Re: 24 1941 HMS Hood sunk
The Hood’s fate was sealed at the Battle of the Denmark Strait on May 24 1941, when HMS Prince of Wales and the HMS Hood engaged the German battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, both ships were attempting to gain access into the North Atlantic to intercept and attack Allied merchant shipping. While exchanging fire with Bismarck, one of the Bismarck’s shells ignited over a hundred tons of cordite in the Hoods aft magazines, cordite being an explosive which replaced gunpowder in the Victorian era. Due to extensive damage caused by the explosion to Hood’s hull the ship sank within three minutes, of the ships company of 1418 men, only three survived. Long after the war a German sailor from Bismarck stated after the Hood exploded there were no celebrations on the Bismarck. After the loss of Hood, HMS Prince of Wales, which was severely damaged continued the fight, however it soon became obvious if the battle continued the ship could also be lost, therefore the Prince of Wales withdrew. Later, the same month, the Bismarck was also sunk with the loss of 2000 lives on 27 May 1941.
"Our veterans did not forget about us .... Let's not forget about them." From Michael Levesque