Just Finished Reading: The Mighty Hood by Ernle Bradford (FP: 1959)

The sinking of HMS Hood in May 1941 in the Denmark Straight sent shockwaves throughout the Empire and was a huge blow to British morale. The manner of her death shocked the nation that gave her birth even more so. Hit by merely two salvoes from the German pocket battleship Bismarck she exploded with huge loss of life sinking almost immediately.

Laid down in the closing months of WW1 the Hood missing combat in the Great War and spent the 1920’s touring the Empire flying the flag and representing British naval power to ally and enemy alike. The restrictions of the Washington Treaty meant that no larger ship could be built – on the assumption that no major Power conflict would arise in the next 10 years – and she became the pride of the fleet and the pride of Britain. Everyone seemed to know her from stem to stern and could recognise her silhouette from miles away. But as the drums of war began to beat again her age and her design faults began to be noticed and, slowly, addressed. Firstly, in the age of the torpedo and dive bomber her anti-aircraft guns needed upgrading adding extra weight and slowing down her exceptional turn of speed. Next was the lessons finally learnt from the Battle of Jutland where Admiral Beatty famously stated that there was ‘something wrong with our bloody ships today’. That ‘something’ had been inherited by the Hood. At extreme range shells fired by the enemy tended to plunge towards the desk rather than impact on the heavily armoured sides of the opposing battlewagons. But as war became inevitable the Hood needed to be everywhere at once. There was no chance that she could be taken out of service long enough to have a complete refit. That would have to wait until new ships came on-line to take the strain of combat.

After a brief but eventful time in the Mediterranean the Hood returned to her home port of Scapa Flow as part of the North Sea blockading force. The German navy had several highly effective units ready to break out into the Atlantic convoys and cause untold mayhem. Everything possible needed to be arranged to stop this and alarm bells began to ring as the Bismarck and her escort Prinz Eugen left port and headed North. Designated to guard the Denmark Straight the Hood and HMS Prince of Wales met their prey on the cold and dark morning on 24th May. All too briefly the engagement was over with the Hood sunk and Prince of Wales heavily damaged and making smoke to escape a similar fate. It looked as if all of Hitler’s boasting had been correct – that the Bismarck was unsinkable and the most dangerous ship afloat. But the Royal Navy still had options. Calling in ships from all directions, dangerously stripping convoys of their vital protection they hunted the Bismarck with a revengeful intensity. Lost, found, lost and finally found again the pride of the German navy met her fate as she limped into the protective arms of the promised U-boat screen advancing on her position from their new bases on the French coast. Battered to a blazing pulp the Bismarck went to the bottom of the sea with its battle ensigns still flying. The pursuit and destruction of the Bismarck was one of the most dramatic endeavours ever undertaken by the Royal Navy. The loss of the mighty Hood added a dose of tragic poignancy to the affair which, if possible, made the event that much more memorable. The events of those few days have been woven into the mythic history of WW2 and the Hood will long be remembered. 
  
I actually remember building a model of HMS Hood in my teens and honestly loved that ship. I’m not sure if that was before or after watching the 1960 movie ‘Sink The Bismarck’ which still brings a lump to my throat every time I watch it. Hood was one of a kind and the last of her kind. I learnt a great deal about her history that I was unaware of from this interesting little book and I think I love her all the more because of it. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Royal Navy history. Much more on the battle with the Bismarck and other Royal Navy encounters to come.