HMS Hood - Origins of a Legend

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  • Опубліковано 24 гру 2024

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  • @Drachinifel
    @Drachinifel  Рік тому +83

    Pinned post for Q&A :)

    • @bkjeong4302
      @bkjeong4302 Рік тому

      If Hood had been built a decade earlier, how much of an impact would she have had on WWI?

    • @Aelxi
      @Aelxi Рік тому +2

      What would the most efficient gun and turret layout for a capital ship? 9 triples in 2fore, 1aft and 4 twins 2fore 2aft?
      And also when will be the next battle video, complete with voice acting and stuff?

    • @atypicalprogrammer5777
      @atypicalprogrammer5777 Рік тому +2

      How were the German parachute-dropped mines (The Luftmine A and B) intended to be used? wouldn't a mine free to drift with the wind when dropped (and possibly with the currents afterwards sounds) be just as much a threat to their own ships and U-boats as the intended target?

    • @silverhost9782
      @silverhost9782 Рік тому +4

      ​@@AelxiThe most efficient would have been to use quad turrets with all placed forward of the superstructure. Like Richelieu. If an extra turret was needed you could place all 3 forward like Nelson for a 12 gun broadside.

    • @unryumaru2095
      @unryumaru2095 Рік тому +1

      While both utterly outclassed by the 5"/38, which Axis heavy AA gun was better at deterring/destroying enemy aircraft, the Japanese 127mm Type 89 or the German 105mm SK C/33?

  • @knightofavalon86
    @knightofavalon86 Рік тому +367

    The British Navy: Our ships need more freeboard!
    *Builds Hood, with the freeboard of a kayak*

    • @Renaissance_Kamikaze
      @Renaissance_Kamikaze Рік тому +61

      "Worlds biggest Submarine" -Unknown RN Sailor

    • @bluemarlin8138
      @bluemarlin8138 Рік тому +26

      True, but that was only after they stopped construction and modified the design to incorporate the perceived lessons of Jutland. These additions were more than the hull was designed to handle, and they would have had to start over with a fresh design if they wanted the original freeboard.

    • @Renaissance_Kamikaze
      @Renaissance_Kamikaze Рік тому +18

      @bluemarlin8138 they suffered from the same problems as the Imperial Russian/Soviet Battleships too many changes over a long relative time, having read the Admiralty reports into lessons learnt from Jutland and their impacts on ship design, I can see how it happened you had one group saying more speed was needed, one saying better guns and gunnery another saying it was just a lack desire to seek battle and get the Trafalgar type decisive battle. Writing a disso on this kind've stuff is brain melting

    • @madkoala2130
      @madkoala2130 Рік тому +5

      @@Renaissance_Kamikaze Mighty Jingles?

    • @Renaissance_Kamikaze
      @Renaissance_Kamikaze Рік тому +3

      @madkoala2130 kinda I heard it from him then a few years later actually read in some Admiralty report at the NA please don't ask me to give you the full NA code

  • @lukedogwalker
    @lukedogwalker Рік тому +448

    The more I learn about Jellicoe, the more impressed I am. Had it not been for Beatty's political and high society shenanigans I believe we would speak of Fisher and Jellicoe in the same breath, and that we'd have seen capital ships named for him, possibly even an SSBN in the Cold War era. Jellicoe was ace and absolutely knew what he was doing.

    • @mahbriggs
      @mahbriggs Рік тому +37

      Jellico wasn't perfect! He was responsible for the terrible positioning of the control top in the smoke plume on the Dreadnought. ( and a couple of other ships as well) He was also responsible for the open sighting hoods on the top of turrets which prevented the use of superfiring turrets!
      I think he was a better fleet commander than ship designer.

    • @JevansUK
      @JevansUK Рік тому +23

      @mahbriggs to be fair British had been building ships that they later scrapped without seeing combat, it's easy to see how complaints about boat handling get a higher priority

    • @lukedogwalker
      @lukedogwalker Рік тому +61

      @@mahbriggs didn't say he was perfect. Didn't say he was a designer. Said he knew his job which was fleet commander, as you admit. And a fleet commander should know what features he wants. The mast placement was a horrible compromise forced by many other factors, including time.

    • @mahbriggs
      @mahbriggs Рік тому +6

      @JevansUK
      It resulted in the expensive rebuilding of a couple of ships, and that leaves out the idiocy of open sighting hoods on the top of the turrets!
      The problems with the control tops had been discovered in the Dreadnought and corrected in subsequent ships only to be reintroduced by Jellicoe.
      The U.S. Navy got it right from the beginning! In line, superfiring turrets capable of axial fire! It wasn't until the Hood was laid down that open sighting hoods on top of turrets were eliminated, enabling the superfiring turrets to axial fire!
      As I said, a better fleet commander than ship designer!

    • @mahbriggs
      @mahbriggs Рік тому +1

      @lukedogwalker
      Allowing for the stupid position of the control tops in the smoke plume of the funnels, what of his insistence on open sighting hoods on the turret tops?
      As I point out, the Americans figured it put from the beginning that it was a terrible idea.
      I believe the Hood was the first British ship capable of axial firing of her super imposed turrets!

