80th anniversary events to mark HMS Hood’s ill-fated mission from Scapa Flow in Orkney against Bismarck announced
The talks and films will be streamed via the Orkney International Science Festival’s YouTube channel on 21-22 May to coincide with the date of the ship’s departure from the islands’ naval base in 1941.
Three days later, HMS Hood sunk in minutes after being hit by German ships in the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland with the loss of all but three of her 1,418-strong crew.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe battlecruiser, built in 1918, was one of the Royal Navy’s largest and most famous – and her sinking the Royal Navy’s single largest loss of life in the Second World War.


Accompanied by newly-commissioned battleship HMS Prince of Wales and six destroyers, she had been sent to try to prevent Bismarck reaching the North Atlantic from Norway because of her threat to Allied shipping.
The event will include talks on the ship’s construction in Clydebank, her visit to Australia as part of a world tour in the 1920s which drew huge crowds, and the lead up to her departure from Scapa Flow.
A documentary by Rob White, For Years Unseen, will be screened about the recovery of the ship’s bell.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe two-day event will be introduced by Captain Chris Smith, the Royal Navy’s commander for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Historians and authors taking part include Ian Johnston, Graeme Lunn and Commander David Hobbs.
Commander William Sutherland, chairman of the HMS Hood Association, will talk about the organisation established in 1975 by former crew.
A message from the Editor:
Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.
If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.