The Sinking of the HMS Hood and the Bismarck
The sinking of the HMS Hood and the Bismarck (24-27 May 1941)
Most of the naval battles in World War Two involved submarines.
But at the beginning of the war was a battle between a British and German ship that caught the imagination.
HMS Hood was top of its class of battle cruisers whose construction began in 1916 but not finished until 1920. She was one of a few from her class as other ships of her class were never finished as World War One ended. Throughout the interwar period, she held a prominent place in the British Navy. When World War Two broke out, Hood was a bit outdated and under gunned.
In 1939 she was upgraded slightly, but not as much as she needed. HMS Hood was sent to block German shipping and blockade runners between Iceland and Norway. She participated in the sinking of the French fleet in North Africa before returning to defence of Britain in Scotland. She was seen as invincible within the British Navy.
The Bismarck was one of a new class of well gunned and fast battleships built by the German navy. It was launched in September 1940. It was designed to hunt down and destroy British shipping in the Atlantic. She was named after Otto von Bismarck who with the help of Albrecht von Roon and Helmuth Molke unified several German speaking states into a united German state.
The Bismarck's first task (Operation Rheinubung) was to attack supply convoys coming from North America in May 1941. The British ships the Hood and the Prinz Eugen were sent to intercept her in the Battle of the Denmark Strait. The Hood was struck by a number of shells from the Bismark. The ship sank with the loss of 1418 of its crew. Another Royal Navy ship, the Prince of Wales was severely damaged. This created huge damage to morale in the British Navy. Later inquiries showed the Hood was not equipped to deal with modern explosive torpedoes.
Badly stung, the British Navy pursued the Bismarck like hungry wolves. The damaged German ship tried to head to France for repairs. She was eventually located near Gibraltar. She was further damaged by planes from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal. No longer mobile, the Bismarck was a sitting duck. She was engaged in a short sharp battle with 2 British destroyers and aircraft before being sunk. The British ship rescued 111 survivors. German picked up 5 more, but hundreds were lost.
