Known as the 'Mighty Hood', the HMS Hood was the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy and one of the most famous ships of the 20th Century. It was laid up in 1916 as part of a class of four ships, just a few months after the Battle of Jutland where the vulnerability of battlecruisers became all but apparent. As such, it went through a considerable redesign in order to incorporate additional armor which was angled for extra protection against flat-trajectory shells. This, however, increased vulnerability of th deck to plunging fire and resulted in the ship being considerably wet due to the increased draught. Armament was the now standard Royal Navy configuration of eight BL 15-in Mk. I guns, arranged in four double turrets. Secondary armament was composed of a dozen BL 5.5-in Mk. I guns, located on the upper deck in order to be able to operate in heavy weather. The original anti-aircraft guns were eventually replaced by QF 4-in Mk. XVI dual-purpose guns in addition to numerous other machine gun mounts. All secondary armament was controlled by directors and other fire control equipment included HACS for use against aircraft and (eventually) Type 284 gunnery radar. Due to its elegant lines and impressive size (it was the longest British capital ship ever built), the Hood was frequently used for showing the flag exercises and was widely regarded as the pride of the Royal Navy. Its destruction during the battle against the Bismark in 1941 therefore came as a shocking blow but one which vindicated the inferiority of the battlecruiser concept a quarter century after their fiasco at Jutland.

The HMS Hood was commissioned in 1920 and was one of the most visible ships of the Royal Navy during the interwar years. During World War II, it was used for Atlantic patrols and also as the flagship of Force H during the attack on the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir, where it engaged and damaged the French battleship Dunkerque. Along with the HMS Prince of Wales, it was sent to intercept the Bismark in the Denmark Strait in May 1941 but suffered a magazine explosion (and possibly a torpedo explosion as well) early in the battle, which blew up its aft section and caused it to sink immediately with only 3 survivors. Its wreckage was found in 2001.