  • @scottgiles7546
    @scottgiles7546 Рік тому +725

    Good to see Drach is finally covering such an unknown ship. 🙂

    • @Aelxi
      @Aelxi Рік тому +19

      I concur.

    • @splicetape9435
      @splicetape9435 Рік тому +18

      About time too.

    • @Ekergaard
      @Ekergaard Рік тому +127

      Yes, we are all tired of hearing about Finnish coastal defense ships and ironclads from Peru. We want to know more about a more obscure naval power.

    • @myparceltape1169
      @myparceltape1169 Рік тому +31

      It's the design path that got me.
      Lovely looking warship, when I saw a model I stopped listening to my surroundings.

    • @jimtalbott9535
      @jimtalbott9535 Рік тому +14

      I’m appreciating your mild sarcasm, but I still learned something.

  • @davidsmcwilliams
    @davidsmcwilliams Рік тому +204

    "The crews are complaining about low freeboard on our battleships. What should we do?"
    "Obviously the solution is to build a battlecruiser with even less freeboard so they can feel lucky by comparison."

    • @centurion2275
      @centurion2275 Рік тому +40

      Being in the military, this Is immaculate military leadership thinking.

    • @kiriusview9251
      @kiriusview9251 Рік тому +21

      Most upperclass of british sensebility.

    • @maze2490
      @maze2490 Рік тому +4

      LMAO!!!

  • @natthaphonhongcharoen
    @natthaphonhongcharoen Рік тому +148

    To be fair with the intel guys about the odd caliber guns. German nominally 11 inch guns were actually 283 mm which weren't rounded in neither metric nor imperial.

    • @michaelpielorz9283
      @michaelpielorz9283 Рік тому +12

      explains a lot. 280 mm seems to be fair, 383mm is a kind kind of overkill!

    • @berndberndsen5680
      @berndberndsen5680 Рік тому +3

      And dear god does it annoy me.

    • @TheSlaughtermatic
      @TheSlaughtermatic Рік тому +14

      Another thing to note is that the caliber of a gun can be stated as the diameter of the lands of the rifling the grooves of the rifling or the projectile diameter. None of these are the same number and all can be said to be the caliber of the gun. Even to this day whichever one is used is almost never stated and there is mostly no convention as to what should be used. This could be made easier.

    • @P_RO_
      @P_RO_ Рік тому

      @@TheSlaughtermatic In small arms, the measurement is to the rifling grooves/ projectile diameter. In naming cartridges the rule isn't always followed, usually to avoid confusion with other ammo.

  • @Bruce-1956
    @Bruce-1956 Рік тому +75

    To the men and boys of Hood who did not return. #wewillrememberthem

  • @Backwardlooking
    @Backwardlooking Рік тому +129

    Fortunately for himself my father was at the furthest end of the queue for those being drafted onto the Hood. If I remember back some 60 plus years I think he said he was just a few places back from those poor chaps who made up her final wartime complement.
    👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

    • @jakeh6988
      @jakeh6988 Рік тому +11

      Fortunate for yourself as well 😂

    • @theonlymadmac4771
      @theonlymadmac4771 Рік тому +16

      Sometimes it is very curious, to what bits of luck one owes his very existence. Congrats to existing🍾!

    • @orwellboy1958
      @orwellboy1958 Рік тому +13

      Unfortunately my distant cousin was not so lucky a ships boy first class, just sixteen years old when he went down with the Hood.

    • @cooper.......
      @cooper....... Рік тому +3

      ​​@@orwellboy1958my great grandfather petty officer Harry cecil alland died on the ship he was 32

  • @chrisvickers7928
    @chrisvickers7928 Рік тому +43

    I live in Victoria , Canada. Just west of Victoria is the military harbour in Esquimalt which has a huge graving dock. When it was built in 1924 it was designed to be able to fit the Hood. It never did hold it but in 1942 it held the Queen Elizabeth when it was being converted to a troop ship. I found a reference to this in a book as being one of the best kept secrets of the war. I showed this to my dad who laughed and said the line ups of people driving out to see the QE clogged all the bridges leading to Esquimalt.

    • @awuma
      @awuma Рік тому +4

      How did QE get to Victoria from New York? Amazing, I never knew about this, having myself lived in Victoria for a while.

    • @trevorn9381
      @trevorn9381 Рік тому +3

      @@awuma Sailed around Cape Horn because it was too big for the Panama Canal.

  • @Digmen1
    @Digmen1 Рік тому +22

    As a dedictaed fan of Hood (my uncle was a stocker on her and went down with her in 1941). I was amazed by the amount of detail you were able to give on these proposed battleships and the Admirals.
    I am amazed at what the designers were able to do without CAD or a speadsheet. Calculating the weight and speed etc.

  • @Claymore5
    @Claymore5 Рік тому +50

    DK Brown would be proud of you Drach! A very thorough assessment of the trials and tribulations of developing the Hood.

    • @mahbriggs
      @mahbriggs Рік тому +1

      I agree, although I am biased as I found D.K.Brown books before I found Drachinfel's channel. In fact it was Brown's books that led me to find Drach's channel as well as Dr. Clarke's.

    • @Claymore5
      @Claymore5 Рік тому +1

      @@mahbriggs Likewise!!

