The Hood flew the flag during throughout the 20's and 30's. At the start of world war two, the Hood was assigned to the Home Fleet and operated in the North Atlantic and North Sea. The Hood operated briefly in the Mediterranean during the Mers-el-Kebir battle in July 1940. She returned to Scapa Flow to counter the German surface raider threat. In May of 1941 the HMS Hood set out with the HMS Prince of Wales to intercept the German battleship Bismarck which was trying to break out into the Atlantic. The result was the battle of Denmark Strait where the Bismarck and his heavy cruiser escort Prinz Eugen engaged the two British ships. The elderly Hood proved to be no match for the brand new battleship Bismarck as the Hood was so vital to the Home Fleet that she never received a much needed refit and upgrade that would have improved her fighting abilities.

The British ships sighted the Bismarck and proceeded to close the range while opening fire with their forward guns. The Germans returned fire concentrating on the Hood as she turned to expose her after turrets. Hits from both ships started fires on the Hood and soon a salvo of 15" shells from the Bismarck found the after ammunition magazines and the ship exploded with a huge fireball that opened the hull and let sea water pour in. The bow of the Hood rose out of the water and she sank with over 1,400 men. So devastating was the blast that only 3 men survived. The Prince of Wales now began to take the concentrated fire of the Germans but was able to score a few hits before retreating. These hits slowed the Germans enough that the rest of the British fleet could catch up and exact their revenge for the loss of the Hood. 

Thanks to Hobbico (Great Planes) Model Distributors for the review sample. Hobbico is the exclusive US importer for Italeri. Locate the nearest hobby shop to carry their products using the online Dealer locator.