meant to die so why not remember them saving all the artefacts, at war you could die so it’s different
Yep, ONLY world empires are allowed to go around the world plundering and pillaging.
These thieves went for the bronze props - VERY valuable! - and the copper and brass in the engine and boiler rooms.
@Nun o Yo business for years the British had the market cornered on that as they raided the wrecks of the WW1 high seas fleet in Scapa Flow for all the low radiation steel they could get. Was not too long ago the brits finally classed the wrecks as no touching anymore
@bass & pickrel slayer low radiation steel is steel that was made prior to The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the detonation of the first atomic war heads. That radiation has seeped into the minerals needed for steel. Henceforth it’s unusable for radiation meters. Radiation meters rely on low radiation steel to give effective readings
@@matthewcaughey8898There is a crucial difference here. Ships sunk in battle are war graves. The German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow had surrendered and the war had been over for months. The German sailors voluntarily scuttled their own ships and there were no casualties due to wartime combat. The ships are not war graves, and salvaging non-radiated metal from them for scientific instruments used all over the world was not a crime, nor was it a travesty perpetrated against the graves of sailors killed in combat.
china again.see the link in comments
It's simple. The class of people and governments do not Respect any sacred anything! If money can be made. Screw it!
Don't worry people no one will do anything the people that can protect this ship and the graves do not care it's all about money as usual God bless the rn
Real divers have got this in hand reliable sources in koh tao say its been seeded with a lil surprise and strung in barbed wire. Whoever done this i hope they all get a gas error and severe dcs
Specially trained man eating giant groupers would solve the problem
@@matthewcaughey8898 wreck salvage was kinda started in thailand in 2005 they thought once they had found their lost sub everyone would forget about them. They didnt now they are all doing it in the hope of the same glory.
You wouldnt steal flowers from a headstone, how can you steal from a war grave?
Knee jerk reaction but if these countries who's waters theses graves sit in cant stop this maybe we should stop our overseas aid or withdraw other support.
Place Chernobyl reactor debris in the wreck. That would ruin the metal's salvage value.
The HMS Prince of Wales was a King George V battleship of the British Royal Navy, built at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, England. He was involved in several key naval actions of World War II, such as the Battle of the Danish Strait against the German battleship Bismarck, convoy escort operations in the Mediterranean and his last combat and sinking in the Pacific Ocean in 1941.
The first encounter between the Prince of Wales and the Germans occurred when he was still being conditioned in the dry dock, as he was the object of an air attack that caused him damage. He was fully involved in the battle against the German ships Bismarck and Prinz Eugen in the Battle of the Straits of Denmark, in which he managed to damage the first and force him to take the disastrous decision to return to port. The Prince of Wales suffered serious damage in this combat and had to return to the port of Rosyth to be repaired. The Prince of Wales was also the ship that transported Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the conference with the president of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt from which the Atlantic Charter came out.
On October 25, 1941, he left for Singapore to join Force Z, a British naval detachment, and there he docked on December 2 with the rest of the force. At 2:11 on December 10, Force Z was sent to investigate the news about the landing of Japanese forces in Kuantan. Upon arriving there they found that the reports were false, and at 11:00 in the morning bombers and torpedo bombers from the Empire of Japan began a surprise attack on Force Z. In a second wave at 11:30 a number of torpedoes hit in the Prince of Wales on the port side, destroying the shaft of the external propeller. A third attack with torpedoes was developed against HMS Repulse, but he managed to avoid them all. A fourth attack of Mitsubishi G4M torpedo planes plunged the Repulse at 12:33. Six planes of this wave attacked the Prince of Wales and managed to touch him with four torpedoes that caused flooding in the English ship. Finally, a 500-kg bomb hit the platform of the catapult, penetrated through the main deck and exploded, bursting the port side of the Prince of Wales. At 13:15 the order was given to leave the ship and only five minutes later the British battleship sank. Admiral Tom Phillips and Captain John Leach were among the 327 victims of the sinking.
Royal Navy ships are referred to as She,not He.
Tom Philips did say before leaving Singapore, “We are out looking for trouble. No doubt, we shall find it.” Ironic and sad...
Thanks for all the information. A very good report.