    • @maze2490
      @maze2490 Рік тому

      Yes, I agree.

  • @craigmorris4083
    @craigmorris4083 Рік тому +15

    Every superhero needs an origin story, and this is Hood's.
    Thanks Drach. :)

  • @leftcoaster67
    @leftcoaster67 Рік тому +27

    One of most beautiful ships ever made.

  • @Doug.bewick
    @Doug.bewick 8 місяців тому +7

    As a fifth generation shipbuilder from Clydebank, I'd like to thank you for putting this together and highlighting the incredible work in Hood's design and construction.

  • @thehandoftheking3314
    @thehandoftheking3314 Рік тому +30

    "It turns out Military intelligence got it wrong"
    everyone who has been in the military: "wow, what a truly unexpected Turn Of Events"

  • @chaseman113
    @chaseman113 Рік тому +21

    Wonderful video on Hood.
    I lived near Mt Hood my whole life and worked on the Mt Hood Railroad along the Hood River (river)
    In the town of Hood River, within Hood River County of Oregon state.
    Admittedly hearing the word “hood” really gets my attention and has brought me great interest in HMS Hood.
    All that said, it’s sorta funny the US ship “Mount Hood” is named after a mountain that itself is named after a British Admiral.
    Thanks again Drach for the content

  • @GammaAKF
    @GammaAKF Рік тому +19

    This is the exact type of video I enjoy most on your channel. This and the 5 minute guides.
    The process of designing and commissioning a ship, and the military and political factors that informed it is infinitely interesting

  • @ianreid
    @ianreid Рік тому +7

    My Grandfather served on HMS HOOD in 1929 transferred when she went in for a refit and sunk by Bismarck, he new many that went down with her may their souls rest in peace

  • @bhopkins8101
    @bhopkins8101 Рік тому +11

    Hi Drachinifel, I have a very large family connection to Hood, not that I have family who served upon Hood or were lost on Hood but my grandfather was a Foreman on her build, not an important foreman but a foreman none the less. I have several copies of her builders photographs taken off the original plates from the University Of Glasgow Industrial Archives. I have also had the honour of seeing her blueprints and taking a copy of which I no longer have due to moving home. Ventus Secundus

  • @jm9371
    @jm9371 Рік тому +8

    I really enjoyed this one. HMS Hood needed an in depth dive of her design history; fascinating.

  • @jamespocelinko104
    @jamespocelinko104 Рік тому +183

    In Hood's defense, her demise at Denmark Strait wasn't just due to her design, Bismarck also had some luck on her side.

    • @mpetersen6
      @mpetersen6 Рік тому +51

      The Golden BB. Yah, Bismarck had a certain amount of luck on her side. But Bismarck also had very good fire control and shooting. She also had her share of bad luck. A torpedo hit in just the right spot is what prevented her from reaching port in France. Imagine Bismarck sitting in Brest or another French Atlantic port. Just how much would that have complicated running convoys to the UK.

    • @Aelxi
      @Aelxi Рік тому +18

      @@mpetersen6 don't think good FCS systems usually got knocked out by the ship's own guns though.....

    • @mpetersen6
      @mpetersen6 Рік тому +41

      @@Aelxi
      That was her radar. Not her optical range finders.

    • @Aelxi
      @Aelxi Рік тому +17

      @@mpetersen6 alright my bad sorry about that
      I think I'm gonna agree with you. iirc Bismarck's 5th salvo got Hood so it's fair to call her shooting good.

    • @VersusARCH
      @VersusARCH Рік тому +16

      Bismarck had a plan.
      Bismarck always had a plan!

  • @Lowlandlord
    @Lowlandlord Рік тому +7

    My Dad was always obsessed with the Hood. His favourite movie as a kid was the Sink the Bismarck!, so I love all of this. Also interesting note, Admiral Horace Hood, a descendent of the Admiral Hood that the ship was named after, died at Jutland.

    • @-ZM_Gaming-
      @-ZM_Gaming- 6 місяців тому

      On a ship named "Invincible" yeah the world doesn't let these names survive for long

  • @gregorybrewer6776
    @gregorybrewer6776 Рік тому +38

    Hood is my favourite ship. Even more so than Warspite. Understandably, you've made my day 🎉

    • @Nick-rs5if
      @Nick-rs5if Рік тому +10

      "Even more so than Warspite."
      Heretic! Burn the heretic! 😂

    • @marckyle5895
      @marckyle5895 Рік тому +5

      @@Nick-rs5if Yes, but does he float like a duck? And if he does, what else floats like a duck?

    • @grahamstrouse1165
      @grahamstrouse1165 Рік тому +3

      @@marckyle5895Wood?

    • @marckyle5895
      @marckyle5895 Рік тому +2

      @@grahamstrouse1165 (nods) And therefore?

    • @AWMJoeyjoejoe
      @AWMJoeyjoejoe Рік тому

      @@marckyle5895 A WITCH!!!

  • @chrismaverick9828
    @chrismaverick9828 Рік тому +15

    With all the revisions and changes over time, I'm amazed she put to sea at all, or could even float with all that paperwork that went into it.

