At over 40,000 tons [the current Ark Royal is 20,000 tons] HMS HOOD was a massive ship.  In the 1920 and for most of the 1930's she was the biggest warship afloat and the pride of the British Navy. For twenty years, she hardly ever fired a shot in anger and spent all her days showing the world the might and power of the Royal Navy. She was admired by millions, feared by thousands, and loved by hundreds of people/sailors.

At her demise in May 1941, people around the world, including our enemies, were shocked at the lucky few shots which blew her to pieces. Her assailant, the Bismarck, was young and Hood was old, manifest in the technology and protection built into Bismarck which was lacking in Hood, even though she had been modified several times between her build in 1918 and the start of WW2 in 1939. Even when giving credit to the Bismarck for using her excellent modern systems with great skill, it has to be recognised that a more modern ship with better deck-armour would not have succumbed to these hits in the way Hood did.  The loss of life was terrible; too many for the heart and head to understand and to cope with, leaving just three survivors out of a crew of over 1400 men.