"For over twenty years the battlecruiser HMS Hood toured the world as the most iconic warship in the Royal Navy. Unmatched in her beauty and charisma, Hood is one of history's greatest warships. During the twilight years of the British Empire the Hood toured the world showing the flag as a symbol of British power. As the Royal Navy's show-ship, Hood came to command a special place in the hearts and minds of the British public. Such was the regard for HMS Hood that her destruction in the Denmark Strait on the morning of 24 May 1941 by the German battleship Bismarck created dismay across the world. Within minutes of entering battle 'the Mighty Hood' as she was affectionately known, was destroyed by a catastrophic explosion which had echoes of Jutland a quarter of a century earlier. Out of a crew of a crew [sic] of 1,418, only 3 survived. The sinking of HMS Hood was the single largest disaster ever sustained by the Royal Navy. This book charts the life and death of this legendary battlecruiser in both peace and war from her early origins, through the interwar years, to her destruction."--Provided by the publisher.