HMS Hood was a British battlecruiser, the last such ship built for the Royal Navy. Constructed beginning in 1916, Hood was the only Admiral-class battlecruiser to be completed. She was commissioned in 1920 and used generally for showing-the-flag exercises until the onset of the Second World War. After a refit, Hood was sent back into service. On 24 May 1941, early in the Battle of the Denmark Strait, she was struck by several German shells and exploded; only three of the 1,418 crew members survived.Photograph: Allan C. Green; restoration: Adam Cuerden