to P.O. [74], Memorials to those who died are spread widely around the UK, and some of the crew are commemorated in different locations. Its main conclusion is that the loss was almost certainly precipitated by the explosion of a 4-inch magazine, but that there are several ways this could have been initiated, although he rules out the boat deck fire or the detonation of her torpedoes as probable causes. [13] In 1931, a pair of octuple mountings for the 40-millimetre (1.6in) QF 2-pounder Mk VIII gun "pom-pom" were added on the shelter deck, abreast of the funnels, and a third mount was added in 1937. Two HACS Mark III directors were added to the aft end of the signal platform the following year, and the Mark I director aft was replaced by a Mark III. Crew & Dockyard Workers Lost Prior to the Sinking (Sept 1916 - May 1941) . This position shows the rudder locked into a 20 port turn, confirming that orders had been given (just prior to the aft magazines detonating) to change the ship's heading and bring the aft turrets 'X' and 'Y' to bear on the German ships. It endorsed this opinion, stating that: (c) (The) probable cause of the loss of HMS Hood was direct penetration of the protection by one or more 15-inch shells at a range of 16,500 yards [15,100m], resulting in the explosion of one or more of the aft magazines.[71]. Notes: (1) Casualty information in order - Surname, First name, Initial(s), Rank and part of the Service other than RN (RNR, RNVR, RFR etc), Service Number (ratings only, also . Just eight days after the French surrender, the British Admiralty issued an ultimatum that the French fleet at Oran intern its ships in a British or neutral port to ensure they would not fall into Axis hands. [36] To add to the confusion, Royal Navy documents of the period often describe any battleship with a maximum speed over 24 knots (44km/h; 28mph) as a battlecruiser, regardless of the amount of protective armour. We also have a detailed page on the British Sloop HMS Lapwing (U 62). *** Please note that joining this FB page group does not make you a member . We are particularly grateful to Barry Roberts who has dedicated many hours undertaking this task and has identified several thousand "Hood men" thereby. The crew in each gunhouse had access to a variety of projectile types. [72] This investigation was "much more thorough than was the first, taking evidence from a total of 176 eyewitnesses to the disaster",[73] and examined both Goodall's theory and others (see below). This work is still very much in development but we have about one-third of the people who died already listed. [85], The evidence of the wreck refutes Goodall's theory of a torpedo explosion, while the eyewitness evidence of venting from the 4-inch magazine prior to the main explosion conflicts with the theory that the Hood was blown up by her own guns. You can also click below to view a single list of all names This is a database on the people who perished or survived attacks by German U-boats during WWII. The same deflagration would have collapsed the bulkhead separating the 4-inch and 15-inch magazines, resulting very quickly in a catastrophic explosion similar to those previously witnessed at Jutland. [58], Hood and the aircraft carrier Ark Royal were ordered to Gibraltar to join Force H on 18 June where Hood became the flagship. During the brief battle, Prince of Wales scored three hits on Bismarck. All the 5.5-inch guns were removed during another refit in 1940. [86], In their study of the battleship Bismarck's operational history released in 2019, including its engagement with Hood, Jurens, William Garzke, and Robert O. Dulin Jr. concluded that Hood's destruction was most likely caused by a 380-mm shell from Bismarck that penetrated the deck armour and exploded in the aft 4-inch magazine, igniting its cordite propellant, which in turn ignited the cordite in the adjacent aft 15-inch magazine. As such, it remains a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act of 1986. [45], Captain John Im Thurn was in command when Hood, accompanied by the battlecruiser Repulse and Danae-class cruisers of the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, set out on a world cruise from west to east via the Panama Canal in November 1923. By this time, advances in naval gunnery had reduced Hood's usefulness. [12], The ship's original anti-aircraft armament consisted of four QF 4-inch Mk V guns on single mounts. A look at the animal sailors who made up a special part of Hood's crew, Sport & Athletics The search team also planned to stream video from the remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) directly to Channel 4's website. HMS Hood was avenged and it was a gallant end to the German warship. The 4-inch fire-control director lies in the western debris field. Commissioned in 1920, she was named after the 