'I stopped trying to swim - I'd heard it was nice to 溺死する': Terrifying accounts by the only three British sailors to 生き残る when HMS Hood - the world's biggest ship - was sunk by the Nazis

  • Accounts from the only three 生存者s of the 1,418-man 乗組員 on board HMS Hood 明らかにする/漏らす its final moments
  • Able 船員 (頭が)ひょいと動く Tilburn ducked behind a 発射物 発射台 保護物,者 before seeing a comrade?disembowelled
  • Signalman Ted Briggs jumped into water to escape inferno and 用意が出来ている to 溺死する but was 押し進めるd to surface
  • Midshipman William Dundas was asked to identify the 死体 of a fellow sailor but he had no 手渡すs or 直面する?
  • Hood was once world's biggest and most powerful 軍艦 but became one of Britain's greatest sea 悲劇s

宣伝

Nightmarish 注目する,もくろむ-証言,証人/目撃する accounts from the 生存者s of one of the 王室の 海軍's most 破滅的な 災害s have been 明らかにする/漏らすd in a new 調書をとる/予約する - 詳細(に述べる)ing the 破壊 of the world's biggest ship and the 悲劇の deaths of all but three of its 1,418-man 乗組員.

Last year 示すd the centenary of the 開始する,打ち上げる of Britain's largest 軍艦 of the 20th century and the most powerful 軍艦 in the world when it was 開始する,打ち上げるd.?

Until the (売買)手数料,委託(する)/委員会/権限 of the HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2009, Hood remained Britain's?biggest 軍艦.

愛称d 'The Mighty Hood', the HMS Hood battlecruiser 支配するd the waves from 1918 until it was sunk in the 冷淡な waters of the North 大西洋 by the German 戦艦 Bismarck in 1941.

One of the greatest British 海軍の 悲劇s of all time, author Daniel Knowles has collected incredible pictures of the 乗組員 and the 大型船 -?some never before published.

New 調書をとる/予約する?HMS Hood: Pride Of The 王室の 海軍 gives a fascinating and 詳細(に述べる)d account of the battlecruiser's 旅行 from its conception to its final 残り/休憩(する)ing place at the 底(に届く) of the Denmark 海峡.

Taken from the Ark Royal, this image shows the Hood disappearing behind columns of water as bombs detonate as the ship becomes a target of Italian SM.79 bombers

Taken from the Ark 王室の, this image shows the Hood disappearing behind columns of water as 爆弾s 爆発させる as the ship becomes a 的 of Italian SM.79 爆撃機s

Captain Glennie and the Hood crew are mustered on the forecastle in what is believed to be the last full-crew photograph taken of the Hood. While many of the men captured in this picture would be posted away from the ship over the next year, it should be noted that a significant proportion of the men in this image were probably aboard the ship on May?24, 1941

Captain Glennie and the Hood 乗組員 are 召集(する)d on the forecastle in what is believed to be the last 十分な-乗組員 photograph taken of the Hood. While many of the men 逮捕(する)d in this picture would be 地位,任命するd away from the ship over the next year, it should be 公式文書,認めるd that a 重要な 割合 of the men in this image were probably 船内に the ship on May?24, 1941

The Hood on the Firth of Forth during the 1920s. Behind the Hood stands the Forth Bridge. The battlecruiser remained Britain's biggest warship until the commission of the HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2009

The Hood on the Firth of 前へ/外へ during the 1920s. Behind the Hood stands the 前へ/外へ 橋(渡しをする). The battlecruiser remained Britain's biggest 軍艦 until the (売買)手数料,委託(する)/委員会/権限 of the HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2009

The incredible images 逮捕(する) the 十分な majesty and vastness of HMS Hood, a photo of the 乗組員 含むing many of the men who would 結局 die in a watery 墓/厳粛/彫る/重大な and some of the ship's most powerful 兵器.?

Locked in a 戦う/戦い it was not designed to be in, HMS Hood was 解雇する/砲火/射撃d on by Bismarck and one of its deadly 15-インチ 爆撃するs 侵入するd the Hood's weakly armoured deck and blew up a stash of 弾薬/武器 - striking a 壊滅的な blow to the B ritish 旗艦.?

More than 2,000 men then died when the 王室の 海軍 destroyed the Bismarck three days after the HMS hood 爆発するd in 報復.?

Knowles collected 証言,証人/目撃する 声明s from the day of the 戦う/戦い, 含むing Able 船員 (頭が)ひょいと動く Tilburn was one of the three men who 反抗するd the 半端物s and 生き残るd the inferno.???

'It shook the entire ship, 爆破 and shrapnel buffeting the midships position, but the 爆発 did not seem any worse than the 影響 of the Hood 解雇する/砲火/射撃ing a 一斉射撃', he 解任するd.

