Why an underwater hit on Hood is not plunging fire

Could Hood have been hit below the belt, with plunging fire playing an indirect role?

An underwater hit is plausible, but it should not be classified as plunging fire.

A shell travelling through water below the armor belt does not meet the definition of plunging fire. Wave action can also affect whether the shell passes beneath the water at the moment of impact. An underwater path must therefore be distinguished from the steep descent implied by plunging fire. Clarke finds Drachinifel's explanation of Hood's loss increasingly persuasive because attempts to disprove it have instead tended to support it.