    • @ebnertra0004
      @ebnertra0004 Рік тому +5

      They had to keep the paperwork on shore. She'd be swamped for sure if they'd kept it aboard

    • @TheDogGeneral
      @TheDogGeneral Рік тому

      To be fair by the time the hood was sailing to do battle with the Bismarck she was in dire need of overhaul and repair it's amazing she didn't just sink on the way they're given how neglected ship them by the Royal Navy

  • @Andy-ql9wh
    @Andy-ql9wh Рік тому +5

    Thank you for this. Until now I never understood the history of the development of HMS Hood, as it was very involved. The photos are the icing on the cake. Watching them build it at keel level. The pic. of them lowering what appeared to be the lower turbine housing of one of the main engines into place was very interesting at least to me. Thank you again for saving and making accessible these almost forgotten images for us, I know it's not easy.. Bravo! On my way now to watch your sinking of HMS Hood video again....

  • @JevansUK
    @JevansUK Рік тому +77

    Renown and Repulse were probably much more useful than an extra pair of R class even if the resistance class would have been an improved design.

    • @Cailus3542
      @Cailus3542 Рік тому +26

      No question. When WW2 came along, lightly armoured 30 knot battlecruisers were much more useful than 20 knot heavily armoured battleships.

    • @bkjeong4302
      @bkjeong4302 Рік тому +2

      @@Cailus3542
      Not quite, because the real problem was that engagement ranges between fleets had become extended massively due to the presence of carriers on one (and, in the Pacific, both) side of the engagement, which big guns just couldn’t handle. And that was a problem with ANY ship armed with a capital ship’s main battery regardless of how fast it was.
      Before you say “AA carrier escort”, you don’t need capital ship-grade main guns for that.

    • @Cailus3542
      @Cailus3542 Рік тому +20

      @@bkjeong4302 You're assuming that the carriers are omniscient, always present, always have enough striking power to sink any enemy force and the engagement is happening in the day. Adjust any of those variables and a thirty year old 30+ knot battlecruiser is suddenly gold dust.

    • @bkjeong4302
      @bkjeong4302 Рік тому +2

      @@Cailus3542
      The fact carriers aren’t able to attack the enemy 24/7 does not automatically translate to carriers being vulnerable to surface ships outside of extremely specific circumstances.

    • @AmosDohms
      @AmosDohms Рік тому +4

      The carrier might not be vulnerable to surface attack, yes, but in any circumstance where all the ducks aren't in a row, the carrier will be of little use in doing anything. The battle cruiser, on the other hand, will be capable of many things.

  • @jacafren5842
    @jacafren5842 Рік тому +24

    Imagine, there are people out there with no interest in naval warfare. I tell you it is true! I am very gratefull that Drachnifel is there for all the rest of us

    • @therightarmofthefreeworld4703
      @therightarmofthefreeworld4703 10 місяців тому +1

      I’m not particularly interested in it, but I love military history in general. And Drach is the perfect antidote to most “history” videos on youtube (because most of them are garbage).

    • @garyhill2740
      @garyhill2740 2 дні тому +1

      Such folks are strange creatures. We must give them our compassion and understanding, and hope they get better 😊

  • @sunrayisdown1690
    @sunrayisdown1690 Рік тому +7

    After over 100 years it is nice to see that the MOD has not change one bit. They always make the right decision but only after exhausting every other possibility.
    Look at the Type 45s !

  • @iainmc9859
    @iainmc9859 Рік тому +10

    Probably worth a visit to Fairfield Heritage Centre, Govan, if you're ever in Glasgow. They've obviously amassed more primary sources than they could ever possibly display in a museum dedicated to shipbuilding.

  • @paulmetzgar2604
    @paulmetzgar2604 Рік тому +5

    Thanks for doing a video on explaining how the Hood was developed. Most historians miss this in their works.
    Watching this video was such a blast, and it utterly obliterated any Hood related knowledge gaps.

  • @pete7872
    @pete7872 Рік тому +30

    He pronounced Govan correct! With only a minor pause for thought! Well done Drach!

    • @AmosDohms
      @AmosDohms Рік тому +1

      Now I'm curious, how else would one pronounce it? Drach's way seems obvious to me. Go-van?

    • @neiloflongbeck5705
      @neiloflongbeck5705 Рік тому +1

      But can he do Milngavie?

    • @jamieduff1981
      @jamieduff1981 Рік тому

      @@AmosDohms in Scotland it is be pronounced more like Guh-van but without separation into two distinct syllables. The "o" is pronounced like "Government" rather than "Go". The "a" would be very soft as well, sounding closer to lower case "i" for some accents. It would not sound like Guv-Ann like the typically female name, and more like somewhere between Guhvin and Guvan. It actually does not sound unlike "Govern", if govern was pronounced lazily without care to distinguish the "r" sound.

    • @Leon_der_Luftige
      @Leon_der_Luftige Рік тому

      Maybe some day he'll pronounce German stuff correctly too. I'll make my day.

    • @pete7872
      @pete7872 Рік тому

      @@AmosDohms oven but with a G in front.
      I live across the river, 5 minutes from the god forsaken place! 😂

  • @crudbasher72
    @crudbasher72 Рік тому +3

    Probably one of the best looking warships of that era. Great video, thanks Drachinifel

  • @andrewpenley789
    @andrewpenley789 Рік тому +3

    The way Drach narrates this video on how this ship came to be is awesome.
    However hearing how the powers to be came to the design and construction has to be the most British thing i have ever heard.
    But interesting none the less.

