 Both German ships initially concentrated their fire on Hood and destroyed her with salvoes of 8- and 15 @-@ inch shells . An 8 @-@ inch shell hit the boat deck and struck a ready service locker for the UP rocket projectors , and a fire blazed high above the first superstructure deck . At 05 : 58 at a range of 16 @,@ 500 yards , the force commander ordered a turn of 20 degrees to port to open the range and bring the full battery of the British ships to bear on Bismarck . As the turn began , Bismarck straddled Hood with her third and fourth four @-@ gun salvoes and at 06 : 01 the fifth salvo hit her , causing a large explosion . Flames shot up near Hood 's masts , then an orange @-@ coloured fireball and an enormous smoke cloud obliterated the ship . On Prince of Wales , it seemed that Hood collapsed amidships , and the bow and stern could be seen rising as she rapidly settled . Prince of Wales made a sharp starboard turn to avoid hitting the debris and in doing so further closed the range between her and the German ships . In the four @-@ minute action , Hood , the largest battlecruiser in the world , had been sunk . 1 @,@ 419 officers and men were killed . Only three men survived . 