Having sought 避難所 behind the 後援 保護物,者 of an unrotated 発射物 発射台, Tilburn was spared 即座の death or 傷害. The sailors that he was with were not so fortunate.

A party of men cleaning one of the Hood's 15-inch guns. This photo was taken on November 11, 1933, while the Hood was en route to Portsmouth

A party of men きれいにする one of the Hood's 15-インチ guns. This photo was taken on November 11, 1933, while the Hood was en 大勝する to Portsmouth

Taken while the Hood was at Gibraltar, her forward guns and the tampions - or tompion (a wooden or metal plug over the muzzle) - are adorned with the ship's badge in the muzzle of the guns

Taken while the Hood was at Gibraltar, her 今後 guns and the tampions - or tompion (a 木造の or metal plug over the muzzle) - are adorned with the ship's badge in the muzzle of the guns

One of the most famous photographs of the Bismarck taken as she opened fire on the Hood in?May 1941. All but three of the?1,418-man crew were lost in one of Britain's greatest naval tragedies

One of the most famous photographs of the Bismarck taken as she opened 解雇する/砲火/射撃 on the Hood in?May 1941. All but three of the?1,418-man 乗組員 were lost in one of Britain's greatest 海軍の 悲劇s?

'One sailor was 簡単に blown away by the 軍隊 of the 爆発 while the other 'was disembowelled by a 爆撃する 後援,' he continued.

'It opened him up like a butcher and all his innards were coming out.'

Another of the three men to be pulled from the water alive was Midshipman William Dundas. He 解任するs that a 団体/死体 衝突,墜落d on the deck 近づく him に引き続いて the 爆発 and he was asked to identify the 死体.?

Upon 査察 he 認める the 職業 was impossible 'as the 死体 had no 直面する and no 手渡すs and that all he could say was that the 団体/死体 was that of a 中尉/大尉/警部補'.

The third and last man to 生き残る was Ordinary Signalman Ted Briggs who 解任するd jumping into the water in the 即座の 影響 of the gut-wrenching 爆発.

'I managed to 避ける 存在 knocked out by the steel stanchions, but I was not making any 進歩,' Briggs 報告(する)/憶測d.?

The Hood's crew man one of its formidable guns. The flagship vessel became locked in a battle it was not designed to be in as HMS Hood was fired on by newer and more powerful German ship, Bismarck

The Hood's 乗組員 man one of its formidable guns. The 旗艦 大型船 became locked in a 戦う/戦い it was not designed to be in as HMS Hood was 解雇する/砲火/射撃d on by newer and more powerful German ship, Bismarck

The Hood engaged in a firing exercise, circa 1937. HMS Hood was sunk when one of Bismarck's deadly 15-inch shells penetrated the Hood's weakly armoured deck and blew up a stash of ammunition

The Hood engaged in a 解雇する/砲火/射撃ing 演習, circa 1937. HMS Hood was sunk when one of Bismarck's deadly 15-インチ 爆撃するs 侵入するd the Hood's weakly armoured deck and blew up a stash of 弾薬/武器

That fateful day May 24, 1941: HMS Prince of Wales (the smoke column of the left) under fire from the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen with the smoke on the right marking where the Hood had sunk

That fateful day May 24, 1941: HMS Prince of むちの跡s (the smoke column of the left) under 解雇する/砲火/射撃 from the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen with the smoke on the 権利 場内取引員/株価 where the Hood had sunk

The cover of?Daniel Knowles' book HMS Hood: Pride of the Royal Navy

The cover of?Daniel Knowles' 調書をとる/予約する HMS Hood: Pride of the 王室の 海軍?

'The suction was dragging me 負かす/撃墜する. The 圧力 on my ears was 増加するing each second, and panic returned in its worse intensity. I struggled madly to try to heave myself up to the surface. I got nowhere. Although it seemed like an eternity, I was under water for barely a minute.?

'My 肺s were bursting. I knew that I just had to breathe. I opened my lips and gulped in a mouthful of water. My tongue was 軍隊d to the 支援する of my throat. I was not going to reach the surface. I was going to die. As I 弱めるd, my 解決する left me.?

'What was the use of struggling? I had heard it was nice to 溺死する. I stopped trying to swim 上向きs. The water was a 平和的な cradle. I was 存在 激しく揺するd to sleep. There was nothing I could do about it-goodnight, mum. I was ready to 会合,会う God.

'My blissful 受託 of death ended in a sudden 殺到する beneath me, which 発射 me to the surface like a decanted cork in a シャンペン酒 瓶/封じ込める. I wasn't going to die. I wasn't going to die. I trod water as I panted in 広大な/多数の/重要な gulps of 空気/公表する.?

