HMS Hood was the Royal Navy’s Battlecruiser. She held the title of the world’s largest warship for twenty years after being commissioned, together with her status mirrored within the nickname ‘The Mighty Hood.’
Along with her twin funnels and a lean profile, she was one of many finest-looking warships at the moment. As a consequence of her sheer dimension, energy and contribution to a number of Royal Navy victories within the World Warfare Years, she turned synonymous with the would possibly of the British Empire.
Learn alongside to study 10 fascinating details about HMS Hood on this article.
1. Design and Building of HMS Hood
An Admiral-Class Battlecruiser, HMS Hood, was ordered throughout World Warfare I from Clydebank Shipyard of Jon Brown- shipyard no.460.
She had an LOA of 262.3 m, a beam of 31.8 m and a 9.8 m draught. The Hood was 20.1 m longer and 4.3 m wider than earlier ships of the identical kind.
The ship’s 144,000 horsepower steam engines might take her to battle at 32 knots whereas her weapons might throw a one-tonne shell 17 miles. She was envisaged to be bigger, sooner and extra closely armed than her predecessors.
Nevertheless, when her keel was to be laid, three such vessels of the Royal Navy have been misplaced within the 1916 Battle of Jutland, unveiling the failings within the British Battlecruisers’ design. The Admiralty delayed her development to make revisions to her design, which included the addition of about 4000 tonnes of armour, making it comparable with modern battleships.
Though 4 such battlecruisers have been to be constructed, solely Hood might be accomplished. Setting up ships was extraordinarily costly, and labour and supplies have been put into constructing service provider ships since many have been misplaced to the German U-Boat Marketing campaign.
2. Known as ‘ the biggest submarine within the Navy’
HMS Hood was fairly secure. Nevertheless, the extra armour elevated her draught by 1.2 m at a deep load. This decreased her freeboard, and when shifting at most pace or in heavy seas, water entered over its quarterdeck, mess decks and even the dwelling areas by way of air flow shafts.
The ship was fairly damp, so it was referred to as the biggest submarine within the Navy. Additionally, air flow was poor, which led to a number of circumstances of tuberculosis amongst sailors onboard th HMS Hood.
Her complement diverse all through her profession. In 1934, she carried 1433 males; in 1934, she had 81 officers and 1244 scores. HMS Hood additionally carried gas oil to provide her a 7500 nm vary at 14 knots.
3. Function in First World Warfare
After it was commissioned on fifteenth Could 1920, HMS Hood turned the flagship of the Battlecruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet.
She went to Scandinavian waters the identical yr, and in 1921 and 1922, she visited the Mediterranean to point out the flag and practice with the Mediterranean Fleet. She then headed to Brazil and the West Indies with the Battlecruiser Squadron.
Through the First World Warfare, she additionally hunted German raider ships that attacked service provider transport within the Atlantic. She additionally participated in a number of fleet workout routines to check British naval techniques.
Whereas she didn’t interact in a serious naval fight, her presence deterred the German Excessive Seas Fleet from participating the British Grand Fleet. It additionally helped within the British occupation of Istanbul/Constantinople in 1920.
4. Function In Second World Warfare
When the Second World Warfare broke out, HMS Hood was already twenty years in fee, and because of her engagements, she had not undergone a serious refit and improve. She operated close to Iceland and spent many months looking for German raiders and blockade runners within the Norwegian Sea.
After a brief overhaul of her propulsion system, she turned the flagship of Drive H and destroyed the French Fleet within the battle of Mers el Kebir in 1940. She additionally participated in operations off Norway to stop Germany from invading Norwegian Ports. It additionally supplied naval gunfire help for Allied troops on land.
After this, she was transferred to the Residence Fleet and despatched to Scapa Movement. She functioned as a convoy escort and a defence towards a possible German invasion fleet. Hood patrolled the Northern Waters to examine for any suspicious German naval motion.
In 1941, she was deployed from Scapa Movement to cease the brand new German Battleship Bismarck, which was stated to have left Norway on a raiding mission within the Atlantic.
5. HMS Hood And Bismarck- Battle of Denmark Strait
Bismarck left for the Atlantic in Could 1941, and HMS Hood, together with the battleship Prince of Wales, was deployed to intercept it earlier than the German Battleship might assault the Allied convoys within the Atlantic.
British Heavy Cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk noticed the German Ships. On twenty fourth Could, Hood intercepted Bismarck and her consort, the heavy cruiser Prince Eugen, within the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland.
6. The Sinking of the Mighty HMS Hood
The Germans have been conscious of the British Ships’ presence since Prince Eugen’s hydrophones had already detected the sounds of propellors to the southeast. The British opened fireplace, and the German ships focused on Hood. A shell landed on Hood’s boat deck between her funnels and began a large fireplace among the many ammunition.
