 Massive Japanese air superiority put an end to the British naval counter-strike by sinking the battleship HMS "Prince of Wales" and the battlecruiser HMS "Repulse", which had been sent to attack the Japanese transport ships.The battery commander, Edward Sawyer, described Chenevix-Trench as having been "a tower of strength" in the rearguard action.By 26 December, the unit was fighting at Kampar, halfway back to Singapore.