  • @thomasfsan
    @thomasfsan Рік тому +3

    Aka “How the sausage is made”. Was really into this question, and this video answered it!

  • @speed150mph
    @speed150mph Рік тому +19

    In todays world of overhanded back office politics making decisions without consulting those who would be affected, I love how Jellicoe was consulted and immediately threw out 90% of the design they’d just spent over a year working on because half of what they were trying to implement did not meet the needs of the navy at that point. Then proceeds to on the spot lay out design parameters for what would become the greatest battlecruiser design, and what would be in a lot of ways the grandfather of the fast battleship.

    • @wheels-n-tires1846
      @wheels-n-tires1846 Рік тому +3

      The Zumwalt, Ford, and LCS programs all needed a Jellicoe....😂

    • @bkjeong4302
      @bkjeong4302 3 місяці тому

      More like the first proper fast battleship and the only one that wasn’t obsolete upon launch courtesy of aviation.
      Unless you count the QEs of course.

  • @macscott5290
    @macscott5290 Рік тому +8

    My Grandad worked as an electrician for John Browns and his work on new radar on the Hood finished the night before she left for sea. Any later and he would have been kept onboard and always thought he would have died when she went down.

  • @assessor1276
    @assessor1276 Рік тому +3

    Excellent work Drach - I’ve always had a soft spot for Hood.

  • @colinlove5062
    @colinlove5062 Рік тому +2

    The previous Hood videos are up there with my all time favorite Drac content. Keeping all that in mind makes the design & construction of Hood fascinating. 👍

  • @mitchm4992
    @mitchm4992 Рік тому +170

    How many pairs of binoculars did Hood stock for her resident admirals to throw overboard?

    • @ronaldfinkelstein6335
      @ronaldfinkelstein6335 Рік тому +6

      😆

    • @bigblue6917
      @bigblue6917 Рік тому +22

      Wrong navy. That was the Russian navy who only passed through the North Sea on the way to its doom against the Japanese.

    • @patchouliknowledge4455
      @patchouliknowledge4455 Рік тому +20

      @@bigblue6917 Pretty sure OP knows about the 3rd pacific squadron

    • @Aelxi
      @Aelxi Рік тому +5

      That's interesting.
      I wonder what USS Washington have to say about that ;)

    • @peanut1412
      @peanut1412 Рік тому +22

      Enough to ensure a encounter with the Kamchatka could be managed effectively

  • @CachingCadre
    @CachingCadre Рік тому +3

    I find these design videos to be just as exciting and informative as the ones on battles.

  • @wheels-n-tires1846
    @wheels-n-tires1846 Рік тому +2

    The numbet of well-considered objections or changes that Adm Jellicoe asked for gives a lot of insight into how technically in tune he was with ship design and battle dynamics. Knowing little about him, he just became very impressive in my mind!!!

  • @andrewfanner2245
    @andrewfanner2245 Рік тому +3

    Superb set of photos there, thank you.

  • @johnfisher9692
    @johnfisher9692 Рік тому +21

    Thanks Drach
    HMS Hood was the largest warship for decades and certainly one of the most beautiful ships ever built.
    It is a tragedy she never got the reconstruction she deserved, if she had I think Bismarck's voyage would have ended in much sooner

    • @P_RO_
      @P_RO_ Рік тому +1

      At least there would have been a chance for Hood. Lutjens knew exactly what to do once he understood who his opponent was because they too knew the armor upgrade wasn't done.

    • @Ah01
      @Ah01 Рік тому +2

      I wonder if the rebuild would have put special emphasis on deepening the side armour downwards? Since a chance hit below the side belt was the probable culprit, like drachs previous video suggests. If not, the rebuild would not have had direct impact on the outcome. But it always is a lot of if:s, impossible to tell all the different factors being altered.

    • @HSS_yt
      @HSS_yt Рік тому

      ironically the reason her place on the refit list was so late was just because she was seen as the most powerful of them all....
      if she was refitted, then we might not even have seen vanguard. that's an interesting thing to think about!

  • @JamesAnderson-dp1dt
    @JamesAnderson-dp1dt Рік тому +7

    Drach, I kinda doubt anyone else has expressed interest, but I'd love videos on the First World War UC I, UC II, and UC III class minelayer submarines. You know, in your spare time. :-)

  • @tominmtnvw
    @tominmtnvw 9 місяців тому +1

    What an awesome video! Thank you so much.

  • @michaelkovacic2608
    @michaelkovacic2608 Рік тому +6

    Design A: exists
    Jellicoe: I'm about to end this man's whole career

  • @johnculver2519
    @johnculver2519 Рік тому +1

    Thank you for these great construction pictures

  • @admanpaulandrew
    @admanpaulandrew Рік тому +5

    Wonderful piece as usual Drach. Thanks from Australia, sorry I didn't catch you down under (no pun intended).

  • @donaldrobertson117
    @donaldrobertson117 Рік тому +3

    Very interesting insights into the design process. The actual build process still fascinates.

