violent Germans

[sniper]

i think the Hood is tinsel now but i did move from Wisconsin to Texas...looking at sales on chain saws now...



HMS Hood (background), HMS Resolution, Admiral Graf Spee (foreground)

[uwe]

From Wikipedia:

"The wreck of Hood was discovered in 3,000 metres (appr. 10,000 ft) of water in July 2001 by an expedition funded by UK-based Channel Four Television and ITN and led by shipwreck hunter David Mearns. In 2002 the site was officially designated a war grave by the British government. As such, it remains a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act.

Hood's wreck lies on the seabed in pieces among two debris fields. The eastern field includes the tiny amount of the stern which survived the magazine explosion as well as the surviving section of the bow and some smaller remains such as the screws. The 4 inch (102 mm) fire director lies in the western debris field. The heavily armoured conning tower is located by itself a distance from the main wreck. The amidships section, the biggest part of the wreck to survive the explosions, lies inverted south of the eastern debris field in a large impact crater. The starboard side of the amidships section is missing down to the inner wall of the fuel tanks and the plates of the hull are curling outward; this has been interpreted as indicating the path of the explosion through the starboard fuel tanks. It is further supposed that the small debris fields are the fragments from the after hull where the magazines and turrets were located, since that section of the hull was totally destroyed in the explosion. The fact that the bow section separated just forward of A turret provoked the suggestion that a secondary explosion might have occurred in this area. Other researchers have claimed that the final salvo fired by Hood was not a salvo at all, but flame from the forward magazine explosion, which gave the illusion of Hood opening fire for the last time.[38] This damage being ahead of the armoured bulkhead, could easily have been implosion damage suffered while Hood sank, as a torpedo room that had been removed at one of her recent refits approximates the site of the break. A forward magazine explosion would likely have severed Hood at "B" barbette, rather than forward of it.

The forward section lies on its port side, with the amidship section keel up. Of interest is the stern section which actually rises from the seabed at an angle. This position clearly shows the rudder locked into a 20 degree port turn, confirming that orders had been given (just prior to the aft magazines detonating) to change the ship's heading and bring the aft turrets 'X' and 'Y' to bear on the German ships."

[Dave W]

As Killdozer sang, Ed Gein, he's a ladies' man.

[uwe]

Ladies' man or ladies' maim?

[Denis]

From Wikipedia:

"The wreck of Hood was discovered in 3,000 metres (appr. 10,000 ft) of water in July 2001 by an expedition funded by UK-based Channel Four Television and ITN and led by shipwreck hunter David Mearns. In 2002 the site was officially designated a war grave by the British government. As such, it remains a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act.

Hood's wreck lies on the seabed in pieces among two debris fields. The eastern field includes the tiny amount of the stern which survived the magazine explosion as well as the surviving section of the bow and some smaller remains such as the screws. The 4 inch (102 mm) fire director lies in the western debris field. The heavily armoured conning tower is located by itself a distance from the main wreck. The amidships section, the biggest part of the wreck to survive the explosions, lies inverted south of the eastern debris field in a large impact crater. The starboard side of the amidships section is missing down to the inner wall of the fuel tanks and the plates of the hull are curling outward; this has been interpreted as indicating the path of the explosion through the starboard fuel tanks. It is further supposed that the small debris fields are the fragments from the after hull where the magazines and turrets were located, since that section of the hull was totally destroyed in the explosion. The fact that the bow section separated just forward of A turret provoked the suggestion that a secondary explosion might have occurred in this area. Other researchers have claimed that the final salvo fired by Hood was not a salvo at all, but flame from the forward magazine explosion, which gave the illusion of Hood opening fire for the last time.[38] This damage being ahead of the armoured bulkhead, could easily have been implosion damage suffered while Hood sank, as a torpedo room that had been removed at one of her recent refits approximates the site of the break. A forward magazine explosion would likely have severed Hood at "B" barbette, rather than forward of it.

