H.M.S. Hood (1893)
Hood, the eighth ship laid down under the 1888 estimates that also produced the high-freeboard Royal Sovereign class of 7 ships, was constructed partly to mollify the then-First Sea Lord, Sir Arthur Hood, who preferred low-freeboard turret ships. She was named, appropriately, HMS Hood to honor that great Naval family,* and carried her 13.5" main guns in genuine Coles turrets, great armored cylinders fore and aft. She was the last British capital ship to employ proper turrets (see discussion) and the last low-freeboard battleship ever built for the Royal Navy. As predicted by tests in Dr. William Froude's tanks, Hood's performance proved clearly inferior to the Royal Sovereigns as a sea-boat. Accordingly, her career was largely spent in the eastern Mediterranean, where she preserved order during the Greco-Turkish Uprising of 1897-99, and in Home waters, where she eventually served administratively, as a receiving ship in Queenstown Harbour, etc. Hood ended badly, being sunk as a blockship to keep submarines out, at the mouth of Portland Harbour early in WWI. In the process she capsized and broke her back, remaining a highly visible embarrassment for many years and locally known as "The Old 'Ole in the Wall." Until recently, her remains were a popular diving destination, but over the last 15 years the wreck has started to lose its integrity and break down into a well-corroded mound of debris.
Specifications for the 1893 Hood:
Dimensions: 410' x 75' x 27'6" Displacement: 14,780 tons. Armament: (4) 13.5" in circular turrets; (10) 6" QF in casemates; (10) 6-pdr; (12_ 3-pdr. Armor: 18"/14" compound steel (belt), main turrets 11"/17", bulkheads 14"/16", 6" casemates, 6", decks 3"/2", conning tower 14"/12". Engines: (2) vertical triple expansion steam engines shafted to twin screw. Speed: 18 kts (in calm seas). Crew: 690.
Images of Hood
Hood in 1905. The flat grey paint emphasizes the hulking shape of the slope-sided citadel. The low-lying hull and overwhelming central mass show her derivation from the Nile class, albeit in a more ungainly form. For low freeboard battleships, this was nearly the end of the line. The greater stability and seaworthiness of higher-freeboard vessels prepared them better for worldwide responsibilities, especially navigation and combat in the stormy North Sea. Battleships built expressly for Mediterranean service continued to be smaller and less robust than their oceangoing cousins.
