HMS HOOD

Photographer Samuel J Hood Studio (Australian, 1899 - 1953)

Datepre 1941

Object number00021010

NamePhotograph

MediumSilver gelatin print

DimensionsOverall: 88 x 137 mm

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA photograph of the battlecruiser HMS HOOD at an unidentified location. HMS HOOD sank on 24 May 1941, whilst engaged in battle against the German warships BISMARCK and PRINZ EUGEN in the Battle of the Denmark Strait. All but three of the ship's 1,418 crewmen went down with the ship. It was the single worst Royal Navy ship loss of the Second World War.SignificanceThe Samuel J Hood photographic collection records an extensive range of maritime activity on Sydney Harbour, including sail and steam ships, crew portraits, crews at work, ship interiors, stevedores loading and unloading cargo, port scenes, pleasure boats and harbourside social activities from the 1890s through to the 1950s. They are also highly competent artistic studies and views - Hood was regarded as an important figure in early Australian photojournalism. Hood’s maritime photographs are one of the most significant collections of such work in Australia.