The forward section lies on its port side, with the amidship section keel up. Of interest is the stern section which actually rises from the seabed at an angle. This position clearly shows the rudder locked into a 20 degree port turn, confirming that orders had been given (just prior to the aft magazines detonating) to change the ship's heading and bring the aft turrets 'X' and 'Y' to bear on the German ships."

If I remember reading correctly somewhere, didn't only 3 of the Hood's crew survive the sinking?

[Highlander]

IIRC that was about it... pretty much our worst Naval disaster...

[uwe]

Yup, just 3 from over 1.400 men. The ship blew apart and sank within two minutes. The cold water finished off the survivors within minutes. Bad armouring of an ammunition depot and a hit from the Bismarck's smaller, but more precise guns after an only six minute exchange of a couple of salvos.

[Highlander]

Your guys got one of my grandad's ships in WW1 (a minesweeper in the North Sea by a torp from a "U"we) and WW2 (a mine from (debatetedly) the "Pinguin" in the Bass Straits)...

The "Pinguin" and the "Passat", being "Commerce Raiders", make fascinating research/reading - laying mines off the coast of Australia - very successfully, too...

He lived until 1962 and has a statue in central London - one tough and highly respected old boot...

[jmcgliss]

From age 5-10, I used to love visiting my dentist. His office was in a victorian house, and the waiting room was filled with books about WWII aircraft and warships. As you guys know, the Germans had some wacky things..huge rail guns, the self-combusting Komet, etc.

[clankenstein]

king of the commerce raiders in the south seas http://www.ahoy.tk-jk.net/MaraudersWW1/Seeadler.html

[Pilgrim]

king of the commerce raiders in the south seas http://www.ahoy.tk-jk.net/MaraudersWW1/Seeadler.html

Interesting!  Thanks for the link.

[Highlander]

I've been to "Ahoy - Mac's", Tony  - lots of good info...

This is their link to the "Passat" and Kaptain Felix Kruder...

http://www.ahoy.tk-jk.net/MaraudersWW2/16Pinguin.html

The Australian War Memorial site led to me finding pictures of him being rescued by HMAS Orara...


My grandfather is holding the rope at the prow of the lifeboat - they were only adrift for about 18 hours... Amazing what you can find without leaving your desk... I traced his RNR records and this gave me almost every ship he had served on from 1910 thru 1935... another record gave me his ships fro 1941 thru 1954, when he retired... unusually, he was "kept" at sea until he was 65... considered a "living legend" by everyone I traced that was willing to speak about him...

I have a link somewhere to a PDF of a dive of the wreck of SS Cambridge, which lies in about 60M at the bottom of the Bass Straits...

[Pilgrim]

The wreck of the SS Cambridge:

https://www.navy.gov.au/reserves/files/Reserve_News_17_September_2001_Vol8_No11.pdf

[Highlander]

Well found, Al...!

There was only one loss, the ships carpenter... a lesson to be learnt by this one... I have the plans for this ship and his cabin was adjacent to my grandfathers, near where the mine struck... He was at the lifeboat (there were 3 IIRC, but only 2 were required) when he said something like, "I've left my money in my cabin..." and off he went... he was never seen again...

[rahock]

What's the best way to view the Italian Navy?

Through a glass-bottomed boat. 

True story here: An old friend of mine's stepfather was in the Italian Navy in WWII and the only water he saw was from a mountain top. He spent all of WWII on a mountain top and most of it by himself. He sat on this mountain with binoculars and a radio. His mission was to call in and report US or British ships coming down the coast and presenting a threat to Italy. After a couple of years he gets a call on the radio he gets a call telling him that mission has changed. "We onna the other a side a now You keepa look out for the German ships a now..... OK".

He spent about five years on that freakin' mountain top and that is the sum of everything he knew about the freakin' war. The night he told me that story we were about half in the bag , drinking red wine. He has a very strong Italian accent  and this story was a lot longer than I just made it, and me  telling this story in print really loses alot. The whole time he's telling me this story I'm thinking he's telling me joke and I'm laughing my ass off .
You had to be there
Rick