18th-century Admiral Samuel Hood. A large fragment of the wooden transom from one of Hood's boats was washed up in Norway after her loss and is preserved in the National Maritime Museum in London. The ship was laid down on 1st September 1916 and was launched on 22nd August 1918 as the 3rd RN ship to carry this, introduced in 1859 and previously used in 1891 for a battleship sunk as a blockship in 1918. HMS Prince of Wales caught a disastrous direct hit to her bridge that forced . In overall charge of HMS Jervis Bay was the Royal . Despite the appearance of newer and more modern ships, Hood remained the largest warship in the world for 20 years after her commissioning, and her prestige was reflected in her nickname, "The Mighty Hood". [94], The forward section lies on its port side, with the amidships section keel up. The stern section rises from the seabed at an angle. [62], The British squadron spotted the Germans at 05:37 (ship's clocks were set four hours ahead of local timethe engagement commenced shortly after dawn),[63] but the Germans were already aware of their presence, Prinz Eugen's hydrophones having previously detected the sounds of high-speed propellers to their southeast. Three ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Hood after several members of the Hood family, who were notable naval officers: HMS Hood (1859), a 91-gun second-rate ship of the line, originally laid down as HMS Edgar, but renamed in 1848 and launched in 1859. For this reason . over 3 years). As a result, for the Midshipmen and junior officers who served in Hood in the later years of the 1930s little information in addition to the date on which they joined the ship is available without charge. The remaining 90% for 1861, 1862, and years ending in '5', are held by the National Maritime Museum. The database remains a "work in progress" and records are added to it at regular intervals. [28] As completed, Hood remained susceptible to plunging shells and bombs. HMS Hood - Specifications: Displacement: 47,430 tons Length: 860 ft., 7 in. Captain Arthur Pridham assumed command on 1 February 1936 and Hood returned to Portsmouth for a brief refit between 26 June and 10 October 1936. [48], Hood was given a major refit from 1 May 1929 to 10 March 1931, and afterwards resumed her role as flagship of the battlecruiser squadron under the command of Captain Julian Patterson. Despite these problems, she had hit Bismarck three times. The original attempt, sponsored by Paul Allen and using his yacht Octopus, was abandoned after ten days in September 2012 due to unfavourable weather conditions. Information about men who served in Hood, NAAFI Men According to Goodall's theory, the ship's torpedoes could have been detonated either by the fire raging on the boat deck or, more probably, by a direct hit from. 2016 is also the centenary of the Hood's keel laying. This explosion broke the back of Hood, and the last sight of the ship, which sank in only three minutes, was her bow, nearly vertical in the water. In addition to the above, submissions by individuals remains a valuable contribution to the database. That said, it is the work of more than 20 years, and is unlikely to be surpassed elsewhere else. [2] The complement of "The Mighty Hood", as she was affectionately known, was 1,421. Over 40.000 pages on the officers, the boats, technology and the Allied efforts to counter the U-boat threat. [107], Coordinates: 6320N 3150W / 63.333N 31.833W / 63.333; -31.833, This article is about the Admiral-class battlecruiser. Answer (1 of 4): Three. [51] On 23 April 1937, the ship escorted three British merchantmen into Bilbao harbour despite the presence of the Nationalist cruiser Almirante Cervera that attempted to blockade the port. It was introduced in Update "Danger Zone" . Another "pom-pom" director was added on the rear superstructure, abaft the HACS director in 1938. You can learn more about these men here. Positions authorised to be filled aboard Hood, Crew Biographies Only three men from her 1,418-man crew survived. Conceptualized during World War I as the follow on to the Queen Elizabeth class super-dreadnoughts, which were some of the most powerful battleships in the world at the time, the Admiral-class . [47] The battlecruiser squadron visited Lisbon in January 1925 to participate in the Vasco da Gama celebrations before continuing on to the Mediterranean for exercises. [11] Two of these guns on the shelter deck were temporarily replaced by QF 4-inch (102mm) Mk V anti-aircraft (AA) guns between 1938 and 1939. Unlike Tiger, the armour was angled outwards 12 from the waterline to increase its relative thickness in relation to flat-trajectory shells. Two of these were submerged forward of 'A' turret's magazine and the other four were above water, abaft the rear funnel. The Battle of the Denmark Strait was effectively