Bismarck vs Hood Part 4

  On May 31st, 1916, a navel battle occurred off the coast of Denmark that would

become known simply as "The Battle of Jutland". It was the only major sea battle

between British and German forces of World War I but the loss of life was appalling.

When the smoke had cleared, the German fleet had lost eleven ships and over

twenty-five hundred men while the British lost fourteen ships and over
                                                             
six-thousand sailors, all within an twenty-four hour period. The British commander

Admiral Betty was to remark, "There seems to be something wrong with our

bloody ships today.....". An understatement if there ever was one. Three of the

British ships were battlecruisers and were destroyed from German plunging fire.

The shells would strike the decks of these ships and plunge deep into the       

magazines where they would detonate and cause massive explosions. It was for this

reason that five-thousand tons of armour was added to the Hood causing her to

sit substantially lower in the water and increasing her draught. The very advantage

the Hood had in her original design, her speed, was now taken away with the addition

of this additional armour. The Hood was a grossly overweight ship with a highly

stressed structure. It was made even worse during wartime when she was force to

carry additional wartime loads. Upon meeting the Bismarck she was already at a

significant disadvantage.

(to be continued)