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Without a doubt, the most famous Naval surface action of World
War II saw the pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, versus the
terror of the German Kriegsmarine, KMS Bismarck. Action commenced
at 0552 1/2 hours, as Hood's two forward turrets fired the first
salvoes. Half a minute later, Prince of Wales forward turrets
followed suit. Though it was at its extreme range, it is possible
that Hood was attempting to use her Type 284 gunnery radar to
direct her bombardment (this is subject to debate though). Prince
of Wales, her Type 284 malfunctioning (attempts were made to
use it, but it was believed to be defective), was forced to shoot
optically. Note: this too is a source of debate - more on this
in future revisions. Hood's first salvo fell near Prinz Eugen
but did not actually hit. Prince of Wales's opening salvo was
observed to be some distance away from Bismarck. The Germans
were shocked to learn that the approaching vessels were not cruisers
- they were in fact major combatants - a King George V class
battleship (which they assumed was KGV herself, as Prince of
Wales was thought to still be working up) and even worse, the
famed and feared battle cruiser H.M.S. Hood (apparently the men
aboard Bismarck knew it was Hood before the crew of Prinz Eugen).
Her legend and reputation were great and she was well respected
in the Kriegsmarine. This is backed-up by the statements of Bismarck
crew who were later quoted as saying that Hood, in particular,
was the 'terror of their war games'. In comparison, Hood was
a well-built for her day (1920), but by 1941was nonetheless an
aged battle cruiser. She had adequate protection in some key
areas, but not all. Because of her machinery, she was filled
with large, somewhat open spaces. Though her speed had been reduced
over the years, at 29 knots, she was still fast for her size.
Her guns were deadly, but she suffered from out-dated gunnery
systems. She did boast advanced radar, but her crew had hardly
enough time to become proficient in it's use. Simply put, in
a one-on-one fight, Bismarck could absorb more damage while firing
faster and more accurately than Hood. Bismarck could take AND
give more in battle. Each ship had the ability to sink or severely
damage the other, but the advantage clearly was with Bismarck.
This is not a totally negative reflection on Hood, but simply
an observance that Bismarck was 20 years more modern than Hood.
Bismarck's design reflected all that had been learned between
the times the two ships were built. |