At this point, the order to abandon ship was given. Ted Briggs was the last survivor of the battle cruiser HMS Hood, sunk by the German warship Bismarck in the North Atlantic during the Second World War. The exact cause of the loss of Hood remains a subject of debate. Another "pom-pom" director was added on the rear superstructure, abaft the HACS director in 1938. Two of these were submerged forward of 'A' turret's magazine and the other four were above water, abaft the rear funnel. [106], As a result of a collision off the coast of Spain on 23 January 1935, one of Hood's propellers struck the bow of Renown. An excellent place to post guestbook greetings & share photos/information concerning the ship and crew. Hood was the first of the planned four Admiral-class battlecruisers to be built during the First World War.Already under construction when the Battle of Jutland occurred in mid-1916, that battle revealed serious flaws in her design despite drastic revisions before she was completed four years later. 19 rare photos of HMS Hood - the Royal Navy's final battlecruiser First launched more than 100 years ago, HMS Hood was one of the greatest warships ever built by the Royal Navy. CCY (TCI) Served from 1942 - 1971 Served in HMS Duke Of York. Hood Association Archives and various family sources. On 13 September she was sent to Rosyth along with the battleships Nelson and Rodney and other ships, to be in a better position to intercept a German invasion fleet. To these were added five unrotated projectile (UP) launchers in 1940, each launcher carrying 20 seven-inch (178mm) rockets. "[70] The first formal board of enquiry into the loss, presided over by Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Blake, reported on 2 June, less than a fortnight after the loss. In May 1941, Hood and the battleship Prince of Wales were ordered to intercept the German battleshipBismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, which were en route to the Atlantic, where they were to attack convoys. The U-boat War in World War Two (Kriegsmarine, 1939-1945) and World War One (Kaiserliche Marine, 1914-1918) and the Allied efforts to counter the threat. 444 Flight of the Royal Air Force (RAF). Two HACS Mark III directors were added to the aft end of the signal platform the following year, and the Mark I director aft was replaced by a Mark III. If you have information about a man who served in the ship please contact William Sutherland by e-mail at crewsubs@hmshood.org.uk In the first instance if would help if you include in your e-mail the following information relating to the crew man: When he is able, William will reply to your e-mail so that we can draw it together into a page for the man concerned. One was mounted above the conning tower, protected by an armoured hood, and was fitted with a 30-foot (9.1m) rangefinder. Just eight days after the French surrender, the British Admiralty issued an ultimatum that the French fleet at Oran intern its ships in a British or neutral port to ensure they would not fall into Axis hands. [12], The Ascension Island guns saw action only once, on 9 December 1941, when they fired on the German submarineU-124,[105] as it approached Georgetown on the surface to shell the cable station or sink any ships at anchor. This crew list was last updated on Saturday, 25 February 2023, 13:17 and contains 1105 names (Index of Ship Interest Groups) - (Index . To compensate for the additional weight, the 4 midships above water torpedo tubes and the armour for the rear torpedo warheads were removed, and the armour for the aft torpedo-control tower was reduced in thickness from 6 to 1.5 inches (38mm). [55] The ship's near-constant active service, resulting from her status as the Royal Navy's most battle-worthy fast capital ship, meant that her material condition gradually deteriorated, and by the mid-1930s, she was in need of a lengthy overhaul. Its main conclusion is that the loss was almost certainly precipitated by the explosion of a 4-inch magazine, but that there are several ways this could have been initiated, although he rules out the boat deck fire or the detonation of her torpedoes as probable causes. HMS HOOD - 15in gun Battlecruiserincluding Convoy Escort Movements. H.M.S. Roll of Honour who match particular criteria such as rank / rating, age, home town etc. The bell was rung eight times in a commemorative service at midday attended by descendants of crew members who died in the battle before being placed in the museum's exhibit on the Battle of Jutland. A shell, falling short and travelling underwater, struck below the armoured belt and penetrated a magazine. HMS Hood (hull number 51) was a battleship of the Royal Navy (RN). Terms & Conditions! It was, in fact, the culmination of the German effort to use capital ships like battlecruiser . Updated 10-Apr-2022. One was on each side of the amidships control tower