The only way to truly protect a war grave ship is to be sure the site is so deep that it’s impossible to access it without specialized equipment
Like the USS Johnston,she is at 20,409 feet down
like the USS Johnston sunk during the Battle Off Samar in October 1944,her wreck is 20,409 feet down
@@robertyoung3992 That noble ship earned her eternal rest by literally going through hell
Titanic is a great example (though not a warship) or if you want a very deep ship, the Sammy B is a great example. Almost untouched is the Sammy B due to how deep it lies
Shes seen the loss of some of her crew, they protected her till the bitter end. Let her rest, shes seen enough of this world the last thing she wants to see is someone cutting her up for greed.
For recycling, not greed.
@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 For MONEY. That is greed dickhead.
Should lay mines around the wreck sites with an English only warning lol
Disgusting. No respect anymore nowadays.
This breaks my heart. This is a War Grave. I don’t care that people wanted to sell the precious metals. I don’t care if even poor people wanted to sell the precious metals. The memory of these men and the knowledge of how they died is precious. Something must be done to protect this wreck
They died defending predatory empires who were far away from their own territories and jurisdictions exploiting the locals, occupying their land and stealing their natural riches so there is nothing glorious about their demise.
@@rubenoteiza9261 They were fighting a rival Empire trying to do the same
@@kell7195 Yep, so neither deserves any respect from the locals. My point.
well usa and uk-
steal gold from bottom of sea from galleosn from spain and portugal so what do you want???
Sadly, this has happened with many sunken warships in the Pacific. Whole wrecks such as the 300 ft USS Perch submarine, the 329 ft HMS Encounter and the 574 ft HMS Exeter have disappeared from the sea bottom due to illegal salvaging.
As well as the Dutch cruisers De Ruyter and Java
I think some were never there
@@vincebenson1215 Tell that to the families of the men who died on those ships.
the quation is whaya re they salvaging pile of garbage???
@@robertokandal Google "low background steel"
i cannot fathom how someone could morally allow something like this to happen, let alone commit such an act.
Starving people who see money laying around...
@@paulmorissette5863 fair point, but it still leaves a lingering foul taste in one's mouth.
best legendary ship even though prince of wales guns were jammed but it did critical hit on Bismarck
All steel made before the first atomic bomb explosions is very valuable and necessary to the modern world. This is a logical consequence of the circumstances we’re in. If we hadn’t changed the chemistry of our atmosphere with nuclear explosions there would be far less incentive for people to illegally salvage these ships.
Not justifying, just explaining for anyone curious why these wrecks are sought after.
Rip
A few anit personal mines and a bouuy would discourage divers
Cover the entire wreck with old dangerous fishing nets.
They might leave these war graves alone when a few of these thieves start getting tangled up and drowning.
Better yet seal the thieves inside the war grave ships so they die in there
This is just disgraceful! You can't do that to a war grave!
@jarrod yuki I think you need to understand what the crew did and how much they endured
Disgraceful the war dead must be left in peace
Thank goodness there was not a word of educational narration! Whew!
What goes around comes around....beware criminals, karma will catch up to you
I think I know a perfect solution to this dilemma. For all good principle and interests, all things considered, the resource extraction described here, (marine salvaging) MAY BE magnificently, properly, progressively legalized as an entirely new resource to people who N E E D it NOW, well-regulated and judiciously-taxed, done in a way that ALL parties are satisfied beyond imagined now, BUT BETTER!
Here's how: War graves are nationally and internationally priceless, but must be managed reasonably, that's all, just reasonably; putting priority with the living people(s) there, . . . is one of the two horns of the dilemma. So, logically, "go between the horns", let REASON prevail and (somehow) de- and re-sanctify these wrecks, e.g., after 50 or 100 years, systematically, formally, scrupulously, in NEW ways to allow specific commercial salvage operations, with all historical, humane, legal priorities considered and met throughout such holy and sacred decommissions these blessed wrecks allowing BEST use of these STILL and otherwise precious resources - for everyone AND those most due such resources, devoted to the people resources.
In my humble opinion, if any of these war-dead sailors' bodies remains, knowing what we know now, could VOTE for what to do with these shipwrecks, what would they do and say?! I think like ancestral parents, they'd be happy to help out, to do the right thing in tough times for noble humanity to survive and go on, n'est pas? So, here, we(stern civilizations, governments concerned nations) must timely reasonably adjust as such, that's all, and the solutions appear and abound just over the horizon of contemporary imagination.
