Hood (Admiral Class)

Laid down	1st September 1916
Launched	22nd August 1918
Completed	N/A
Commissioned	5th March 1920
Fate	Sunk: 24th May 1941 off Iceland
Builders	J. Brown, Clydebank United Kingdom
Complement	1480
Dimensions
Displacement	42450 tons std 48350 tons max
Dimensions	860' x 104'
Draught	31' 6"
Armament
Main guns	8 x 15" (4 x 2)
Secondary guns	As built: 12 x 5.5" (12 x 1) 1939: 8 x 4" (4 x 2)
Torpedo tubes	As built: 8 x 21" 1939: 6 x 21"
Other weapons	As built: 4 x 4" 1939: 6 x 4" (3 x 2) 48 x 40mm (6 x 8)
Countermeasures	None
Armour	Belt: 4" - 12" Deck: 1.5" - 3" Turrets: 9" - 11" C.T.: 9" - 11"
Aircraft Facilities
Aircraft	As built: None 1929: 1 1933: None
Flightdeck	None
Hangar	N/A
Catapults	1
Arrestor system	None
Aviation fuel	N/A
Electronics Fit
Radar	N/A
Sonar	N/A
ECM	None
Other	N/A
Machinery
Engines	24 x Yarrow boilers 4 x Brown Curtis steam turbines
Power output	144000shp
Speed	32kts
Shafts	4
Range	5950NM @ 18kts
Fuel	4000 tons oil

Hoods completion was delayed to allow some 5000 tons of armour to be added to the design. From 1929 to 1938 she underwent several small refits, but it was not until 1939 that major work could be started. Even this was interrupted by the war, and apart from secondary armament, Hood was little different from when completed.

On 21st May 1941, she sailed with Prince Of Wales to intercept the escaped Bismarck. Early on the morning of the 24th, around 6AM, the British and German ships met in the Denmark Strait. The Germans gunnery was excellent, and within minutes Hood was hit several times, starting a small fire. With the 3rd salvo from Bismarck, a hit was apparantly scored on one of Hoods aft magazines, causing the ship to break in two and quickly sink. Of the 1421 crew, 3 survived.

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