Empire Cruise

This book charts the story and the events of one of the Royal Navy's last great voyages. Led by one of the most iconic warships to serve with the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, the Special Service Squadron embarked on a journey around the globe, showing the flag for Great Britain and strengthening ties across the British Empire.

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In November 1923 the Royal Navy dispatched what was named the Special Service Squadron on a ten-month tour around the British Empire. Led by the battlecruiser HMS 'Hood', the pride of the Royal Navy and, at the time, the largest ship in the world, and including the battlecruiser 'Renown' and the First Light Cruiser Squadron, the role of the Special Service Squadron was to 'show the flag' in a public relations exercise and to strengthen ties across the Empire. Much publicised, the cruise served as a subtle reminder that in the aftermath of the Great War, Britannia still ruled the waves. This book charts the situation faced by Great Britain and the Royal Navy in the years immediately after the Great War, and details the origins of the cruise before charting the course of the expedition.