This is of course not at all surprising behavior by the Chinese. Ethics and sportsmanship are not their national good traits. In fact, if there is $1 to be made in stealing something, even from deceased UK sailors, it would be the Chinese who would rather salvage steel from a war grave than just go dig up their own massive reserves of iron. Absolutely no sense of propriety in that entire country.
small explosive charge disable ship slowly sink it and charge survivors
What "survivors"? They know the location and depth of the "free scrap metal" and will return once they get time off for "good behavior." They are Pirates! And dead crew tell no tales.
My gr uncle served on price of Wales before bean transferred to HMS Hood he would be in tears.
Oof did he die in the battle of the Denmark strait?
This is a a disrespectful tragedy! GREED !!!
Who decides what's legal and illegal under the ocean? Personally, I don't see what's wrong with recycling any usable parts or metal from a ship wreck. Why just let it rust away? It won't make any difference to the long-dead people in the ship.
I see where you're coming from with recycling the metal, but that ship is the grave of 327 men. By gutting the ship like that, they are graverobbing. We don't do that to our cemeteries. That's what those people are doing there. If it lost no one in its sinking, it'd be a different story. However that ship is a cemetery and should not be disturbed.
That was "Blackbeard's boat". Thank God it's gone
Who else thinks maybe just maybe ,they were never there and something else happened?
That ships in the North Sea have been pillaged in degrees, make these distant warship graves, a target too tempting..
They should be using Satellites to monitor the sites for Barge activity, in the case of Prince of Wales the same Chinese barge has been salvaging it illegally has been spotted over the site four times and detained twice, Yet nothing can be done about it, Malaysia is thinking about turning into a Special Admin Nature Area giving it more protection from the Pirates
Hdhnswk You mean pass a law to make grave robbing illegal ? Oh that will work --NOT ! Post a sign around it saying ‘’No Trespassing’’ 🤨😡
@@normfreilinger5655 How about a sign reading, " All grave robbers will be put to death !! No exceptions!" And then enforce it. GUARANTEED to stop ✋all war grave robbing.
This is a war grave how dare they this is a bad as digging up a grave in a cemetery !!!!!!!!!!!
Its so disrespectful robbing parts from war graves they need to respect our lost souls that served to protect our country
so disgusting seeing these graves be destroy. these sunken ships are memorials to those who fallen.
Then the chinese came back again and illegaly salvage this shipwreck.
Ah, Foreign Johnnies - you've got to love 'em..........
Grave robbery!!! And it's been going on for years???
Effectively scrapped illegally?
This is really sad...
Dessecration of war grave...
put some underwater cams to watch the wreck so people can't rob these graves
The copper in the device your viewing may have come from here
Think about they alll were
need to remake prince of wales with radar we have now and engines to hunt these guys down and give them a full broadside into their puny ships
Build another "Force Z" and sink these bastards with guns, torpedos and bombs!
Why attract the attention of nearby officials? (They may be in on it or "take a cut.) Attach World War II-type Limpet mines as the "scrap metal pirates" head out to sea. Their sudden disappearance will just be another "nautical mystery,"
@@Otokichi786 We could assign it as a new "U.N Fleet " that operate under international law, which means they can legally sink pirates. But your idea is pretty cool.
And the world moves on....
Ever who did this should be locked up for at least 25 years for desecration
Shot on sight more like.💥
What makes me angry is why were these 2 vessels had no escorts or spotter aircraft deployed. R I P all those souls ,plus the the rest who were sacrificed during the surrender of Singapore. It seems the Siamese Border guards were preventing British forces entering trying to get to Songkhla and disrupt the Nippon invaders. Looking at all those graves near the river Kwai ,makes me sad and very angry .
William Carrington British empire was in big troubles in early 1942, she couldn't send any aircraft carriers to escort those two ships!
After seing this again i think i have an idea to save the wargraves from these dirtbags.
They should place on every ship above the water a signal buoy who's signals are sendet via Satelite to the coast guard in that area,where one of these graves are lying on the ground.So if somebody try to remove pieces or what ever,they could be alarmed by that and they could catch them.
Plus there should be a warning at the signal buoy,that if they catch them in action,that they will sink every pirate ship from the air or water if they catch them in action.
I think they only interestet in the areas where the ships,are not to deep in the ground.
The also should do that for the Hms Hood,even if its pretty deep,but you never know.They should ask the guy who saved the Bell of the Hood.I think his got the money and tools and knowledge to do such a thing.It is just an idea,but i think this could be done.However.
