HOOD- 70 years on

[Deepol]

Just around 0600 on 24th May 1941 in the Denmark Strait in an engagement with BISMARCK, shells penetrated HOOD'S armour causing a massive explosion in her magazine which blew her in two pieces sinking within 3 minutes with the loss of all but three of her crew of just over 1400.

[yorkieman]

A sad and poignant reminder of this great tragedy of the war .... fortunately, impossible to imagine any warship nowadays with a crew of 1400. RIP.

[Angus Mac Kinnon]

Whilst working out in the Gulf (Arabian/Persian) in 1993, got an invite to the nuclear-powered quadruple-screw Aircraft Carrier USS Nimitz, which was in port for a few days. That was an amazing experience. I was told she carried a total complement of 5,680 at that time, including the aircraft population. Met at the top of the gangway by a young lady who would have graced any beauty competition .... the full camouflage outfit, boots, semi-automatic machine gun, and enough other armaments to do Stallone proud sort of dampened things however ... ! The logistics involved in the management of a vessel of that size and with so many people is something else, there were areas on board where no officer ever went, and the cuisine was designed to suit some dozen or so nationalities and tastes.

100,000 long tons displacement, she had two Westinghouse Nuclear reactors driving four steam turbines, her 260,000 SHP delivering a speed of 31-32 knots.

Launched in 1972, she entered into service in 1975 and remains in service until now as far as I'm aware, aged 36 years.

[E28]

H.M.S. HOOD. 75 years on.

Let us remember all those lost in the action in the Denmark Strait, 24th May 1941.
H.M.S. Hood sunk that day, H.M.S. Prince of Wales with their escorting destroyers.
Bismarck, sunk 27th May, her consort Prinz Eugen, their adversaries,
and H.M.S. Mashona sunk 28th May in air attack,
together with all families of the deceased and injured so affected by these days events.