In the original dust jacket. Black cloth binding with gilt title on the spine.

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For over twenty years the battlecruiser HMS ‘Hood’ toured the world as the most iconic warship in the Royal Navy. Unmatched in her beauty and charisma, ‘Hood’ is one of history’s greatest warships. During the twilight years of the British Empire the ‘Hood ‘toured the world showing the flag as a symbol of British power. As the Royal Navy’s show-ship, ‘Hood’ came to command a special place in the hearts and minds of the British public. Such was the regard for HMS ‘Hood’ that her destruction in the Denmark Strait on the morning of 24 May 1941 by the German battleship ‘Bismarck’ created dismay across the world. Within minutes of entering battle ‘the Mighty Hood’ as she was affectionately known, was destroyed by a catastrophic explosion which had echoes of Jutland a quarter of a century earlier. Out of a crew of 1,418, only 3 survived. The sinking of HMS ‘Hood’ was the single largest disaster ever sustained by the Royal Navy. This book charts the life and death of this legendary battlecruiser in both peace and war from her early origins, through the interwar years, to her destruction.

Reviews:

• Before I read this book I knew a fair bit about HMS Hood. After finishing the book I know a great deal more. My father was in the Royal Navy right at the end of the War, stationed at Gibraltar, and he must have come across former members of the Hood crew because he told me about the ship, its sinking and the action at Mers el Kebir. The reason why it exploded, he thought in later years, was that the decking was not armoured enough. This book, with the benefit of seventy years of research and thought, makes it obvious that while more armour was needed, the Hood, as a battlecruiser should never have been put up against battleships. Very interesting but a sad ending all the same.

• I have read a number of books on the HMS Hood and hesitated before buying this one as I had read some of the reviews and wondered whether I needed to read another. But in the end I bought it, but although there were aspects that I liked, I was disappointed with others. The major plus point is the collection of photographs (although I was a bit puzzled by the number from the ‘author’s collection’ rather than further information on who took them) and it covers the whole history of the Hood and her captains. The downsides are the level of detail it tries to provide, but falls short on. Details about all journeys made by the Hood are given – but little more. It’s like a text form of a bullet point list at times. It left me wondering more about what these journeys were for and why so many repairs were needed. The author seemed primarily interested in focussing on battles and the Hood’s ultimate demise. So much more could and should be done to fill the gaps about what happened for much of its existence. And then, the book ends with the most puzzling aspect of the book itself by saying it would have been highly unlikely that it would ever have been turned into a museum ship had it survived the war as it was its sinking that made it an icon. The Pride of the Royal Navy – to use the subtitle of the book itself – became an icon due to its sinking? That’s not what the first half of the book was suggesting. And the Hood was less iconic than the Belfast, which the book points out as being a museum ship in the same paragraph? With this, and the frustration of a number of typing errors, I was left disappointed by the end of the book – which was a shame as I thought it handled the emotion of the sinking itself very well.

About the Author: DANIEL KNOWLES was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and has been interested in history since the age of eight. The main focus of his historical interest is the Second World War. In 2016 he graduated with an honours degree in History and Politics from the University of Northumbria. His dissertation was written on the changing perceptions to the wartime role played by RAF Bomber Command.