Illustrations by Thomas Scmid. Foreword by Vice Admiral Sir Louis le Bailly. Through the twilight years of the British Empire the battlecruiser HMS Hood was the glory ship of the Royal Navy. Unmatched in size and beauty, Hood defined English sea power from her keel-laying in 1916 to her destruction at the hands of the Bismarck in 1941. This fascinating new volume is a seminal work in the field of naval ship histories. Among its eye-catching features is a unique gallery of photographs, including still frames from a recently discovered piece of color film of the ship, plus a spectacular set of computer-generated images of the ship's exterior and interior. The comprehensive text draws on official documents and the letters, diaries, memoirs, and reminiscences of more than 150 crewmen. Additionally, a wealth of new information on Hood's structure and operations make it important reading for everyone wanting to understand the inner functioning of one of the great capital ships of the past. 220 illustrations.