Q&A · 3:20:28-3:21:25

Would Hood match Renown against Scharnhorst and Gneisenau?

A viewer asks how Hood would fare in the April 1940 encounter where Renown drove off Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

Question

How would Hood have performed in Renown's encounter with Scharnhorst and Gneisenau?

Short answer

Hood could still have driven them off with early 15-inch hits, but rebuilt Renown's newer fire control made her better placed to achieve the historical result.

Notes

Hood's 15-inch guns would give the German ships the same strong reason to disengage if she scored early hits. Rebuilt Renown was probably the tougher and more accurate ship in that specific moment because her modern fire-control equipment had recently worked up. Renown also benefited from German orders to avoid a prolonged action and from problems that prevented the German ships from answering effectively. Her preparation and circumstances mattered, so another British battlecruiser would not automatically reproduce the result.