The Mighty Hood: The Battleship That Challenged the Bismarck

Few historians immersed themselves in their topics like bestselling, noted author Ernle Bradford. Specializing in the Mediterranean world and naval topics, Bradford was an enthusiastic sailor himself and spent almost thirty years sailing the Mediterranean, where many of his acclaimed books are set. He served in the Royal Navy during World War II, finishing as the first lieutenant of a destroyer, and afterward worked as an editor and correspondent for the BBC. Now, his engaging series of military histories is available to a new generation of readers. When it was launched in 1918, the Hood, flagship of the Royal Navy, was the largest, fastest warship afloat and a symbol of British power, earning the nickname "the Mighty Hood." Her mere appearance on the horizon was enough to intimidate would-be aggressors. But for all the Hood's might, she had one fatal flaw: armor had been sacrificed for speed. In her first major engagement, she confronted the almost legendary German warship Bismarck in a battle for supremacy of the Atlantic. A salvo from the enemy penetrated to the Hood's ammunition magazine, destroying and sinking the British ship in an awesome fireball, killing all but three of her crew of 1,421 men and violently ending Britain's mastery of the seas. But it inspired Winston Churchill's vow to sink the Bismarck, and in time that vow was fulfilled. Bradford takes us on a thrilling journey through the birth and demise of one of the greatest ships of all time. Ernle Bradford was born in 1922 and died in 1986. He was a noted British historian specializing in the Mediterranean world and naval topics. Bradford was an enthusiastic sailor himself and spent almost thirty years sailing the Mediterranean, where many of his books are set. He served in the Royal Navy during World War II, finishing as the first lieutenant of a destroyer. Bradford lived in Malta for a number of years. He did occasional broadcast work for the BBC, was a magazine editor, and wrote many books, including Hannibal, Paul the Traveller, Julius Caesar: The Pursuit of Power, Christopher Columbus, and The Mighty Hood.