Simply as Hood turned to disclose her rear turrets, she was hit once more on the boat deck by a shell from Bismarck’s fifth salvo. Flames burst close to the mainmast, resulting in {a magazine} explosion, which destroyed the ship’s aft. It sank shortly, and the final sight of Hood was her bow, nearly vertical within the water.
Out of 1418 males onboard Hood, solely three survived. The three males, Unusual Signalman Ted Briggs, In a position Seaman Robert Tilburn, and Midshipman William John Dundas, have been saved 2 hours after the Hood had sunk. They have been discovered by Destroyer Electra.
This engagement ended the profession of the Hood and the lives of 1415 males, the biggest ever lack of life on any Royal Navy Warship. The lack of HMS Hood resonated far and huge. It was a dent in British morale, which made it crucial that Bismarck be destroyed. Therefore, three days later, Bismarck was hunted down and sunk by the Royal Navy.
7. Remembering the HMS Hood & its 1415 Crew Members
About 1415 sailors misplaced their lives when HMS Hood sunk, leaving a void for a lot of households. The HMS Hood Affiliation was based in 1975 to recollect and honour the crew of HMS Hood.
It was based by veterans who served within the battleship earlier than her final journey, supported by the three sailors who survived the sinking and a few of the members of the family of those that misplaced their lives.
The Affiliation continues to develop as membership is open for all. It presently has round 400 members.
HMS Hood Affiliation sponsored a half-hour film referred to as ‘For Years Unseen’. It’s in regards to the restoration of Hood’s Bell from the wreck by David Mearns in 2015. The movie is accessible on YouTube and has garnered 600,000 views.
8. Discovering the Wreck of HMS Hood
In 2001, Channel 4 reached out to shipwreck Hunter David Mearns and his firm to seek out the wreck of HMS Hood. The channel needed him to make underwater footage of the ship and her attacker, Bismarck, for use in a documentary for the sixtieth anniversary of the battle.
After gathering footage of the Bismarck, Mearns and his workforce selected a 2100 km2 search space and, utilizing side-scan sonar, discovered the wreck of HMS Hood. It was positioned at a depth of 2800 m, damaged into items, scattered throughout two particles fields.
The largest surviving part was the amidships part. Different items of the strict, bow and conning tower have been additionally recognized.
The wreck lies within the Irminger Basin of the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland. In 2002, the UK designated the wreck as a protected struggle grave.
9. Expedition to retrieve HMS Hood’s Bell
The British Authorities sought Mearns once more in 2012 to retrieve one among Hood’s two bells, which might function a memorial reflecting the sacrifice of her final crew members within the battle. It was determined to be displayed on the Nationwide Museum of the Royal Navy.
Mearns and his workforce returned to the resting place of Hood, refilmed the wreck, and surveyed it once more. Hood’s Bell was lastly retrieved in 2015 and unveiled in 2016, on the seventy fifth anniversary of the Battle of Denmark Strait.
A commemorative service was held the place the bell was rung eight instances. It was attended by descendants of the ship’s final crew. The bell was then saved within the museum’s exhibit showcasing the Battle of Jutland.
10. Surviving Relics from the HMS Hood
A number of relics from the HMS Hood nonetheless exist, together with a large piece of the wood transom from one among its boats that floated to Norway after her sinking. It’s preserved within the Nationwide Maritime Museum, London.
A metallic field with administrative papers was discovered after it was washed ashore on the Island of Senja in 1942, a yr after the Battle of Denmark Strait. The container and its contents have been misplaced. Nevertheless, its lid was discovered and handed to the Royal Navy institution HMS Centurion in 1981.
Two 5.5-inch weapons of HMS Hood have been eliminated throughout its 1935 refit. They have been despatched to Ascension Island, the place they have been put in as a shore battery in 1941. The weapons sit on a hill above the port and the settlement of Georgetown, the place they continue to be.
The weapons noticed motion simply as soon as in 1941 once they have been fired on a German Submarine U-124. The submarine was approaching Georgetown to both shell the cable station or assault ships at anchor. The weapons missed the goal, and the submarine retreated.
Conclusion
The sinking of the Mighty Hood was a big loss for the Royal Navy since she was thought-about probably the most highly effective battle Cruiser on this planet then. Although HMS Hood sank after being hit by the German Battleship Bismarck, its crew courageously till the very finish.
The lack of Hood taught precious classes concerning battlecruiser design and armour safety that the Royal Navy carried out in future warship development.
The wreck of HMS Hood was present in 2001, and one among her bells was retrieved in 2012. Her wreckage web site was additionally declared to be a protected struggle grave by the federal government. Hood stays a logo of British Naval Energy, and the HMS Hood Affiliation continues to hold the Hoods’ legacy ahead.
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About Creator
Zahra is an alumna of Miranda Home, College of Delhi. She is an avid author, possessing immaculate analysis and modifying abilities. Creator of a number of educational papers, she has additionally labored as a contract author, producing many technical, inventive and advertising items. A real aesthete at coronary heart, she loves books slightly greater than the rest.