and the third was on the centreline abaft the aft control position. We are the official veterans, families and enthusiast association for British battle cruiser H.M.S. [43] Her size and powerful armament earned her the nickname of "Mighty Hood" and she came to symbolise the might of the British Empire itself. At the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 HMS Queen Mary , HMS Indefatigable, and the unfortunately named HMS Invincible. The HMS Hood, originally launched in 1918, . [45], Captain John Im Thurn was in command when Hood, accompanied by the battlecruiser Repulse and Danae-class cruisers of the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, set out on a world cruise from west to east via the Panama Canal in November 1923. They were supplemented by two additional control positions in the fore-top, which were provided with 9-foot (2.7m) rangefinders, fitted in 19241925. [57], Captain Irvine Glennie assumed command in May 1939 and Hood was assigned to the Home Fleet's Battlecruiser Squadron while still refitting. May 2016 is the 75th anniversary of Hood's sinking. Over 1,400 of these died while building or serving in her. 1,415 members of its crew perished. HMS Hood was the pride of the British fleet and the Bismarck ended her existence. [11] Two of these guns on the shelter deck were temporarily replaced by QF 4-inch (102mm) Mk V anti-aircraft (AA) guns between 1938 and 1939. For officers, the situation is easier as The Navy Lists do list all Commissioned and Warrant officers serving in Hood at any given time. William was born in Jarrow 1929, the son of Thomas and Catherine Ramshaw (nee Gibson) of Jarrow. This work is still very much in development but we have about one-third of the people who died already listed. Published by at June 13, 2022. Hood Crew Information- -H.M.S. HMS Ledbury saved some of her crew out of the blazing sea. 24-03-2018. The bulge was backed by a 1.5-inch-thick torpedo bulkhead. Hood Crew Information- H.M.S. Notes: (1) Casualty information in order - Surname, First name, Initial(s), Rank and part of the Service other than RN (RNR, RNVR, RFR etc), Service Number (ratings only, also . In addition to the above, submissions by individuals remains a valuable contribution to the database. [38] Following the loss of three British battlecruisers at the Battle of Jutland, 5,000tons of extra armour and bracing were added to Hood's design. HMS Hood was avenged and it was a gallant end to the German warship. The first, held soon after the ship's loss, concluded that Hood's aft magazine had exploded after one of Bismarck's shells penetrated the ship's armour. It is worth pointing out that in any warship at Action Stations, the vast majority of the ship's compa. Hood continued this pattern of a winter training visit to the Mediterranean for the rest of the decade. Captain Thomas Tower replaced Captain Binney on 30 August 1933. The search team also planned to stream video from the remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) directly to Channel 4's website. [31], Although the Royal Navy always designated Hood as a battlecruiser, some modern writers such as Anthony Preston have classified her as a fast battleship, since Hood appeared to have improvements over the fast Queen Elizabeth-class battleships. Furthermore, a section of the bow immediately forward of 'A' turret is missing, which has led historian and former Dartmouth lecturer Eric J. Grove and expedition leader David Mearns to believe that "either just before or just after leaving the surface, the bow suffered massive internal damage from an internal explosion",[85] possibly a partial detonation of the forward 15-inch magazines. [67] The three were rescued about two hours after the sinking by the destroyer Electra, which spotted substantial debris but no bodies. [72] This investigation was "much more thorough than was the first, taking evidence from a total of 176 eyewitnesses to the disaster",[73] and examined both Goodall's theory and others (see below). The development of effective time-delay shells at the end of the First World War made this scheme much less effective, as the intact shell would penetrate layers of weak armour and explode deep inside the ship. [28] As completed, Hood remained susceptible to plunging shells and bombs. On paper, Hood retained the same armament and level of protection, while being significantly faster. The probability is that the 4-inch magazines exploded first. Conceptualized during World War I as the follow on to the Queen Elizabeth class super-dreadnoughts, which were some of the most powerful battleships in the world at the time, the Admiral-class . Crew Lost During the Sinking of Hood, 24th May 1941, Crew & Dockyard Workers Lost Prior to the Sinking (Sept 1916 - May 1941). The Admiral-class, HMS Hood, 1941 is a rank V British battlecruiser with a battle rating of 7.0 (AB/RB/SB). [5] This