Force Z and the danger of sending an incomplete fleet

What is your view of Force Z at Singapore?

It was a mistake to send battleships without a proper fleet; cruisers would have suited the earlier deterrence plan better, though the ships present still had to be used.

Britain should not have sent two battleships to Singapore without the supporting fleet needed to make them effective. If a proper fleet was unavailable, cruisers tasked with surface raiding would have fitted earlier British deterrence plans better. Those plans seldom depended on basing battleships in the Far East. Once Prince of Wales and Repulse were present, however, their commanders still had to employ the ships available. The poor strategic deployment decision was separate from the operational duty confronting the force sent.