A Royal Navy for the Far East 1942 Onwards

[Siberia]

For the UK, the submarine flotilla wouldn't have been pulled from Singapore, giving much better reconnaissance of Japanese harbours.

Having the T class boats available is going to create some major changes as they were one of the main legs of what the UK was expecting to use to counter Japan. IIRC the Royal Navy some war games post-war to look at how things might have gone and it was not good for the Imperial Japanese Navy.

 

[EwenS]

Having the T class boats available is going to create some major changes as they were one of the main legs of what the UK was expecting to use to counter Japan. IIRC the Royal Navy some war games post-war to look at how things might have gone and it was not good for the Imperial Japanese Navy.

In Sept 1939 the 4th Submarine Flotilla based in Hong Kong and Singapore had 13 O/P/R class built in the late 1920s / early 1930s specifically for action against the IJN. There was also 2 Porpoise class minelying subs with another en route (it was turned back to Britain on the outbreak of war in Europe). They had the use of the depot ship Medway which refitted at Singapore 1939/40. All these vessels were withdrawn from the Far East between 3 Sept 1939 and the outbreak of war with Italy in June 1940.

The T class were the intended successors to the O/P/R classes. The first vessel Triton was ordered under the 1935 Programme and completed in Nov 1938. Only 3 completed before the outbreak of WW2 with another 4 by the end 1939, 7 in 1940 and 6 in 1941. These were from the 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938 and 1939 War Programmes. Broadly enough to replace the O/P/R classes on a one for one basis. But 5 were lost before war with Japan broke out.

The next subs in the Far East were 2 T class dispatched from the Med to Ceylon in late Dec 1941 and early Jan 1942.

 

[DWG]

Having the T class boats available is going to create some major changes as they were one of the main legs of what the UK was expecting to use to counter Japan. IIRC the Royal Navy some war games post-war to look at how things might have gone and it was not good for the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Even without the Ts on top, the South China Sea was the environment the Odins, Parthians, and Rainbows were designed for, and in this scenario 4th Submarine Flotilla would have remained on station.