characteristic earned her the nickname of "the largest submarine in the Navy". [89] Mearns had spent the previous six years privately researching the fate of Hood with the goal of finding the battlecruiser, and had acquired the support of the Royal Navy, the HMS Hood Association and other veterans groups, and the last living survivor, Ted Briggs. We work with our members around the world in remembering the Mighty Hood and all those who sailed in her. HMS Hood v Bismarck The fame Bismarck received for sinking HMS Hood and then being hunted in turn have turned her into a legend. They both had on board 5 million in gold bullion. The objective of the cruise was to remind the dominions of their dependence on British sea power and encourage them to support it with money, ships, and facilities. The other was fitted in the spotting top above the tripod foremast and equipped with a 15-foot (4.6m) rangefinder. [85], The evidence of the wreck refutes Goodall's theory of a torpedo explosion, while the eyewitness evidence of venting from the 4-inch magazine prior to the main explosion conflicts with the theory that the Hood was blown up by her own guns. The Admiral-class battlecruisers were designed in response to the German Mackensen-class battlecruisers, which were reported to be more heavily armed and armoured than the latest British battlecruisers of the Renown and the Courageous classes. Only Hood was completed, because the ships were very expensive and required labour and material that could be put to better use building merchant ships needed to replace those lost to the German U-boat campaign. Hood. [103] A third piece was found in Glasgow, where Hood was built. . Unsuccessful, she was ordered to patrol the Bay of Biscay against any breakout attempt by the German ships from Brest, France. Hood Crew List -H.M.S. HMS Hood was a battlecruiser not a battleship, a flawed concept from the Edwardian age that sacrificed armour for speed in the mistaken belief the latter would protect her when under fire from 'heavy' opponents. Tower and Bailey were acquitted, but Renown's Captain Sawbridge was relieved of command. PO. Crew & Dockyard Workers Lost Prior to the Sinking (Sept 1916 - May 1941) The German ships were spotted by two British heavy cruisers (Norfolk and Suffolk) on 23 May, and Holland's ships intercepted Bismarck and her consort, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, in the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland on 24 May. The fact that the bow section separated just forward of 'A' turret is suggestive that a secondary explosion might have occurred in this area. Below are just some of our members who have served at HMS Royal Arthur. [39] Most seriously, the deck protection was flawedspread over three decks, it was designed to detonate an incoming shell on impact with the top deck, with much of the energy being absorbed as the exploding shell had to penetrate the armour of the next two decks. -H.M.S. [96], In 2012, the British government gave permission for Mearns to return to the site of Hood's final resting place to retrieve one of her two ship's bells which were lying in a small open debris field some way from the wreck herself. Later that year, her crew participated in the Invergordon Mutiny over pay cuts for the sailors. Aboard HMS Lapwing (U 62) when hit on 20 Mar 1945 The memorials were assembled by blending official records with public casualty listings. Hood Crew Information- Here you will find our attempt at creating such a listing. Sir Horace Hood had been killed while commanding the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron and flying his flag on Invincibleone of the three battlecruisers which blew up at the Battle of Jutland. [12], The ship's original anti-aircraft armament consisted of four QF 4-inch Mk V guns on single mounts. Her secondary and antiaircraft fire-control directors were rearranged during another quick refit between 1 August and 5 September 1934. Updated 11-Apr-2022. Transferred to the Home Fleet shortly afterwards, Hood was dispatched to Scapa Flow, and operated in the area as a convoy escort and later as a defence against a potential German invasion fleet. Hood was hit by a 250kg (550lb) bomb from a Junkers Ju 88 bomber that damaged her port torpedo bulge and her condensers. Their sacrifices were not in vain: Though they were lost, the action in the Denmark Strait did end Bismarck's sortie. But, even in the case of those for whom records are available, relatives often hold far more information about individuals than can be gleaned from the necessarily impersonal nature of their official records. HMS Prince of Wales was a King George V -class battleship of the Royal Navy that was built at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, England. Albert Edward Pryke "Ted" Briggs was the last survivor of the battle cruiser HMS Hood, sunk by the German