May all those souls who lost their lifes in the sea during world war one and two rest in peace♾⚓🔔🙏🚢🕯
I would dearly find the scrum who did this, better to find the one who have the orders who have the word and see how long they can hold their breath. BZ shipmates, we will always remember yo u. Safe hearts and clear waters, we will always remember you shipmates.
Dear Jez Whitaker , I am make a video for HMS Prince of Wales model unbox , I want to talk about some people robbed this War Grave , can I use your video in my video?
I suppose some method must be found to prevent these acts.
Booby-trap the wrecks and declare them off limits because of the dangers.
Isn't this a war grave?!
Yes and those monsters made by the devil have only money on their minds
This entire incident would make a great movie. Except it was real.
Is that oil still leaking from the wreck at 1.18 ?
It would creep me out knowing that the fish would dine on my body if I as to go down with a ship. And of all the ways to die drowning is what I fear most.
They need to be arrested and put in jail that's a war grave
Already lost hms Exeter
ko rõ tàu
Just have the UK take all the brass/copper and leave the wreck useless to the hunters for this material?
The only way to stop illegal salvage is to make it unprofitable. To do that, the Royal Navy would actually have to sink the salvage ships (after removing their crews at gunpoint) just like they would do with a Somali pirate mothership. But these salvagers aren't pirates, they aren't hurting anyone. And so the Malaysian government would be extremely unhappy with the UK if the RN started sinking Malaysian civilian ships and taking their crews prisoner, even if they were engaged in illegal salvage. They might even send their own warships out to protect them.
Remember how French secret service operatives sank the Greenpeace ship? Limpet mines on Pirate salvage ships would work as well. Nothing like having your barge or ship sink in open sea, far from land to act as a "financial disincentive."
they need to put hidden cams down there to catch the people doing this
and who is going to replace or charge the batteries down deep ?
they have cams on other wrecks so they can put them on these ships too
u boat.net has cams on sunken u boats
Why are propeller shafts valuable? I understand a prop made of bronze is valuable but the shafts are just steel and they're really old to boot. It's not like they could be used on a new ship. Also, beyond stupid souvenirs like gauges or telegraphs, I don't see the point of getting into the engine room either. (Just to note; I completely agree with those people complaining about robbing a war grave, I just find the crime to be somewhat puzzling.)
The shafts were cast/machined pre-atomic age before the event of the first atomic tests, so the material is not radiated with radio activity. Hence that is also why the metal of the imperial german navy vessels sunk at scapa flow is also so valuable.
Thanks for that information. It makes more sense to me now.
@TheCamshafter Yes Some of the Tirpitz's armour plate is used as the shielding for the first 'body scanner' in the UK in Cardiff
They had access to the schematics of the ship - and they knew where to look and how to get them. Well-organised and crafty criminals involved
scavengers...
Let me get this straight. You think passing a 'law' in a western court trying to govern the waters off formally exploited European colonies is going to be taken seriously?
Wasn't it recent that an article has mentioned that much of this shipwreck had been smashed and flattened for it's steel in Geiger counters?
Still a shame to desrepect the war dead.
HMS Prince of Wales was sunk by a Type 91 Long Lance Torpedo fired from only 500 meters away by a G4M bomber flying low to the ocean. . Of the 6 fired, one hit the area where the port shaft exited the hull. The explosion caused the shaft to spin wildly off center and then break off entangling the other port prop. The open shaftway was not watertight and the broken shaft flooded the aft end of the ship (engineering compartments). The ship sank due to design flaws that never anticipated an off center shaft incident.. The Japanese fighters were incredulous that the British never sent any fighter escort. The Ship was fairly new, only a year old, and its crew were not trained well enough in damage control. Poor Admiral Phillips. After taht the British Navy was aware what a great weapon the Japanese Torpedo was. An engineering marvel that used oxygen as its fuel, left hardly any wake and had a range of 40,000 meters.
Hardly “poor” damage control.
The damage in the propeller shafts caused the ship to LOSE all power which means NO damage control and NO anti air guns.
Then the ship started to lift and the guns they could turn manually couldn’t aim low enough to defend the ship anymore.
Drachinifel has a brilliantly narrated video all about the Type 91, it is well worth watching! 😀
This is Gross! Thailand should be held accountable for this and sanctioned!
Yes, let's go kill some people over some other people dead for dozens of years, just because they are recycling. Sounds legit.
i hate this too but its not Thailand its off Malaysia plus the robbers could've came from anywhere
Get your facts in order before you comment..its not in Thai waters.
