Hi All,
As an update, I have found further anecdotal pieces of evidence as to the hull of Repulse, one from Battleship by Middlebrooke and Mahoney page 243, "the bows hanging in the air, glistening and showing the red painted hull" this is from the authors.
Another from Richard Pool from Course for Disaster, page 67, his escape from the ship "I must have swum for about three or four minutes before turning on my back to see what was happening to the ship. I was just in time to see the last of her. About 60 feet of Repulse's bow sticking out of the water, the sun glistening on her light grey topside and on her red anti fouling bottom"
Page 253 of the book Hunting of Force Z has mention of Repulse's "scarlet bottom"
For Prince of Wales, there is only one record of hull colour I've found, again Hunting Force Z the author mentions PoW turning over "and concealing her wounds beneath her great red belly".
Again this is from an author not an eye witness, from eye witnesses we have Brooke and the brown colour, three other witnesses in Battleship by Middlebrooke and Mahoney mention sliding on her hull, her sides "thick with oil". One survivor talks of walking on PoW's bottom noticing "how clean it looked" the last time he had seen her bottom being at her launch in 1939.
In Hostages to Fortune on page 54 it mentions PoW starting "long overdue boiler cleaning and went into dock to have her bottom cleaned", this could be a second source, or it may be a reference to what Brooke wrote, however in the appendix at the back of the book it lists messages sent by the C in C Eastern Fleet Tom Phillips, one dated 03/12/41 mentions that "it has been necessary to put in hand retubing of distiller of HMS Prince of Wales today 3rd December" which was in response to Admiralty calls to get the ships away from Singapore.
Hostages to Fortune is an excellent well researched book, and takes information from official sources, it seems PoW could have been taken into dock on the 3rd Dec and that her boilers were cleaned, distiller worked on, and her bottom was scraped.
Therefore with Richards research and note that Singapore held MacArthurs paints, it would seem PoW most probably would have retained a grey hull, all be it cleaned and scraped, at her loss, multiple eye witnesses state an oil covered hull which may explain the description of a brownish colour.
As always it is only a best guess, opinions are very welcomed!
Hope this at least helps a little bit, Best wishes Cag.
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