May 24, 1941 - The Mighty Hood Goes Down

[Felix/FFDS]

Arrg......lucky hit by the Krauts.

Not a "lucky" hit - the German gunnery and optics was much better, and they were in the better tactical position.

Too bad their luck was short lived..............went down cuz of a torpedo from a obselete piece of British junk...........no offense to the brits

While no one will doubt that the Stringbag was obsolete, it was not "junk".  It served its purpose and more, and actually outlived its replacement (Albacore).  If you want to compare "junk", I would say it was more effective than the American torpedo bomber of the same period - the Devastator.

Cheers
Jeff[/quote]

[Woodlouse2002]

The Stingbag was anything but junk. As Felix say'd it outlived the aircraft intended to replace it. It was also one of the most rugged and versitile carrier bourne aircraft out there. In Charles Lamb's autobiography there is a story of how a Swordfish flew straight into a barrage balloon cable, swung round a full 180 degrees and just kept on flying in the other direction. And this was with one wing nearly entirely sawn off.

[Stratobat]

There was a documentary about the Hood and Bismarck released by National Geographic. Well worth it, I was lucky enough to catch it on TV a few years back, if you guys ever get the chance, watch it

Regards,
Stratobat

Edit: I sometimes wonder if the Bismarck was scuttled!

[Woodlouse2002]

I don't think its been proved that Dorsetshire actually delivered the knockout blow to Bismarck with torpedo's. Certainly i've heard accounts that Bismarck was scuttled at the last minute. However, I believe that she was sunk by Dorsetshire as she rolled over when sinking.

[Felix/FFDS]

I don't think its been proved that Dorsetshire actually delivered the knockout blow to Bismarck with torpedo's. Certainly i've heard accounts that Bismarck was scuttled at the last minute. However, I believe that she was sunk by Dorsetshire as she rolled over when sinking.

In the final analysis, does it matter whether the Bismarck's immediate sinking was due to it being scuttled or whether it had had "death blows" dealt by the British?  If it hadn't been scuttled, it simply would have struggled a bit more before being sunk by more shellling or torpedos.