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.