The famous British battle cruiser sunk by the German battleship Bismarck was HMS Hood.
The sinking occurred on 24 May 1941 during the Battle of the Denmark Strait, part of Germany’s Operation Rheinübung. Hood and the battleship HMS Prince of Wales intercepted Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen as they attempted to break into the North Atlantic and attack Allied shipping.
After only a few minutes of gunfire, a shell from Bismarck struck Hood near the rear of the ship. It triggered a catastrophic explosion, probably involving the aft ammunition magazines. Hood broke apart and sank in roughly three minutes. Of its crew of about 1,418, only three men survived.
A common mix-up is calling Hood a battleship. It was officially a battlecruiser: heavily armed and fast, but with less armor protection than a contemporary battleship. HMS Prince of Wales continued the engagement, damaging Bismarck before withdrawing. The loss of Hood shocked Britain and led to an intense hunt that ended with Bismarck’s destruction three days later.