"HMS Hood
" Upon the Schlachtschiffe Bismarck sailing for the Atlantic, May 1941, the HMS Hood was sent out in pursuit, along with several other groups of British capital ships, accompanied by the newly-commissioned battleship HMS Prince of Wales. Their orders were to intercept before they could break into the Atlantic and attack Allied convoys. HMS Hood was commanded by Captain Ralph Kerr and flying the flag of Vice Admiral Lancelot Holland. On May 24, 1941, the HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales found the Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen in the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland.
" HMS Hood engaged the Prinz Eugen at 0552 hours, the German ships returning fire at 0555 hours, both German ships concentrating fire on the HMS Hood. A shell struck the Hood's boat deck, between funnels, and started a fire among the ready-use ammunition for AA guns and rockets of unrotated projectile mounts. At 0600, while turning 20 degrees port, she was hit, from a range of 16650 meters, from shells of Bismarck's fifth salvo. Either this shell or another from the same salvo hit the spotting top, the boat deck being showered with debris and human remains.
" Almost immediately, a huge jet of flame ripped from the vicinity of the Hood's mainmast. This was followed by a devastating explosion that destroyed the aft of the HMS Hood. The Hood's back was broken by this explosion and the last sight of the Hood was her bow, standing nearly vertical as she went down.
" She would sink in only three minutes.
" There were only 3 survivors of 1418 personnel aboard her."