Bismark
Posted on 05/25/2016 5:47:32 AM PDT by C19fan
The bell from HMS Hood has been unveiled by the Princess Royal to mark the 75th anniversary of the Royal Navy's largest loss of life from a single vessel. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen - who funded the expedition to retrieve the bell from the seabed of the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland - attended the event at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard where the bell has gone on display. Anne struck eight bells at midday during the ceremony, held with HMS Victory as a backdrop, watched by descendants of some of the 1,415 sailors who died when the battleship was hit by German vessel Bismarck on May 24 1941.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
If I am not mistaken, didn’t Bob Ballard originally find Hood? The documentaries of his searches and finds of Titanic, Hood, Battle of Midway ships, etc. are outstanding.
I believe he did.
Wasn’t the Hood an American ship given to the British?
She had been scheduled for a major multi-year refit that would have addressed many of her weaknesses but the war intervened.
And Every single time with Disastrous Results going up against a Real Battleship.
Jutland
Hood V.S. Bismark
Kirishima V.S. Washington.
Scharnhorst V.S. Duke of York.
Too Lightly Armored to Trade Blows with a Battleship.
Though, I am sure our Modern Admirals have learned nothing from history though.
All British Battle Cruiser had ‘glass jaws.’ Three of ‘em blew up at Jutland.
No, the Hood is a British built battle-cruiser and commissioned in 1920. You are probably thinking of the WWI 4-stack destroyers given to the British in 1940-41
The Germans knew how to build BCs that didn’t blow up and could trade shots with BBs.
Even the Scharnhorst, a wimp even by BC standards, had to be torpedoed repeatedly to sink it.
Bismark
The HMS Hood IS a war grave and thus should be protected from salvage. Although I read a couple of days ago that “rogue” salvagers are plundering the ships that were sunk during the Battle of Jutland, and are considered as war graves, thus NOT to be disturbed.
The Hood found the Bismark and on that fatal day
The Bismark started firin’ fifteen miles away
We gotta sink the Bismark was the battle sound
But when the smoke had cleared away
The mighty Hood went down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KecIdlEAKhU
Somewhat side topic but are ocean/ship KIAs given a tombstone somewhere? Have yet to find the answer although several have ventured; No.
I have read some histories of Jutland that suggest that at least in part the British battlecruiser losses at Jutland were possibly due to poor powder handling discipline (leaving flash tight doors between turret and magazine open) to increase the firing rate of the turrets. Also have read some sources that claim British cordite propellant was less stable than German propellant.
Would not have helped, she took a direct hit in the powder magazine.
Part of the refit would have improved protection from plunging fire so it is possible that she might have survived the hit if it didn't penetrate to the magazine. One problem the Brits had is with few exceptions they did not put their capital ships through multi-year overhauls and rebuilds like the U.S. Navy did. The Hood was in commission pretty much continuously from commissioning until sinking. Her yard periods were short and limited.
Possibly.
But compare the British BCs to the German BCs, like the Seydlitz. The Seydlitz was shot to hell at Jutland but sailed back to port under its own power.
The Germans knew how to make ships as close to unsinkable as was ever humanly possible.
MC, You are correct about no tombstones for ships sunk at sea and their crews. I’m also announcing that I must correct myself on my initial posting about violation of the Hood as a war grave. According to the article, which I didn’t catch on my first reading, was that the recovery of the bell was requested by the 3 men who survived the sinking and that the recover was approved by the Royal Navy. The headlines of the article that I missed due to an ad:
The bell from HMS Hood has been unveiled by the Princess Royal 75 years after the ship was sunk by the Bismarck
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen had funded expedition to retrieve bell from seabed between Iceland and Greenland
Ceremony watched by descendants of some of 1,415 sailors who died when battleship hit by German vessel in 1941
Only three of Hood’s crew survived and it was wish of one of them to recover ship’s bell as memorial to shipmates
And from looking at the photo and diagram, apparently the bell was located and recovered without disturbing the ship.
And another:
There are various family memorials:
ping. perhaps our old group would be interested in this.
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