War at Sea
Allied Nations
- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- France
- Greece
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Soviet Union
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Allies stat table
Axis Nations
Neutral Nations/Installations
Sets
- War At Sea
- Task Force
- Flank Speed
- New Starter
- Condition Zebra
- Set V (Fleet Command)
- Surface action
- First Strike (Forumini Expansion Deck A)
- Infamy (Forumini Expansion Deck B)
- Battle Line (Forumini Expansion Deck C)
- All Hands on Deck (Forumini D)
- Action Stations (Forumini E)
- Dead Reckoning (Forumini F)
Unit Card:
Set - Rarity - Number
War At Sea - Rare - 9/64
History:
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HMS Hood was laid down as an Admiral class Battlecruiser. It was supposed to be a class of four, but changes after the World War I Battle of Jutland canceled the other three and left Hood as the only one completed. Hood was armed with eight 15" guns in dual mounts. Based on her weaponry, she was considered by some to be a fast battleship.
During the inter-war years, Hood was the largest ship in the world, if not, the Royal Navy. As such, she was held in great regard by the British people, often going on exercises to demonstrate her might on visits to other countries. These were usually done in company with another British battlecruiser, the HMS Repulse. Unfortunately, this constant service took its toll on the mighty warship. Thus, by the end of the 1930s it was in bad shape and badly in need of refitting. However, war was declared, and Hood was needed out to sea, so the refitting never happened.
When World War II began, Hood was dispatched to protect convoys and intercept German raiders. It was during this mission that Hood was attacked by German aircraft, which scored a minor hit on the battlecruiser.
A year later, Hood took part in the Battle of Mers-el-Kebir, where the British fleet was tasked with ensuring that the French Navy did not fall to the Germans. After demanding the French surrender or be fired upon, no word was received from the French, so the British opened fire. Hood opened fire on the French battleship Bretagne , sinking it with its second salvo. Next, Hood pursued the retreating Strasbourg(sister-ship of the Dunkerque). As a result, Strasbourg escaped, and Hood gave up the chase, low on fuel. That, and the ship's admiral, Sir Lancelot Holland, was cautious about Italian submarines in the area. (Ambra)
Later, Hood was sent against the German ships Admiral Hipper and Admiral Graf Spee , but found neither ship.
In May 1941, word was received from allied observers that the brand new German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen were making a break for the Atlantic. Determined to intercept the Germans, Hood and the newer battleship Prince of Wales were sent.
Eventually, the British ships found Bismarck and its escort. Hood makes the first move, opening up on Prinz Eugen. (thinking that was the Bismarck) Prince of Wales correctly determined that the main target was behind, not out in front, and opened fire with its salvos of 14" shells.
As history tells, the Germans were reluctant to fire back, but soon they returned fire on Hood and PoW.
Prinz Eugen then scores a hit on Hood, starting a large fire onboard. Then, Bismarck's next salvo is fired, hitting Hood, dead center, causing a massive explosion that tears the pride of the British Navy in half. As the large ship sinks into the waves, the powder inside goes off, triggering one of her guns to fire one last time.
With the loss of Hood, and her guns now jammed, Prince of Wales retreats, but not before taking at least seven hits from the Germans. She falls back, but continues to shadow them.
As a result, the Hood's sinking triggered feelings of outrage for the British people. Winston Churchill vows: "The Bismarck must be sunk."
From the ship's crew, all but three were lost.
Reviews:
Lobukia
The Hood is a tough unit to review, as one of two things seem to happen to her in most clubs or leagues: A) she isn't used B) her SA (special ability) "Fatal Flaw" is either modified or ignored. If you are playing with her as is, don't. I recommend taking your 48 points and buying a Warspite instead. However, if you do want to see her used, get a club ruling on the SA… in our club we just ignore it. This leaves her playable, worthwhile and still reasonably priced at 48 points.
She has decent guns, okay secondaries, moderate AA for a battleship, and a few torpedo dice to throw around. Her vital is a little low, so keep her away from the meaner axis battleships, but she'll give you a flag of 2 and doesn't have the speed penalties that plague Royal Navy vessels. Fatal Flaw aside (stupidest SA ever), she is a solid cruiser killer and a decent battleship as long as she doesn't get tied down with one of the Japanese big Yamato class behemoths. Be aware that closing with almost any other battleship will exaggerate the vital armor weakness and could be game ending. Also, the lack of torpedo defense means that you either need to escort or protect this ship with other water units or air assets.
Rengokuy
Hood is a fast, decent priced, well rated battlecruiser with a tendency to explode. At least that is the easy way to look at her. Pulling it apart we have a ship that is not the best at taking hits. Armor 8 is good, but Hood doesn't have Torpedo Defense. If that wasn't bad enough, the SA "Fatal Flaw" allows the ship's destruction at the roll of 4 6's. However, Torpedo Defense is becoming less and less the norm on capital ships, and isn't anything that can't be overcome. Fatal Flaw is usually the demise of Hood, but more often than not, an opponent may target Hood over a more threatening target, just to try and trigger it, if luck is on your side this may take numerous turns leaving your heavier unit unscathed.
She is also one of the few allied capital ships that have range 3 secondaries, and has range 1 torpedoes. Flagship 2 only makes her more tempting. She isn't a bad ship, just don't solely depend on her and hope that she isn't taken out first time.
Plastic Figure Notes:
A high quality mini befitting a beautiful ship. Certainly a favorite sculpt of many.