'I was alive. Although my ears were singing from the 圧力 under water I could hear the hissing sound of a hundred serpents.?

'I turned away and fifty yards away in the sea I could see the 屈服するs of the Hood vertical in the sea. It was the most 脅すing 面 of my ordeal and a 見通し which was to recur terrifyingly in nightmares for the next fifty years.'

On the boat deck, taking 避難所, Robert Tilburn had been struck by human remains which in all 見込み saved his life.

'Bits of 団体/死体s were 落ちるing over the deck and one 攻撃する,衝突する me on the 脚s,' he remembered. 'I thought, ''I'm going to be sick'', so I got up and went to the ship's 味方する to throw up.'?

Ta
ken while the Hood was in Vancouver, this image shows one of the Hood's sailors with Joey the wallaby on deck. He was a mascot the crew brought with them from Australia

Taken while the Hood was in Vancouver, this image shows one of the Hood's sailors with Joey the wallaby on deck. He was a mascot the 乗組員 brought with them from Australia

The Hood in the Panama Canal as it toured the world, pride of the Royal Navy. The sinking of the Hood in 1941 became one of the greatest British naval tragedies of all time

The Hood in the パナマ Canal as it 小旅行するd the world, pride of the 王室の 海軍. The 沈むing of the Hood in 1941 became one of the greatest British 海軍の 悲劇s of all time

Looking around as he got up, Tilburn noticed that the Hood appeared to be going 負かす/撃墜する by the 厳しい and that she had begun to 攻撃する at an alarming angle to port.?

Turning to see what he believed to be an 弾薬/武器 locker hurtling に向かって him, he decided to make a 早い escape.?

Tilburn leapt に向かって the water and began to discard anything that might 重さを計る him 負かす/撃墜する. Tilburn 後継するd in 除去するing his tin helmet, gas mask, and duffel coat before the water swept him over the 味方する. He was pulled from the ocean two hours later.

Dundas was so shaken by the terrifying event that he never spoke about it again, either in public or 私的な.

'Eight minutes after having 開始 解雇する/砲火/射撃 against the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen, the Hood, for so long the pride of the 王室の 海軍, had been torn apart by a 破滅的な 爆発', explained Knowles.

The Hood, circa 1923. At the time of its launch in 1918 HMS Hood was the world's biggest and most powerful warship?until it was sunk in the cold waters of the North Atlantic by the German battleship Bismarck in 1941

The Hood, circa 1923. At the time of its 開始する,打ち上げる in 1918 HMS Hood was the world's biggest and most powerful 軍艦?until it was sunk in the 冷淡な waters of the North 大西洋 by the German 戦艦 Bismarck in 1941

The Hood viewed between two of the 16-inch guns of HMS Rodney while the two ships were at Scapa Flow in the autumn of 1940. HMS Renown and the Repulse are astern of the Hood

The Hood 見解(をとる)d between two of the 16-インチ guns of HMS Rodney while the two ships were at Scapa Flow in the autumn of 1940. HMS Renown and the 撃退する are astern of the Hood

This image shows the Hood framed in lights while at Gibraltar on November 6, 1935. She was framed in light to celebrate the wedding of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

This image shows the Hood でっちあげる,人を罪に陥れるd in lights while at Gibraltar on November 6, 1935. She was でっちあげる,人を罪に陥れるd in light to celebrate the wedding of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

'Three minutes after the 致命的な 攻撃する,衝突する had struck the Hood, the last traces of the 王室の 海軍's most famous 軍艦 slipped beneath the waves and 消えるd leaving nothing but a scattering of oil, 難破, and three 生存者s out of a 乗組員 of 1,418 men.'

Until the 最近の (売買)手数料,委託(する)/委員会/権限ing of the UK's new 航空機 運送/保菌者 HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Hood remain ed the biggest 軍艦 広大な/多数の/重要な Britain had ever produced. The ship was equipped with eight 巨大な 15-インチ guns and was 有能な of 32 knots.?

However it more than met its match with the Bismarck, which was newer, more powerful and more ひどく armoured. The boats were ten miles apart when the 致命的な 爆撃する 調印(する)d the 運命/宿命 of over 1,400 men.

'The Hood is one of history's 広大な/多数の/重要な 軍艦s and one of the most famous 大型船s to ever 飛行機で行く the White Ensign', 結論するd the HMS Hood author.

'For more than twenty years, ''The Mighty Hood'' 小旅行するd the world as the largest and most powerful 軍艦 in the world. Engaging in many 外交の 演習s during her career, the Hood was the pride of the 王室の 海軍.

'This is the story of HMS Hood-the life and death of a 伝説の battlecruiser. It is a story of both peace and war, yet it is not just the story of a ship, but of many men and an 時代.'

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