The HMS Hood (51), 1941 was the first of the planned four Admiral-class battlecruisers. Ordered during World War I, her keel was notably laid down on 31 May 1916; the same day as the Battle of Jutland. Many design flaws were found in previous battlecruiser designs. This would go on to cause drastic revisions, delaying her launch until August of 1918, much longer than typical for British shipbuilding of the era. She would benefit greatly from this redesign, gaining a belt of equal strength to battleships of her era and the same battery of 8x15-inch guns, while still having the speed of a battlecruiser. This essentially made her the first "fast battleship" despite her battlecruiser designation. She was so powerful that during a postwar visit, the US Navy would note that she could defeat any American ship except for the Colorados (the then-latest US Battleship) in straight combat, and could easily outrun all American battleships while doing so. "The Mighty Hood" would be a symbol of the power of the British navy throughout the interwar period, and though scheduled for a massive overhaul this would be curtailed by the outbreak of war. She would famously be sent to intercept the infamous Bismarck on its first voyage, tragically being lost less than 5 minutes after the Bismarck opened fire to an extremely lucky magazine hit. This would galvanize the entire available Royal Navy to converge on and sink the Bismarck; its first voyage becoming the last.

Introduced in Update "Danger Zone", HMS Hood is an extremely powerful ship, the strongest battlecruiser built by the Royal Navy. Her main battery stands out with the highest penetration SAP rounds found on any ship, good armour and great speed complementing the impressive firepower. Coming in her 1941 refit, this, unfortunately, predates the advent of HE-VT shells. This leaves the anti-aircraft capability lacking, though not nearly so bad as early dreadnoughts or preceding battlecruisers such as the HMS Invincible. Captains can expect Hood to perform well in all modes, but notably, the speed is a major advantage for those playing Naval Enduring Confrontation.