HMS Hood

We just saw that this week here in NZ on National Geographic Channel.

There was much food for thought as I watched the Beeb recreate the sinking of the Hood.
Part 2 is next week and will definitely be taped.

A ship these size of Hood going under so quickly under the eyes of those Prince of Wales
must have been a shock to those who saw it.
including the Germans who saw as well.

Martin
 
It's a great documentary, for me made even better by the obvious humanity of Mearns and the incredible dignity of Ted Briggs.

The two parter that Martin mentions is well worth watching out for. It was made by the same people who did the original documentary so it should hopefully pop up on the schedules again soon. It really does bring home the full horror of the sinkings of both Hood and Bismark.. and incidentally provides compelling evidence to lay to rest one of the great controversies of the Hood saga: whether or not poor ship handling by the Captain contributed to her fate.

There's also a reconstruction of the attack made on Bismark by the Swordfish bombers which is frankly terrifying: the crews concerned really were the bravest of the brave.
 
The James Cameron documentary on the Bismark expedition wasn't bad either. While it wasn't the highlight of the presentation, he did a good job of presenting a nice forensics presentation on what happened to the Hood.

For anyone interested, there's an excellant website on the HMS Hood which can be accessed HERE. This site also has a nice collection of wreck photos, and is well worth bookmarking.
 
Hi Michael,

Thanks for that link, I've seen the video but it is murky and for instance you can't see the teak decking (How much of the rain forest did that destroy?), or orientate yourself with where you where in relation to the actual undamaged ship.

The photos after being cleaned up were superb, the graphics gave you an idea of where you could be, but the damage was so great no one could give a true identity to the the debris. It just goes to show what an incredible explosion (or number of) went on inside the ship as she disintegrated, - not a cat in Hell's chance for 99.9% of the crew.

Again thanks for the link -

Best Wishes And Rgds

Dennis
 
>>It just goes to show what an incredible explosion (or number of) went on inside the ship as she disintegrated, - not a cat in Hell's chance for 99.9% of the crew.<<

And it wasn't either. When you have the contents of an entire magazine full of main battary ammunition and propellant explode, it doesn't leave much in it's wake. There were only three survivors.

Did you by chance catch the rebroadcast of Cameron's documentary on his expedition to the ship? From the quality of the material presented, I think he missed his calling as a maritime researcher.
 
Hi Michael,

No I didn't see the rebroadcast of the Cameron documentary, or at least I don't think I have.
The video I saw was from a UK Tv web site
www.channel4.co.uk, under the search option I just typed Hood and Bismarck. The format is Real Player but as I said the images were not too good.

It was interesting to watch the footage of the Hood immediately followed by the footage of the Bismarck. I'll go back and see who did the dives to confirm, but I think it was Bob Ballard.

Best Wishes and Rgds

Dennis
 
Ballard found Bismarck but not the Hood back in '89.

Thanks Mike for the URL but I have already been there and recommend this to all of you. Don't pass it by!

Has anyone seen a copy of the book published by Channel 4? Could you please give us a review?

Thanks in advance

Martin
 
Hello Kevin! Welcome to ET, I know you'll have a great time here. Here's what I found on one website about diving to different wrecks, hope it helps.
happy.gif


HMS Hood Location 50 34.07N 02 25.12W
Place Portland Harbour - Dorset

Description: 14,150 tons, 380x75ft, Royal Sovereign class battleship. Built at Chatham, launched 30th July 1891.

Cargo: N/A

Voyage: N/A Depth: 18m (at low water her bottom is about 2m from surface)

Sunk: Scuttled Nov' 4 1914 to protect harbour from marauding German U Boats.

Diving: Diving must be planned in relation to tides. The Hood lays upside down, and reasonably intact. Buried up to gunwales in seabed, which consists of rock and silt. Some plates are missing and there is a large hole in the centre of the hull. Do not be tempted to enter the wreck as she is now in a fragile condition and you may dislodge sections of the structure, bringing it down on you!

http://www.danymor.co.uk/site/weymouth.htm

Check out the site, it's pretty good. You have to scroll down a bit to find the facts on the Hood but it's worthwhile.
 
Interesting. I didn't even know that there was an earlier vessel by that name. On the chance that Kevin is referring to the battlecruiser Hood that the Bismarck did in, he may find This Webpage to be of use. The homepage for this site can be found HERE

As far as I know, the exact location of the wreck has not been made public. As to her condition, as you might expect from a main battary magazine explosion, it's not in very good shape. That website has some good wreck photos which graphically illustrate the violence of this event.
 
How silly of me, of course this is probably the Hood Kevin is referring to. And thanks for the link, Michael, it's a hidden gem for sure! It's a very thorough website, it may be useful next semester if I decide to study the Hood/Bismarck battle for history class.
 
I just got off the hood website and looked at pics
of the wreck the midsection is upsidedown and they determined that she was hit by a 15 inch
shell midships in the ammo bunker causing a catastropic implosion which sank her and she was in the middle of her 20 degree left turn
 

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