Prince of Wales sailed. On 21 October, the Admiralty informed relevant naval commands that the battleship was on route to Singapore. Once Force G sailed, the Admiralty sought to expedite the transit. On 6 November, Phillips expected to stay in Cape Town for seven days, and arrive at Singapore on 13 December. On 11 November, the Admiralty formally ordered Prince of Wales to combine with Repulse at Ceylon before proceeding to Singapore. The orders also suggested - with reservations from Churchill - that the battleship might abandon its escort in the interest of speed; consequently, Force G remained in Cape Town for only two days. Up to 5 October, Churchill still believed the decision to move Prince of Wales beyond Cape Town was still under review, and accepted Pound's advice and decisions; Churchill was unaware that the Admiralty had readopted an offensive stance the previous October. British plans to provide media coverage of the arrival of Force G at Cape Town for propaganda and deterrence were disrupted by the shortened duration of the visit. Interviews of ships crew and visits by photographers were cancelled. Japanese diplomats reported the visit on 19 November; thereafter the Japanese expected Prince of Wales to arrive at Singapore at the end of November. Force G departed Cape Town on the afternoon of 18 November. It refuelled at Mauritius and Port T, Addu Atoll on the journey eastwards. It arrived at Ceylon on 29 November and was joined by Repulse, and the destroyers and ; the destroyers were transfers from the Mediterranean Fleet. Phillips disembarked and flew ahead to Singapore to meet with local commanders; on 4 December he also flew to the Philippines to meet with American commanders. Force G finally arrived at Singapore on 2 December and was redesignated to Force Z on 8 December at the outbreak of war. Final deployment and loss Phillips ordered Force Z to sortie on 8 December against Japanese amphibious landings on Malaya in the Gulf of Thailand. Encounter and Jupiter were out of action with defects and were replaced by the First World War destroyers and . Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk by Japanese aircraft on 10 December 1941, becoming the first capital ships moving at sea to be sunk solely by enemy aircraft. British air forces in Malaya were insufficient to provide air cover to Force Z. Poor pre-war forecasts of Japanese intentions caused