  • @scottjackson5173
    @scottjackson5173 11 місяців тому +1

    Very interesting research! What amazes me about battleship design. Is that once the all big gun battleship was built. Thinking about them became as thick as the ships main side armor. Also as swift as the ponderous pace of the machinery used to train the massive guns! Super dreadnoughts were big slow moving targets. Making them rather easy to hit. Armor was supposed to provide protection. Only the ship has to float, so the weight of armor is strictly limited. Meaning that the armor has to be carefully placed on the ship. So the destruction of HMS Hood was a classic example of why she was already obsolete when her hull was launched. The reason for this was simple enough. Big slow moving easy to hit targets. The speed of Hood, and similar fast battleships was an attempt to adress the issue. But with the large 40,000 ton displacement hull, Hood was the largest target to date. These ships were just too big. The fact was well demonstrated when hits from Prinze Eugen and Bismarck hit Hood's deck above the armor protection. Hood exploded rather violently. Hood's destruction was shortly followed by that of Bismarck. Leaving Prinze Eugen to return to port alone.
    Heavy Cruisers thus became the defacto battleships serving on the front lines. So the big vulnerable battleships could be saved from destruction. Only the front lines was what a battleship was built to excel in battle. The big guns and heavy armor providing an expected advantage. One that failed to materialize.
    As the twentieth century marched on. The operating speed of warships kept increasing. Making big slow super dreadnoughts unable to keep up. The giant guns were powerful, capable of inflicting massive damage. If they hit the target. Only the low rate of fire coupled with the ponderous pace of train. Made hitting small, fast agile targets rather difficult. The lighter guns used in the cruisers were better suited for battle. Even if many 8" guns didn't shoot much faster. They could be trained on target more quickly. Moreover cruisers were faster to build and far less expensive to replace. Big battleship guns got most of their use bombarding shore targets. Most naval battles involved small fast targets like aircraft. It's often been said that the aircraft carrier that made battleships obsolete. Only battleships had already been obsolete. Once the accuracy of naval gunfire substantially improved and the speed of most warships became greater than 30 knots. Allowing for numerous hits on any big slow moving target. As the loss of Hood demonstrated. Hits where there is no armor, can quickly be catastrophic.

  • @agesflow6815
    @agesflow6815 Рік тому +1

    Thank you, Drachinifel.

  • @Calum_S
    @Calum_S Рік тому +14

    Flawed she may have been, but HMS Hood was a handsome ship.

    • @jackdaniel7465
      @jackdaniel7465 9 місяців тому

      Every ship has flaws, good example USS Arizona, it was just a lucky shot by the Bismarck.🇺🇸

    • @jackdaniel7465
      @jackdaniel7465 9 місяців тому

      And yes it was a handsome ship.

    • @joshuaboyle7585
      @joshuaboyle7585 7 місяців тому

      Absolutely gorgeous no doubt.

  • @graveyard1979
    @graveyard1979 Рік тому +1

    "Rule The Waves". Well played, WoW. Well played.

  • @scimitaredgebooks
    @scimitaredgebooks Рік тому +1

    Utterly fascinating, thank you!

  • @nomoss9600
    @nomoss9600 Рік тому

    I have no idea what I’m about to watch but I’m sufficiently hyped by the title.

  • @curthenderson6407
    @curthenderson6407 Рік тому +1

    Nice to see Hood covered. Honestly, all I ever knew about Hood was she was sunk by Bismarck.

  • @101stLegion
    @101stLegion Рік тому +32

    HMS Hood is the JFK of warships. Everyone knows there was a second Bismark on the Icy Knoll.

    • @waverleyjournalise5757
      @waverleyjournalise5757 Рік тому +2

      Every British capital ship built before Hood had near identical flaws in their armour. WW1 armour schemes simply don't work in WW2.

    • @dovetonsturdee7033
      @dovetonsturdee7033 Рік тому +1

      @@waverleyjournalise5757 Perhaps because the change to AoN from incremental had not yet been made when the last WW1 RN battleships were laid down?
      The first AoN battleships, the Nevadas, were only laid down in late 1912.

    • @cookiecraze1310
      @cookiecraze1310 11 місяців тому +2

      ​@@waverleyjournalise5757Hood going down was pretty much just because the Bismarck rolled nat 20's on that specific salvo. In any normal condition it wouldn't have gone down but (for once) luck was on the Bismarck's side.

  • @colinmartin2921
    @colinmartin2921 Рік тому +1

    Excellent, thank you. What this video shows is how Dreadnought design and development was still in its infancy in 1914, and there was no concensus about the way forward.

  • @dylangunter1671
    @dylangunter1671 Рік тому +2

    Fantastic video as always Drach! Please keep it up!

  • @rulebretgne5244
    @rulebretgne5244 Рік тому +5

    I love how the ship was so long that it jutted into the town

  • @nilo9456
    @nilo9456 Рік тому +1

    Drach, thank you for this video.

  • @BlahCraft1
    @BlahCraft1 11 місяців тому +1

    I like how they started the design with the idea to make a ship that wouldn't cover it's crew in water, and ended up making Hood, a ship often called "The Royal Navy's Largest Submarine" due to how wet her crew was.

