Artwork by Dale Byhre

Later this month, on the 24th of May, is the 80th anniversary of the sinking of the battle cruiser HMS Hood. As tragic a loss as this was, it was even more so when it is remembered that of a crew of more than 1,400, only three survived. In this tribute I chose to paint possibly the final image of the Hood prior to the cataclysmic explosion that sank her. It shows the column of flame bursting upwards out of the hull after a shell from the Bismarck ignited the Hoods 4” magazine. This in mere moments would lead to the massive explosion of the after 15” main magazines.