HMS Hood

The events leading up to the disaster of HMS Hood's sinking and the legacy left in its wake

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The sinking of the battlecruiser HMS Hood, on 24 May 1941, dealt a major blow to the British Royal Navy. Like Titanic years before, Hood had seemed invincible and much of the hopes of the Navy rested with her as the nation entered the war with Germany. The epitome of British naval power, the 48,360-ton Hood boasted eight 15in and eight 4in guns - a formidably armed vessel that the Royal Navy had hoped could match German battleships. But in just eight minutes, after an encounter with Bismarck and her consort Prinz Eugen, HMS Hood blew up and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic, taking 1,418 men with her. Her sinking was met with disbelief both in the UK and around the world and left the Royal Navy seeming vulnerable.

Dr Andrew Norman explores the events leading up to the disaster and the legacy left in its wake, using research from the Royal Naval Museum and German naval records. In HMS Hood: Pride of the Royal Navy, he reassesses the possible reasons for the ship's sinking in the light of the discovery of her wreckage in July 2001.