  • @rodneymccoy8108
    @rodneymccoy8108 Рік тому +6

    It would have been interesting to have asked Admiral Jellicoe what his impressions of an Iowa would have been. What he liked and perhaps what he might not have liked about her.

  • @-ZM_Gaming-
    @-ZM_Gaming- 6 місяців тому

    Absolutely brilliant video on Hood. I am a big fan of Naval Battles myself and it all started of me getting interested in the Denmark Strait. Brilliant video just like the vid where you showed a theory on Hood's final voyage

  • @paulprovenzano3755
    @paulprovenzano3755 10 місяців тому +2

    I need to find more videos about this wonderful ship. I’ve never heard of her before but she sounds pretty cool.😂

  • @BobSmith-dk8nw
    @BobSmith-dk8nw Рік тому +11

    Yeah ... I look at such a big, powerful ship - and it's so hard to believe it was utterly destroyed.
    .

    • @myparceltape1169
      @myparceltape1169 Рік тому +1

      It must have got the John Brown ("joan broon") men annoyed.

    • @WALTERBROADDUS
      @WALTERBROADDUS Рік тому +1

      I used to say the same thing about the space shuttle.

  • @Thirdbase9
    @Thirdbase9 Рік тому +14

    I think Drach chose this ship because he can pronounce all the ship names.

  • @panic_2001
    @panic_2001 Рік тому

    Currently on vacation on the North Sea coast, just woke up and there is the right video from Drach ✌️

  • @gabon4000
    @gabon4000 Рік тому +1

    It is very interesting to see it in dock under construction, absulutely massive it was. Such a beauty too.

  • @kenpage3321
    @kenpage3321 Рік тому

    Hi Drachinifel. Love your stuff and wish I had time to watch it. This episode reminded me that I’d love to know why there was so much obsession with fitting torpedo tubes on Battleships? This puzzled me for years and it would be great to hear why they wanted to potentially compromise safety by having extra holes in the hill or extra explosives on deck, for a weapon we rarely if ever hear of battleships actually using. Maybe one for a q&a episode, or an episode on battleship auxiliary systems?

  • @pxrays547
    @pxrays547 Рік тому

    I like this add of the design process and additional construction documentation.

  • @jermainerace4156
    @jermainerace4156 Рік тому +3

    283mm is a fractional inch size: 11-9/64"
    Mind you, I've never heard of a previous naval gun intentionally made to 64ths, but when working with smaller mechanical objects, these fractional sizes are not unheard-of. A very comprehensive modern set of drill bits or collets for example, might have 64th sizes.

  • @janwitts2688
    @janwitts2688 Рік тому +16

    Q turrets were a somewhat dubious endowment anyway... statistically as they were generally near dead centre and the enemy salvo was targeted at dead centre Q turrets would be more likely on broadsides to take roof hits.. and in practice this happened .. again and again..

    • @scottgiles7546
      @scottgiles7546 Рік тому +2

      So..... You make the roof thicker on Q turrets, ALL Q turrets, then? (My ship has a bad case of Turrets?)

    • @bluemarlin8138
      @bluemarlin8138 Рік тому +3

      The bigger issue was having an extra magazine amidships. You could make the turret face and roof thicker without too much of a weight penalty, but not the belt.

    • @marckyle5895
      @marckyle5895 Рік тому +3

      Or wing turrets. Twice the vulnerability, less than half the useability because firing the turret on the far side meant concussing your own deck, nearby superstructure, lifeboats and maybe the crew in the other turret (edit: if the barrels are pointed a bit fore or aft towards the other turret which is also facing fore or aft towards the enemy). Imagine trying to use the sights mounted on the turret while getting gun blasted every 40 seconds! What I've read is that SOP in the RN was to not use the far turret but to turn it towards the enemy because of the thicker armour on the front. How useless is that?

    • @marckyle5895
      @marckyle5895 Рік тому +2

      @@scottgiles7546 The Agincourt has the worst case of Turrets I've ever seen!

  • @wilsonlaidlaw
    @wilsonlaidlaw Рік тому +5

    Drachinfel, in your opinion, might having the build revised to put the magazines below the shell rooms, have prevented the sinking of HMS Hood or at least slowed it down.

  • @arohk1579
    @arohk1579 Рік тому +2

    She was one of a kind 😊

  • @hmsverdun
    @hmsverdun Рік тому +19

    Jellicoe was much more concerned about the Battlecruiser force-and that was just the admiral in charge of them. Also ah yes another intel report dramatically overstating the power of the opponents causing something quite a ot nastier than what was going to be built(although the Mackensen was pretty nasty on paper as it was pretty much a German Kongo class).

  • @ronalddevine9587
    @ronalddevine9587 Рік тому +2

    Very informative. Sad ending to a magnificent ship.

  • @bigsarge2085
    @bigsarge2085 Рік тому +1

    Fascinating!

  • @indigohammer5732
    @indigohammer5732 Рік тому +5

    The model in "The Clyde Room" at Glasgow Museum of Transport, is the largest there, it's enormous.