part of the larger Battle of the Atlantic, the conflict fought as Germany tried to isolate Britain from its colonies and allies in hopes of forcing a negotiated peace. The names can be accessed by clicking on the links at right (alphabetical by surname or a listing of all names). The Royal Navy's HMS Hood will forever be linked with the German Kriegsmarine battleship KMS Bismarck, as the former vessel was sunk on May 24, 1941 during the Battle of the Denmark Strait. Captain Harold Reinold relieved Captain im Thurn on 30 April 1925 and was relieved in turn by Captain Wilfred French on 21 May 1927. He is commemorated on the WW2 Roll of Honour Plaque in the . Hood was nothing without the many men it took to design, built and operate her. Hood Crew Information- H.M.S. Organisation of the search was complicated by the presence on board of a documentary team and their film equipment, along with a television journalist who made live news reports via satellite during the search. [49], While en route to Gibraltar for a Mediterranean cruise, Hood was rammed in the port side quarterdeck by the battlecruiser Renown on 23 January 1935. HMS Hood was a battlecruiser not a battleship, a flawed concept from the Edwardian age that sacrificed armour for speed in the mistaken belief the latter would protect her when under fire from 'heavy' opponents. The starboard side of the amidships section is missing down to the inner wall of the fuel tanks and the plates of the hull are curling outward; this has been interpreted as indicating the path of the explosion through the starboard fuel tanks. Each turret was also fitted with a 30-foot (9.1m) rangefinder. In addition to the two inscriptions, the bell still wears vivid royal blue paint work on its crown as well as its interior. Terms & Conditions! The Hood had been launched in 1918 and was armed . . The U-boat War in World War Two (Kriegsmarine, 1939-1945) and World War One (Kaiserliche Marine, 1914-1918) and the Allied efforts to counter the threat. The Nelson-Class Battleship Pennant number 29, HMS Rodney was one of only two Nelson -class battleships built for the Royal Navy in the 1920s. For almost 2 decades, she was the largest and most powerful warship afloat. The Royal Navy were fully aware that the ship's protection flaws still remained, even in her revised design, so Hood was intended for the duties of a battlecruiser and she served in the battlecruiser squadrons through most of her career. (7) 30 May 1940 The troopships Antonia (British, 13867 GRT, built 1921) and Duchess of Richmond (British, 22022 GRT, built 1928) departed Liverpool for Halifax. HMS Challenger: a trailblazer for modern ocean science 150 years ago, HMS Challenger departed England on a quest to explore the world's oceans. To these were added five unrotated projectile (UP) launchers in 1940, each launcher carrying 20 seven-inch (178mm) rockets. Hood Rolls of Honour Updated 01-Jan-2020 These memorials are dedicated to those who died whilst building and serving aboard Hood. CCY (TCI) Served from 1942 - 1971 Served in HMS Duke Of York. . They were supplemented by two additional control positions in the fore-top, which were provided with 9-foot (2.7m) rangefinders, fitted in 19241925. HMS Hood broke in two and sank in a mere matter of minutes. Served from 1931 - 1957 Served in HMS Rodney. [43] Her size and powerful armament earned her the nickname of "Mighty Hood" and she came to symbolise the might of the British Empire itself. [32][33], Around 1918, American commanders, including Vice Admiral William Sims, commander of US naval forces in Europe, and Admiral Henry T. Mayo, commander of the Atlantic Fleet, became extremely impressed by Hood, which they described as a "fast battleship", and they advocated that the US Navy develop a fast battleship of its own. After conservation work, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, unveiled the bell at the museum on 24 May 2016 the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Denmark Strait. [102], Some relics from the time of Hood's sinking still exist. Hood was the first of the planned four Admiral-class battlecruisers to be built during the First World War.Already under construction when the Battle of Jutland occurred in mid-1916, that battle revealed serious flaws in her design despite drastic revisions before she was completed four years later. Hood was well known as a top sporting ship. Force H took part in the destruction of the French fleet at Mers-el-Kbir in July 1940. -H.M.S. To request a crew list to view in the reading room, please . [41] After her sea trials, she was commissioned on 15 May 1920, under Captain Wilfred Tompkinson. [24] Hood's protection accounted for 33% of her displacement, a high proportion by British standards, but less than was usual in contemporary German designs (for example, 36% for the