warship Bismarck in the North Atlantic during the Second World War. The spectacular end of HMS Hood demonstrated what many in the Royal Navy already knew . No hits were scored, but the submarine crash-dived and retreated. In the afternoon two more Swordfish conducted an A/S patrol around the carrier force. Although this can be ascertained by tracing his next ship, this is a prohibitively time consuming process. Men who died whilst serving in Hood before she was lost or who, Men who served in Hood who had been present at the major battles of World War 1, Men who served in Hood during the Empire Cruise of 1923/24, Acting Chief Electrical Artificer 2nd class, Acting Chief Engine Room Artificer 2nd Class, Shore Free Discharged (Joined Royal Fleet Reserve), Columbine (Coast of Scotland) Rnvr Headquarters Du, Portsmouth Division (A Company) (at Deal), Portsmouth Division (A Company) (at Deal), Portsmouth Division (A Company) (at Plymouth), President II (Coast of Scotland) Rnvr Headquarters, Promoted to Temporary Acting Warrant Writer, Re-engaged as Chief Mechanician (Pensioner), Re-engaged for 3 years no continuous service, Re-engaged K103815. The secondary armament was primarily controlled by directors mounted on each side of the bridge. The damage to Hood was limited to her left outer propeller and an 18-inch (460mm) dent, although some hull plates were knocked loose from the impact. During the same action, The ship was destroyed by the explosion of her own torpedoes. H.M.S. One casualty, George David Spinner,[75] is remembered on the Portsmouth Naval memorial,[76] the Hood Chapel at the Church of St John the Baptist, in Boldre, Hampshire, and also on the gravestone of his brother, who died while serving in the Royal Air Force in 1942, in the Hamilton Road Cemetery, Deal, Kent.[77]. [52] Hood was refitted at Malta in November and December 1937, and had her submerged torpedo tubes removed. [15], The Admirals were fitted with six fixed 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes, three on each broadside. Her 5-inch upper-armour strake would have been removed and her deck armour reinforced. Updated 06-Jun-2022. One of these hits contaminated a good portion of the ship's fuel supply and subsequently caused her to steer for safety in occupied France where she could be repaired. We are particularly grateful to Barry Roberts who has dedicated many hours undertaking this task and has identified several thousand "Hood men" thereby. For instance, the never-built G3 battlecruiser was classified as such, although it would have been more of a fast battleship than Hood. All the 5.5-inch guns were removed during another refit in 1940. Answer (1 of 4): Three. HMS Hood Walk-Around HMS Hood was something of a majestic design in terms of warships. 1935 was stamped on one surviving example, and "Hood V Renown off Arosa 23135" on another. [42], With her conspicuous twin funnels and lean profile, Hood was widely regarded as one of the finest-looking warships ever built. The fleet was spotted by the Germans and attacked by aircraft from the KG 26 and KG 30 bomber wings. This was to be used for a major event documentary to be aired on the 60th anniversary of the ships' battle. To save construction time, this was accomplished by thickening the existing armour, rather than redesigning the entire ship. The battlecruiser squadron made a Caribbean cruise in early 1932, and Hood was given another brief refit between 31 March and 10 May at Portsmouth. [107], Coordinates: 6320N 3150W / 63.333N 31.833W / 63.333; -31.833, This article is about the Admiral-class battlecruiser. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. She was used for harbour service from 1872 and was sold in 1888. Rapid expansion of the resulting combustion gases from the conflagration then caused structural failure, passing out through the sides of the ship as well as forward and upwards via the engine room vents, expelling the aft main battery turrets and causing the stern to be detached from the rest of the hull at the aft armoured bulkhead. [95], In 2002, the site was officially designated a war grave by the British government. As such, it remains a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act of 1986. [4] About 28 torpedoes were carried. For other ships of the same name, see, According to the testimony of Captain Leach, "between one and two seconds after I formed that impression [of a hit on, Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 14:06, destruction of the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir, destruction of the French fleet at Mers-el-Kbir, National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, "ADM 220/76: Reports of Performance in H.M.S. Alternative routes for admission of flame could have been the ventilation or venting arrangements of the magazines or, as Ted Briggs suggested, through the floor of a 15-inch gunhouse.