Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "USS Milwaukee - Guide 344" video.

@biggiouschinnus7489 my hunch is, even if Force Z had more escorts, even if Force Z had air cover, the Japanese aircraft would have kept beating on PoW and Repulse until they sank. Articles on the action note that, when word of the sinking of the British ships reached the bases in Indochina, another wave was preparing to attack the ships.
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@nowthenzen agreed. If PoW had made it to drydock, that would have been in Singapore, which fell in February 42. iirc, she was too big for the docks on Cockatoo Island.
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