The chips are down. If Microsoft co-founder, Paul G. Allen, gets his way, he and his ROV-equipped yacht will soon set sail to recover the ship’s bell from HMS Hood. [FYI: ROV = Remotely Operated Vehicle].
HMS Hood, one of the last great British battlecruisers, was commissioned in 1920. She was the pride of the Royal Navy when she engaged the German battleship Bismarck on 24 May 1941.
Plunging fire from Bismarck penetrated the Hood’s armoured deck, causing her powder magazine to explode. The battlecruiser sank with almost all on board. A midshipman and two rating survived.
The bell pictured on the right is from the battleship HMS Rodney, which took part in the hunt for the Bismarck and was present at her sinking on 27 May 1941.
For more information on HMS Hood and the Bismarck see James Daly’s Daly History Blog post: Brothers in the Hood and Christopher Chant’s Aviation and Military History post: Operation ‘Rheinubung’ .