China is likely the one who’s funding these operations.
@@MrSvenovitch Yes. Since they obviously have no respect for human dignity, then why should we show them any quarter? (Whoever “they” are)
Its only illegal to scavenge wrecks from 1914. Its because they were in living memory of the families of the men who dies on them. Its unlikely that theres any human remains left on them due to all the fish and other creatures that would have scavenged inside the sunken ships. Whilst its upsetting if the ship is in open seas theres little that anyone can do to stop it as its outside territorial waters. The military vessels still belong to the UK govt so it requires them to take action to stop this from happening.
Drew Jarman that ship still legally belongs to the UK. Therefore, it is illegal to remove any part of it without the UK Governments permission.
IT IS STILL A WAR GRAVE WEATHER REMAINS ARE STILL ON IT OR NOT
Praise those brave crews together with those in HMS Repulse! They sailed to stop Japan's advance in Malaysia, I admires their heroic voyage, their last voyage very much. It is like 'One Against All' strategy that was a predicted suicide mission, although they sunk without success. It was Winston Churchill's blunders! This one was definately one of his damn faults after battle of Gallipoli WW1!
Not exactly, you have to dive deep into the battle of Malaya to know who is at fault. I would like to say that it was the gross underestimate of the Japanese, lack of resources due to Britain being the only nation against the Nazi Menace, Tactical and Strategical blunders by the British war council in Malaya that was led by lieutenant General Arthur Percival that led to the defeat of malaya.
Churchill had wanted more ships and even HMS indomitable to be there but the British admiralty didn't like that. So we could not say that it was entirely Churchill's fault.
@@yuchenji4759 This is primarily the fault of the idiot Philips.
@@yuchenji4759 Actually it was Admiral Sir Tom Phillip's fault because he didn't think he needed air cover and didn't request the RAF to provide air cover. The POW and the Repulse were the first capital ships ever sunk by aircraft while underway. Despite the fact that Billy Mitchell had managed to sink a couple of old WWI battleships at anchor, and the Brits made a lucky hit and disabled the Bismarck with a torpedo fired from an antiquated aircraft, many admirals of the time still did not believe they were vulnerable to air attack.
How could someone do suck a thing to the people who helped saved your country from
They don't respect the dead or religion... They have different beliefs... And laws... The sickest part of this is many of these people with different cultures wish to immigrate to the UK...
The bronze props and stern tube bushings are worth a lot in scrap, plus they think there are artifacts to be had. It's sick I know. But scum likes to make a buck! Hopefully someone will report illegal possession or trading!
Not us.Malaysian and singaporean helped british alot. King of Johore sponsored five BL 15 inch mk1 gun to defend singapore. Please read about Battle of Singapore our own version siege of Sevastopol, where Liutenant Adnan fought until his last breath just to delay japanese advance before British and Anzac could evacuate. The Vietnamese fisherman who salvage the war graves th-cam.com/video/FCQtZp9jFfQ/w-d-xo.html
look mate in every race or religion theres always some retards screwing things up, don't get personal..
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/07/prince-charlesthanks-british-volunteers-saving-underwater-war/
There needs to be a police patrol vessel always there to stop this
I suggest you sell all you own and pay for it. Or let's take some old navy men's pension away. Or health care of children.
My uncle was an officer on HMS Prince of Wales. I have the War Office telegram telling my grandmother he was a survivor. Gran told me as a kid that my uncle and others who survived...were on a ship bound for the UK....and that was also sunk. But i have never found any records of this event.
Do you have the name of the ship your great uncle was sailing on to returnto the UK?
its a good thing some items are now being salvaged, items underwater are deteriorating fast and is doing no good under water so saving some items is probably for the best
You bastards dont understand do you? Everyone dies, everything deteriorates, but we enjoy, respect, and care for it while its here, and no one should use the terrible excuse of, "well, since you're not using it..." No! This is unforgivable. You cannot do whatever you feel like just because it makes sense to you, some one might think genocide is the best way to deal with overpopulation, but of course that's terrible and isn't the answer. This is the symbol and grave of men who actually did something with their lives instead of sitting back and looking after themselves.
OK. The dead in her are long long long gone. Even the bones. There's nothing left of them. Meanwhile the ship is crumbling too. In another sixty years even large structures will be reduced to almost nothing. The opportunity to retrieve items of historic value for the good of all and the detriment of none is fast going. There's a hundred kneejerk comments here about how sick this. is. Has anyone thought WHY it's sick? Who does it actually harm?