battlecruiser SMSHindenburg). [12], The Ascension Island guns saw action only once, on 9 December 1941, when they fired on the German submarineU-124,[105] as it approached Georgetown on the surface to shell the cable station or sink any ships at anchor. The Admiralty dissented from the verdict, reinstated Sawbridge, and criticised Bailey for ambiguous signals during the manoeuvre. H.M.S. [4] They were shipped on shielded single-pivot mounts fitted along the upper deck and the forward shelter deck. It ended peacefully and Hood returned to her home port afterwards. Alternative routes for admission of flame could have been the ventilation or venting arrangements of the magazines or, as Ted Briggs suggested, through the floor of a 15-inch gunhouse. HMS Prince of Wales was a King George V -class battleship of the Royal Navy that was built at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, England. The discovery of the ship's wreck in 2001 confirmed the conclusion of both boards, although the exact reason the magazines detonated is likely to remain unknown since that portion of the ship was obliterated in the explosion. Hood was the first of four Admiral-class ships planned to be built during World War I. HOOD-Class battle ordered on 7th April from John Brown of Clydebank. 24-03-2018. For this reason, she was the only ship of her class to be completed, as the Admiralty decided it would be better to start with a clean design on succeeding battlecruisers, leading to the never-built G-3 class. The lower deck was 3inches thick over the propeller shafts, 2inches thick over the magazines and 1inch elsewhere. The amidships section, the biggest part of the wreck to survive the explosions, lies inverted south of the eastern debris field in a large impact crater. . These problems also reduced her steam output so that she was unable to attain her designed speed. H.M.S. The Hood was a truly mighty warship and if you yourself served in any of the Royal Navy's battleships (Hood was a battlecruiser) you will know what 40-odd thousand tons of grey coloured steel looks like, but if you didn't, you can still see that spectacle in the U.S.A., where several of her battleships of around this tonnage are parked as museums. She would have received new, lighter turbines and boilers, a secondary armament of eight twin 5.25-inch (133mm) gun turrets, and six octuple 2-pounder "pom-poms". Ted Briggs was the last survivor of the battle cruiser HMS Hood, sunk by the German warship Bismarck in the North Atlantic during the Second World War. -H.M.S. [31], Although the Royal Navy always designated Hood as a battlecruiser, some modern writers such as Anthony Preston have classified her as a fast battleship, since Hood appeared to have improvements over the fast Queen Elizabeth-class battleships. Three torpedo-control towers were fitted, each with a 15-foot (4.6m) rangefinder. Hood's wreck lies on the seabed in pieces among two debris fields at a depth of about 2,800 metres (9,200 feet). [64], Just before 06:00, while Hood was turning 20 to port to unmask her rear turrets, she was hit again on the boat deck by one or more shells from Bismarck's fifth salvo, fired from a range of approximately 16,650 metres (18,210yd). As a battlecruiser, Hood was similar in size and had the offensive capability of. The Board came to a conclusion almost identical to that of the first board, expressed as follows: That the sinking of Hood was due to a hit from Bismarck's 15-inch shell in or adjacent to Hood's 4-inch or 15-inch magazines, causing them all to explode and wreck the after part of the ship. For instance, the never-built G3 battlecruiser was classified as such, although it would have been more of a fast battleship than Hood. [68], Prince of Wales was forced to disengage by a combination of damage from German hits and mechanical failures in her guns and turrets after Hood was sunk. Deborah. THE only three British sailors to have survived the sinking of HMS Hood after an attack by the Nazis have spoken about their terrifying ordeal the day after the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The battlecruiser's turbines were designed to produce 144,000 shaft horsepower (107,000kW), which would propel the ship at 31 knots (57km/h; 36mph), but during sea trials in 1920, Hood's turbines provided 151,280shp (112,810kW), which allowed her to reach 32.07 knots (59.39km/h; 36.91mph). But, even in the case of those for whom records are available, relatives often hold far more information about individuals than can be gleaned from the necessarily impersonal nature of their official records. [88], The search team and equipment had to be organised within four months, to take advantage of a narrow window of calm conditions in the North Atlantic. Sea. [30] During her 19291931 refit, the platform was removed from 'X' turret and a