 Prince of Wales and Repulse were the first capital ships to be sunk solely by naval air power on the open sea ( albeit by land @-@ based rather than carrier @-@ based aircraft ) , a harbinger of the diminishing role this class of ships was to play in naval warfare thereafter . It is often pointed out , however , that a contributing factor to the sinking of Prince of Wales was her surface @-@ scanning radar being inoperable , depriving Force Z of one of its most potent early @-@ warning devices and the early critical damage she sustained from the first torpedo . Another factor which led to Prince of Wales 's demise was the additional loss of dynamos , depriving Prince of Wales of many of her pumps . Further electrical failures left parts of the ship in total darkness and added to the difficulties of her damage repair parties as they attempted to counter the flooding . The sinking was the subject of an inquiry chaired by Mr. Justice Bucknill , but the true causes of the ship 's loss were only established when divers examined the wreck after the war . The Director of Naval Construction 's report on the sinking claimed that the ship 's anti @-@ aircraft guns could have " inflicted heavy casualties before torpedoes were dropped , if not preventing the successful conclusion of attack had crews been more adequately trained in their operation . 
