Hood: vulnerability to torpedo hits

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RF
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Hood: vulnerability to torpedo hits

Post by RF »

Does anyone know whether any evaluation was ever done regarding how Hood would fare against torpedo hits?

In particular would it be possible for two torpedo hits amidships to sink Hood by either detonation of boilers or magazines, as suggested in another thread?
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Re: Hood: vulnerability to torpedo hits

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Why would boilers detonate? How many times in WWII did naval boilers detonate?
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Post by Bgile »

A lot of US Warships got hit by torpedoes, and I'm not aware of a boiler ever exploding as a result.

I'm not sure about destroyers, but I'm not aware of any magazines ever exploding on ships of cruiser size or larger either.
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Post by Karl Heidenreich »

This subject is in Bruce Taylor´s book, I believe. I´ll try to find it tonight and share what I find.

Best regards.
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RF
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Post by RF »

Bgile wrote:A lot of US Warships got hit by torpedoes, and I'm not aware of a boiler ever exploding as a result.

I'm not sure about destroyers, but I'm not aware of any magazines ever exploding on ships of cruiser size or larger either.
There is of course the case of Barham. Was the sinking of Royal Oak also excelerated by magazine detonation?
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RF
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Re: Hood: vulnerability to torpedo hits

Post by RF »

Tiornu wrote:Why would boilers detonate? How many times in WWII did naval boilers detonate?
From seawater coming into contact with pressurised high temperature steam.

Boiler explosions did happen with torpedoed merchant ships when they finally went under.

I think that I can recall that the boilers of Courageous blew as she sank.
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Re: Hood: vulnerability to torpedo hits

Post by Bgile »

RF wrote:
From seawater coming into contact with pressurised high temperature steam.

Boiler explosions did happen with torpedoed merchant ships when they finally went under.

I think that I can recall that the boilers of Courageous blew as she sank.
Maybe, but in those cases it wasn't the cause of sinking. US ships had boiler rooms flooded with no boiler explosion. I'm not as familiar with British war history, but I don't think there was a relevant difference in the two navies with regard to boilers.
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Post by Gary »

Quite a number of warships blew up when they sank.
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Re: Hood: vulnerability to torpedo hits

Post by Tiornu »

Boiler explosions did happen with torpedoed merchant ships when they finally went under.
Merchant ships are another matter entirely. That's why I specified naval boilers. I'm aware of flashbacks but no boiler explosions. Burt gives a fairly detailed account of the Courageous's loss but mentions no boiler explosions.
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Post by José M. Rico »

… and returning to the original question, how do you guys think Hood would do against torpedoes?
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Post by Tiornu »

I don't have much faith in any old battleships when it comes to torpedoes. Fuso. Pennsylvania. Barham. Maybe--maybe--the old US ships with layered TDS's would do okay. Lexington at Coral Sea gave a credible performance against aerial torpedoes.
So I think Hood would be in the fight of her life with two torpedo hits. Of course, much would depend on the size of the torpedoes and the placement of the hits.
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Post by RF »

So on that basis Hood could be vulnerable to a single German S-boat....
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Post by Tiornu »

How many torpedo hits did S-boats score during the war? How many on targets moving at 20+ knots?
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Post by Nellie »

I remember hms Nelson was hit by a torpedo from a german u-boat during WW2 while Winston Churchill being onboard, but it failed to detonate when hitting the hull. I don´t know during what circumstances it happened.
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Post by Gary »

The Cruiser HMS Newcastle was hit once by an S-boat but managed to limp back to harbour

So on that basis Hood could be vulnerable to a single German S-boat....


Turning it around.........An S-boat was vulnerable to just about anything

Not the same but arieal launched torpedo's were the nasty buggers

Look what the first Japanese torpedo did to Prince of Wales
Look what a swordfish did to Bismarcks rudder
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