Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Battle of Hood and Bismarck


These two battleships were the largest that ever sailed the seas for their countries. They were also engaged in a naval battle that decided the ate of the Bismark and condemned the HMS Hood to the bottom of the North Atlantic where it still lies to this day.

Bundesarchiv Bild 193-04-1-26, Schlachtschiff Bismarck.jpg
Bismarck in 1940

HMS Hood March 17 1924.jpg
HMS Hood, 17 March 1924

 

The HMS Hood was built in the first world war and had been engaged at the battle of Jutland. It also had a reputation as the biggest ship, the roughest crew, and the hardest to sink. Meanwhile the the Bismark was much smaller than the hood, it was on her maiden voyage. The Bismark did have a few things that the Hood did not have though. It had more accurate guns and better steering leverage and anyone knows that the slightest disadvantages in a ship can prove fatal. A setback in these two advantages though was that the sailors on board the ship were poorly trained to handle the equipment that made the Bismark better.

Yet despite all of the Bismarck's disadvantages they still sunk the HMS Hood in the open sea. How did this happen though. How could the Hood be sunk by the Bismark which is by far the lesser of two ships. Many theories have been developed but there is one that sticks out to me most. This one is that both ships took direct hits but due to the Hood's heavy armor the ship was unable to move and therefore crippled. Meanwhile because of the Bismarck's light armor and harder working engine it able to maneuver around the Hood and sink her. This light armor and harder working engine is also what almost got the Bismark out of enemy territory during her first voyage. But due to that critical hit the Bismark took from the Hood she was not able to make it home.

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