HMS Hood (1891)
.jpg) The hood
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The second warship named HMS Hood was a modified tower ship of the Royal Navy and a half- sister ship of the ships of the line of the Royal Sovereign class .
She was named after Admiral Sir Arthur Hood , First Sea Lord of the Admiralty from 1885 to 1889. In her day, the Royal Sovereign -class battleships were the largest warships ever built. The other two warships, named Hood, are named after a former relative, Admiral Sir Samuel Hood .
The Hood differed greatly from the other ships in its class in that it had a lower deck height. Low deck height had been popular for about ten years because it didn't require as much hull area to be armored and it only made a smaller target. However, it significantly reduced the suitability for the open sea, as the freeboard height was reduced and problems arose in rough seas.
When the sea was rough, the deck of the Hood was sometimes flooded. For safety reasons, top speed could then no longer be driven in order not to endanger the ship and the crew. For this reason, she was only suitable for service in the relatively calm waters of the Mediterranean.
The main artillery and their crews were protected with armored turrets. As a result, the Hood's center of gravity was higher than the other ships in its class (4.1 ft compared to 3.6 ft). The roll period in rough seas was about seven percent shorter than that of the sister ships, which made accuracy suffer.
From 1901 to 1902, the top 6-inch cannons were protected by casemates. Previously these had only had armor shields. As a result, the center of gravity moved even higher and the stability of the ship continued to suffer.
After a decade of service in the Mediterranean, she was withdrawn to her home waters. Through the Entente cordiale , France had committed itself to protecting the Mediterranean and Great Britain to protecting the Channel coast. The Hood was first assigned to the Home Fleet, then to the reserve fleet in Devonport. From 1910 to 1913 she was the flagship of the Irish Coast Commander. She then became a test ship for anti-torpedo defense measures , which were installed as a makeshift solution on many British ships in the First World War.
On November 4, 1914, shortly after the outbreak of World War I , the Hood was sunk in the port of Portland to block the southern shipping channel, which provided a possible access for enemy submarines . It was originally planned that by opening the valves it would slowly sink to the seabed. This was taking too long, however, and the tide threatened to pull her from her position. So they hurried to blast a hole in the hull. The wreck lies keel up on the ocean floor. It was a popular place for divers until it was banned for safety reasons in January 2004.
Coordinates: 50 ° 34 ′ 9 ″ N , 2 ° 25 ′ 16 ″ W.