# Why was HMS Hood special? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 16, 2023, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626 "2023-06-16T14:00:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/41 "2023-06-22T21:30:48Z")
Not quite. _South Dakota_ was able to fire at _Kirishima_ and scored some hits after power was restored. Her secondary battery kept firing, too. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/42 "2023-06-22T21:31:17Z")
That’s when it was no longer a floating hotel. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/43 "2023-06-22T21:33:26Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > What in modern parlance is termed a “mission kill”. As a floating hotel, _South Dakota_ was still fully functional. As a weapon of war, it was done. But due to an electrical malfunction that occurred before it got hit. Yeah, the damage was definitely “back to port to fix”, but it kept fighting. And the Kirishima didnt do any real damage. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/44 "2023-06-23T01:29:06Z")
First, the damage to _South Dakota._ The IJN developed an AA round for their heavy guns. For AA, it sucked, but it was great for wrecking planes on an airfield. So they’d send ships to bombard Henderson Field, with the ammo trains in the turrets loaded with AA shells. During the 1st and 2nd Battles of Guadalcanal, the IJN battlecruisers, confronted by the USN, had to use up those AA shells before the ship-killing AP shells could be loaded. When those AA shells hit _San Francisco_ and _South Dakota_, the odd damage they caused was mis-attributed to 8” shells. It’s estimated SD was hit by 5 14”. She was also hit by 8” from _Atago_, 6” from _Kirishima_, and 5” from DDs. Most of the hits were in the superstructure, where they damaged nearly every radar and FC system. Thus, the assessment by Lee. SD was in no shape to hit anything from then on. This is confirmed by IJN records recording damage to K and _Takao_ when _Washington_ was firing at them and SD was silent. SD may have hit DD _Ayanami_ earlier in the fight, but that’s all. Was SD in danger of sinking? No. She had little flooding and the fires were small. But at the moment _Washington_ opened fire, the potential for critical damage was there. _Kirishima_ had switched to AP. At that short range the AP could penetrate SD’s armor. K was undamaged and firing accurately. The cruisers and DDs were reloading their torpedo tubes. Their torpedoes had warheads larger than what SD’s TPS system was designed to absorb. And then all the IJN attention was focused elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/45 "2023-06-23T01:34:35Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yep. One British Admiral was hung for not pressing the battle. Firing squad, not hanged. On the quarter deck of a British warship, where admirals and captains traditionally were stationed during battle. For failing to “do his utmost” to relieve the British garrison at Minolta, even though his ships had been mauled in a previous battle with the French navy and had been sent out poorly equipped from Britain. Dudley Pope (author of the Ramage series) wrote a non-fiction account, arguing it was a judicial murder by the British government, to cover up how poorly equipped Byng’s flotilla had been. > **[At 12 Mr. Byng Was Shot by Pope, Dudley](https://www.amazon.ca/At-Mr-Byng-was-Shot/dp/1842126075)** > > At 12 Mr. Byng Was Shot by Pope, Dudley ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/46 "2023-06-23T01:57:00Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Firing squad, not hanged. On the quarter deck of a British warship, where admirals and captains traditionally were stationed during battle. Right, sorry. But still… ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/47 "2023-06-23T02:02:01Z")
Yes, agreed. I think this was the origin of Voltaire’s quip about “pour encourager les autres.” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/48 "2023-06-23T22:49:38Z")
> [@Capn\_Carl](#): > > Another problem is that it goes against centuries of RN tradition. Aggressive action was expected, even when the odds weren’t good. That expectation led to disaster [in WWI at Coronel](https://www.britishbattles.com/first-world-war/battle-of-coronel/). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/49 "2024-08-19T17:49:37Z")
Bumped. Thought this might interest the HMS _Hood_ fans here: [https://www.admiraltystores.com/](https://www.admiraltystores.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/50 "2024-08-19T17:56:54Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Ships are darned expensive. And have 30-50 year mechanical lives. Hence David Lloyd George’s famous, and funny, comparison in a budget speech: “A fully equipped Duke costs as much to keep up as two Dreadnoughts, and Dukes are just as great a terror, and they last longer.” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/51 "2024-08-19T18:12:33Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Thought this might interest the HMS _Hood_ fans here: [https://www.admiraltystores.com/](https://www.admiraltystores.com/) A bargain at a mere £850! Sadly, there’s no “buy one, get one free” discount. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/52 "2024-08-19T18:46:18Z")
Never heard of a [tampion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampion) before, but yes, the word is etymologically related to that other thing. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/53 "2024-08-19T18:58:41Z")
The term did send me down a Google image search rabbit hole. Many clever designs, but none featured tassels. That would have been attractive, as it would shown the helmsman’s skills if he could make them swing opposite each other like a stripper. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/54 "2024-08-21T15:13:24Z")
I read this as “Mr. Byng was shot by the Pope, Dudley!” Actually, I believe most people would read it this way. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/55 "2024-08-21T15:49:08Z")
Take it up with Jeff Bezos. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/56 "2024-08-21T16:06:42Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > Actually, I believe most people would read it this way. I was more impressed with him being only 12, and already an admiral! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/57 "2024-08-21T16:25:32Z")
Nepotism was rampant in the Royal Navy. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/58 "2024-08-21T22:32:58Z")
But still, after the reforms which came before the napoleonic wars- you could only be a captain after passing a lieutenant exam, and once on the Captains list it was purely a matter of seniority. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/59 "2024-08-25T02:26:30Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Nepotism was rampant in the Royal Navy. Better nepotism than [cannibalism!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deoNAOfkXxc) ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-hms-hood-special/985626/60 "2024-08-29T19:48:44Z")
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