There are still human remains in them. When they are found they are taken ashore and buried in a mass grave. This has happened on several ships that have been plundered.
as anyone may read on wiki (german) about sinking HMS Prince of Wales:
"One of the torpedoes hit the shaft pants of the port outer shaft, whereby the shaft, which was running at high speed, was torn from its bearings, which led to water ingress through the shaft tunnel and severe damage to the interior of the ship. The water flowing in through the destroyed shaft tunnel caused a strong list that made turning the anti-aircraft towers considerably more difficult. Due to the flooding of part of the generator rooms, the drive for half of the guns failed." (translated by google)
Therefore, maybe no "illegal salvage" ...
If government wasn't making it so hard to make a living now a days ,... this would not be happening ! People are getting desperate ! I am not saying its right...
The issue is that Thailand has no connection to WW2 and for them it is simply a resource to be exploited, I think that the tragedy of the commons applies; If they did not do it, somebody else would!
why is it illegal ,just and old ship from a war ,
Sickening
good luck to them
A war grave. It was sent with no air cover and lost.
dig that stuff up....is not doing the dead any good!
I don’t agree with prohibition on looting old wrecks. Eventually the ocean will claim them. Anything that can be salvaged should be to anyone who can reach it.
You cannot scavenge from the wreck of the USS Arizona, anyone that tries will either be arrested or shot
@@robertyoung3992 the Arizona is a war grave, and still recent history. So, no, you shouldn’t be able to take things from her.
@@drjasper100 plus the US Navy would have something to say about it. since it's on Federal Property
@@drjasper100 Well…this is the same case here? The Prince of Wales was a warship that got sunk in 1941…
Nobody cares. Its just a heap of metal in the ocean.
Plenty of decent people care.
Yet you comment on this video scumbag
Like the USS Arizona asshole?
you're a moron
try taking things off the USS Arizona dickhead and you can face a lengthy sentence stealing from US Property and a war grave. That is if the US Navy lets you live for tresspassing on a US Military Base. Pearl Harbor is an active Navy Base
What's the problem? They all became fish food along time ago. When their intentions were to make others into the same. plus it's getting rid of crap from the sea floor. I say crap, which is a slight contradiction as the steel on those second world war wrecks is not contaminated with radiation like todays materials. Except for low background steel. So there is good salvage money to be had.
try this with the USS Arizona, and you'll be in jail
What if YOUR FATHER was on board 🤔and died there ??
@Teutonic knight Thank you for the compliment , never has anyone said such kind words to me.
@@robertyoung3992 Try it with what ? Was it an old trawler or something ?
@@jaybird1229 Yes , good point .
Great job done by Japanese torpedo bombers in Nov 1941 in South China Sea.
Prince of Wales had earlier managed to escape by launching smoke screen bombs ,in the Battle of Denmark Straits in May 1941 .
The honour of sending HMS Prince of wales to the locker of Old Davy Jones was left for the Japanese.
The Tirpitz was salvaged as scrap. The Yanks salvaged some of the ships sunk at Pearl Harbour. I don't have problem with salvaging the remains of sunk ships. Those ships will all be remembered as they were not as they are now.
afe nijmeijer This is Illegal Salvage, if Malaysia Indonesia or Uk wanted to raise these ships they would, but they wanted to keep these wrecks as a war grave and nature pool for fishes, It’s not done by Nation states rather by greedy capitalists, Interested in making a profit for their billion dollar medical companies,Unless the Nation who owns it or is in its waters then they should remain as they are
Most of the ships that the Americans salvaged after Pearl Harbor were put back into service during World War Two. Only the ones too badly damaged ( such as the USS Arizona (turned into a war memorial )or the USS Oklahoma.
yes the Navy salvaged guns and other things off of both the Oklahoma and Arizona as neither was useful any longer ,but the Navy is permitted
To use sone part of old sunken trash can never be illegal, ist´s just a way of recyling.
actually these ships where from WW2
the other ship Prince of wales was involved of the Battle of Denmark
this is illegal salvaging and it is disrespectful
thankfully they didn't destroy the 2 wrecks
how ever they did steal parta from them
Try this with the USS Arizona and you'll be dead
Pirates stealing from pirates! 😷👏👏👏
Capitalist greed has no respect for the deaths.
pagansforbreakfast no you knock it off
Chinese company doing the stealing: laughs in Communism