Bell of HMS Hood being recovered by ROV
AUGUST 11, 2015—A analysis crew led by U.S. philanthropist and entrepreneur Paul G. Allen efficiently recovered the bell of the battlecruiser HMS Hood on August 7 within the Denmark Strait. The HMS Hood was sunk in 1941 throughout World War II throughout a sea battle with the Bismarck. Some 1,415 males have been misplaced when the HMS Hood was sunk.
Once the bell is restored, will probably be placed on show on the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth, U.Ok.
Allen’s crew led the operation utilizing his yacht M/Y Octopus, which is supplied with a state-of-the-art remotely operated automobile (ROV). Allen, finest referred to as the co-founder of Microsoft with Bill Gates, is a billionaire philanthropist and proprietor of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers. He recovered the bell for gratis to the Ministry of Defence or the Royal Navy.
“This year marks the 70th anniversary of the conclusion of World War II, and this effort commemorates the hundreds of brave sailors who were lost at sea,” says Allen. “It is a true honor to undertake the expedition to recover the bell from ‘The Mighty Hood’.”
The bell was first found and photographed in July 2001. The bell was discovered mendacity on the seabed nicely away from the elements of the battlecruiser’s hull. A 2012 Allen-led expedition to get better the bell was hampered by prevailing climate situations and technical difficulties.
Both operations have been supported by Blue Water Recoveries Ltd., which specializes within the search and investigation of shipwrecks.
The bell is in good situation however would require a year-long professional conservation and restoration effort as a result of it has spent so lengthy in deep seawater.
Immersed for 74 years
Blue Water Recoveries Director David Mearns says that he was “extremely pleased” to get better the ship’s bell to satisfy one of many final needs of Ted Briggs, one in all solely 3 survivors of Hood’s crew of 1,418 males.
“Despite 74 years of immersion in the hostile depths of Denmark Strait, the bell is in very good condition,” says Mearns. “The inscriptions decorating its surface clearly indicate that the bell was preserved for use on the battlecruiser Hood after first being used as the bell of the Battleship Hood from 1891 to 1914. This bell has therefore seen action in two Capital ships of the Royal Navy spanning a period of 50 years. An engraving on the bell also records the wishes of Lady Hood who launched the ship in memory of her late husband Rear Admiral Sir Horace Hood KCB DSO MVO who was killed in the battle of Jutland. The bell we recovered is a unique historical artifact, which shows just how important Hood was as flagship of the British Battlecruiser Squadron. This was clearly a special bell for a special ship and it will forever serve as a fitting memorial to the Mighty Hood and a reminder of the service and sacrifice of her men.”
First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas, says: “A magnificent symbol of the power of the Royal Navy in the inter-war years, ‘The Mighty Hood’ is one of the greatest fighting ships in our nation’s long and glorious maritime history. That she was lost with her guns thundering in defense of the convoys that formed Britain’s lifeline is a tragic reminder of the high price that our island nation paid for survival, and for the freedom and prosperity we enjoy today. Her story, her sacrifice, continues to inspire the Royal Navy today.”
HMS Hood is the biggest Royal Navy vessel to have been sunk, inflicting the biggest lack of life suffered by any single British warship and the restoration is totally supported by the HMS Hood Association whose members embrace veterans who served within the ship earlier than her last mission in 1941, and kinfolk of these misplaced together with her.
President of the Association is Rear Admiral Philip Wilcocks, whose uncle was amongst those that died on board HMS Hood. Admiral Wilcocks says: “The HMS Hood Association is extraordinarily grateful to Paul Allen, David Mearns and the crew of M/Y Octopus for his or her large efforts and professionalism in recovering the bell of HMS Hood from the darkish depths of the Denmark Strait. In explicit, Paul Allen’s assist has been excellent and we applaud his private dedication to the restoration operation.
“There is no headstone among the flowers for those who perish at sea. For the 1,415 officers and men who lost their lives in HMS Hood on May 24, 1941, the recovery of her bell and its subsequent place of honor in the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth will mean that future generations will be able to gaze upon her bell and remember with gratitude and thanks the heroism, courage and personal sacrifice of Hood’s ship’s company who died in the service of their country.”
Once conservation of the bell is full, will probably be placed on show by the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) and can kind a serious characteristic of the brand new exhibition devoted to the 20th and 21st century Navy, which opened on the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in 2014. It is a becoming location as HMS Hood was based mostly in Portsmouth.
Displayed at National Museum of the Royal Navy
Professor Dominic Tweddle, Director General of the National Museum of the Royal Navy says the bell might be displayed within the museum’s new galleries that “recall and commemorate the heroism, duty and sacrifice of the people of the Royal Navy in the 20 th and 21st centuries. HMS Hood‘s bell encapsulates the whole of that story as no other single object could. We already have the bell of HMS Prince of Wales which together with the HMS Hood engaged the Bismarck on May 24, 1941, and it will be splendid to reunite the two ships at least in spirit.”
The wreck of HMS Hood is designated below the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. As nicely as offering a memorial, the restoration has prevented it from being taken by any unlawful operation for private acquire.