  • @Big_E_Soul_Fragment
    @Big_E_Soul_Fragment Рік тому +15

    A beautiful ship sadly lost in battle
    and also a beautiful shipfu. 10/10 Best tea drinker

    • @ph89787
      @ph89787 Рік тому +7

      Drach's best girl.

    • @bkjeong4302
      @bkjeong4302 Рік тому +3

      @@ph89787
      He could do much, much worse. One of my favourites as well (both IRL and in-game).

    • @Big_E_Soul_Fragment
      @Big_E_Soul_Fragment Рік тому +3

      @@ph89787 AL Hood has the Drach seal of approval

    • @mpetersen6
      @mpetersen6 Рік тому +3

      As Ted Briggs said. "A beautiful shop with a glass jaw." I think Drach's analysis from a couple of years ago makes sense. Hood got hit by a shell that penetrated below the belt.

    • @waverleyjournalise5757
      @waverleyjournalise5757 Рік тому +3

      @@mpetersen6 I wouldn't call a shot below the belt a glass jaw, it was such an unforeseen scenario in WW1 and yet happened 3 times at the Denmark Strait - first prize to Hood, but one of Bismarck's shells got stuck in Prince of Wales's keel and Wales's return flooded one of Bismarck's turbogenerator rooms. The Japanese even for a time carried out tests on 'diving shells' designed to fly underwater and strike ships below the belt.
      Glass jaw is Courageous-levels of armour in my book.

  • @donaldrobertson117
    @donaldrobertson117 Рік тому +3

    Jellicoe is the hero here.

  • @telescoper
    @telescoper Рік тому +5

    Those constant changes to Hood's design during construction must have driven the shipyard engineers and workers crazy! Do you have any information on how much the changes delayed her completion and her cost?

  • @maximilliancunningham6091
    @maximilliancunningham6091 9 місяців тому

    Collage level expert dissertations. TY. Consistently authoritative and excellent presentations.

  • @nicholasmaude6906
    @nicholasmaude6906 Рік тому +6

    IMO Adm. Jellicoe's reputation was unfairly besmirched as a result of the battle of Jutland with that glory-hound Adm. Beatty getting credit he didn't deserve.

  • @erika_itsumi5141
    @erika_itsumi5141 Рік тому +1

    Im going to be honest Dogfights Hunt for the Bismarck, is where I found and ultimately fell in love with Hood, such a beautiful ship. And please tell me, im not the only one who sees a face in Hoods bridge.

  • @champagnegascogne9755
    @champagnegascogne9755 Рік тому +6

    *"Elegance isn't just for show"*

    • @-ZM_Gaming-
      @-ZM_Gaming- 6 місяців тому

      You have brought me here 11 months later

  • @George_M_
    @George_M_ Рік тому +6

    The Hood was such a nice ship, shame about the design flaw of not taking bow wave dip into account when locating ammunition.

  • @cacambo589
    @cacambo589 Рік тому

    "Rum Ration" is really funny. Thanks, Drach.

  • @dublin4570
    @dublin4570 Рік тому

    A snack for the algorithm. Very interesting video on a vessel nearly forgotten by modern historians

  • @doomedwit1010
    @doomedwit1010 Рік тому +1

    Great 5 minute guide! ;-)

  • @g1stylempdesign929
    @g1stylempdesign929 Рік тому

    Absolutely! He’s usually deep diving into Excelsior class Star ships.

  • @gregsutton2400
    @gregsutton2400 Рік тому

    Great work as usual

  • @Jesusfreak-m3x
    @Jesusfreak-m3x Рік тому +3

    This was the first rum ration that I have finished. I enjoy this sort of history without so much time in the library. I have been a fan of "Hood" and the Nelrods since I was in high school in the late 60s. Question: What effect would the fifteen-inch guns of the "Vanguard" meant to the Royal Marines and Commandos in the Falkland's, had she still been available?

  • @kc4cvh
    @kc4cvh Рік тому +5

    I've never heard any mention in any forum of HMS Hood's namesake, Admiral Samuel Hood.

  • @josephpicogna6348
    @josephpicogna6348 Рік тому

    well done, one of my favorites

  • @Apollyon-er4ut
    @Apollyon-er4ut Рік тому

    Great stuff, as always.

  • @Rdeboer
    @Rdeboer Рік тому +4

    _"If any subordinate opposes me I will make his wife a widow, his children fatherless and his home a dunghill."_ *Lord Fisher*

  • @skylarsoper241
    @skylarsoper241 Рік тому +2

    I play world of warships legends and have been for 4 years strong , I own the hood ,Nelson, vanguard ,warspite, Cossack , late war Belfast ,London, Cheshire,Exeter just to name a few 😊

  • @georgewallis7802
    @georgewallis7802 Рік тому

    outstanding photos thanks

  • @MonsieurPhilippe1
    @MonsieurPhilippe1 Рік тому +6

    Hood wasn't commissioned as a class of one, but as a class of her own.

    • @Paciat
      @Paciat Рік тому

      The quick-sink class?

    • @MonsieurPhilippe1
      @MonsieurPhilippe1 Рік тому

      @@Paciat:
      A few thousand tons of additional armour and better firing accuracy undoubtedly would have helped.

    • @Paciat
      @Paciat Рік тому

      @@MonsieurPhilippe1 Yes, a better everything would be better.