rotating, folding catapult was installed on her quarterdeck, along with a crane to recover a seaplane. The memorials were assembled by blending official records with public casualty listings. Hood Rolls of Honour Memorials to Hood's final crew, 24th May 1941 Updated 07-Mar-2010 This page contains a listing the 1415 men who were lost when Hood was sunk on 24th May, 1941. This is a public FB page for the H.M.S. [37], The scale of Hood's protection, though adequate for the Jutland era, was at best marginal against the new generation of 16-inch (406mm) gunned capital ships that emerged soon after her completion in 1920, typified by the American Colorado-class and the Japanese Nagato-class battleships. Colin Kitchen. [35], Influences from Hood showed on subsequent Lexington designs, with the reduction of the main armour belt, the change to "sloped armour", and the addition of four above-water torpedo tubes to the four underwater tubes of the original design. This included the standard-use 1,920lb Common Pointed Capped (CPC) shell and the equal . Hood Association Archives and various family sources. Hood was the first of the planned four Admiral-class battlecruisers to be built during the First World War. . We are the official veterans, families and enthusiast association for British battle cruiser H.M.S. 1935 was stamped on one surviving example, and "Hood V Renown off Arosa 23135" on another. Memorials to all those who died while building or serving in Hood, Crew List We are using the few, fragmentary crew lists known to exist, Navy Lists, various official reports, public records, and most importantly of all, inputs from the families of former crew. HMS Hood (pennant number 51) was the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy. Hood was straddled during the engagement by Dunkerque; shell splinters wounded two men. Hood reported an accuracy of 3 degrees with her 279M set. Victor Noel White HMS Copra . The upper belt was 5 inches thick amidships and extended forward to 'A' barbette, with a short 4-inch extension aft. William was born in Jarrow 1929, the son of Thomas and Catherine Ramshaw (nee Gibson) of Jarrow. [46], While in Australia in April 1924, the squadron escorted the battlecruiser HMASAustralia out to sea, where she was scuttled in compliance with the Washington Naval Treaty. August 4, 2020. Ratings & officers known to have served in Hood, Crew Complements Draft: 32 ft. Hood Association Facebook Page The fire on the boat deck penetrated to a magazine. [32], Construction of Hood began at the John Brown & Company shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland, as yard number 460 on 1 September 1916. But, three survivedWilliam Dundass, Bob Tilburn, and Ted Briggs. The loss of HMS Hood, with 1,400 crew was the Royal Navy's darkest hour. -H.M.S. [91] Other researchers have claimed that the final salvo fired by Hood was not a salvo at all, but flame from the forward magazine explosion, which gave the illusion of Hood firing for the last time. The forecastle deck ranged from 1.75 to 2 inches (44 to 51 millimetres) in thickness, while the upper deck was 2 inches (51mm) thick over the magazines and 0.75 inches (19mm) elsewhere. It is further supposed that the small debris fields are the fragments from the aft hull where the magazines and turrets were located, since that section of the hull was totally destroyed in the explosion. At full speed, or in heavy seas, water would flow over the ship's quarterdeck and often entered the messdecks and living quarters through ventilation shafts. Hood's crew gained their first clue that something was developing at 1939, 23 May when full speed was ordered. Two years later, the "pom-pom" directors were moved to the rear corners of the bridge to get them out of the funnel gases. It was the opinion of Mearns and White who investigated the wreck that this was unlikely as the damage was far too limited in scale, nor could it account for the outwardly splayed plates also observed in that area. (Public Domain) Launched in 1913, the battleship HMS Warspite saw extensive service during both world wars. Already under construction when the Battle of Jutland occurred in mid-1916, that battle revealed serious flaws in her design despite drastic revisions before she was completed four years later. [22] The early-warning radar was of a modified type, known as Type 279M, the difference between this and Type 279 being the number of aerials. 20th May 2021, 5:19pm. Furthermore, a section of the bow immediately forward of 'A' turret is missing, which has led historian and former Dartmouth lecturer Eric J. Grove and expedition leader David Mearns to believe that "either just before or just after leaving the surface, the bow suffered massive internal damage from an internal explosion",[85] possibly a partial detonation of the forward 15-inch magazines.