H.M.S. Hood Records & Media
Plans & Drawings of H.M.S. Hood
Updated 03-Dec-2020

We often get asked to provide individuals with plans for Hood. The H.M.S. Hood Association does not hold any plans and therefore cannot provide any. We do know, however, that there are a number of agencies, companies or individuals who have either created or otherwise sell plans of Hood. These plans vary in scale/size, detail, period represented, quality, and of course, price. We have endeavoured to put together a listing of Hood plans known to us here. They are listed with the BEST being first and the REST being listed alphabetically, below.

Be advised that this listing is neither complete nor all-inclusive. Please also note that not all plans are created equal- some plans are simply not as good as others (so please read the descriptions carefully). Some are outright wrong. We've done our best to note which plans are recommended and which are not. Also be advised that it is quite possible that we may have missed a plan or have incomplete information. With that in mind, if you know of something that we have missed, or, see something that is not correct, please contact our webmaster. We would be delighted to post your information here.

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The Best

National Maritime Museum

Hood Plans at NMMThese are the OFFICIAL plans for H.M.S. Hood. They are therefore the most detailed and most accurate plans available. The catch is, that they cover only certain periods. Not all of the variations in Hood's external configuration are thoroughly covered. This is especially the case for Hood's final configuration- there are known modifications which were made to Hood which aren't fully reflected on the surviving official plans. These can also be a bit pricey, but this is largely due to scale (they are quite large...see the example photos to the right) and shipping. Still, you get what you pay for...and these plans are certainly worth it.

The NMM's Centre for Research at Woolwich Arsenal's Brass Foundry has a wealth of information on Hood. This includes the plans listed below. All are large scale and highly detailed. The best coverage is of Hood as built though the early 1930s. There is also information for Hood's late 1930s and wartime configuration, but this is limited in scope. Of course, updated information can be pencil-corrected using photos and data from our website.

Please note that most o the plans listed below must be physically copied using large scale copying machines, whereas a certain number have been previously scanned in monochrome or colour in high resolution (indicated thusly and in red). These scanned plans will be indicated as such below. Overall, these plans are the most highly recommended. Click here to learn more.

 

University of Glasgow Archives

These, too, are official plans for H.M.S. Hood. The main catch is that these plans and drawings primarily cover Hood as originally fitted by John Brown shipyard. They do not cover subsequent changes in configuration. Interestingly though, there is limited information on her never-completed sisters.

This material is available through the University of Glasgow. Click here to learn more. If you order this information, be sure to mention ship 460 (Hood) and reference UCS.1. Please note that the Anson and Rodney mentioned below are the names of two of Hood's proposed/never completed sisters. The names were later used for other ships.

Note: Also see reference UCS1/111/8 and 9 for plans of Admiralty 45 foot Steam Barge. There are also photo albums covering the construction and other books and ledgers.

 

Anatomy of the Ship The Battlecruiser Hood'Anatomy of the Ship- The Battlecruiser Hood' by John Roberts

This is probably the best source of plans/drawings for the average modeller. This is certainly something that all serious Hood enthusiasts should have in their collection. This superb book contains many detailed draughts and drawings of Hood throughout her career (derived from the official plans at NMM). It has views in various scales (though it is primarily based upon the 1/600 scale). Some elements are now a bit dated (due to new discoveries) but it is still the best single source technical document one can use and we highly recommend it. As with the official plans, the dated bits can easily be augmented with data from our website. We recommend this VERY highly.

It is available through most online book retailers.

 

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Other Plans (Alphabetically listed)

Navy Plans

Navy Plans of France have created 1/100 scale plans of Hood as in 1941. We have yet to see these plans and therefore have no idea as to how accurate they are. We would be most grateful to hear from anyone who has access to these plans.

You can learn more about them on their website.

Sambrook Marine

These are a close second to the NMM and University of Glasgow plans. They are mostly accurate plans which appear to be based upon the work of Maurice Northcott and the NMM plans. These cover Hood throughout different time periods and her various guises. Of course, as with the Norman Ough plans, it must be said that these plans were based upon the best information available at the time they were created. Since that time however, a great deal of new or supplementary information has come to light. As a result, the plans are not 100% accurate. They can probably be pencil corrected using information from our website though. To the best of our knowledge, the following are currently available:

You can purchase these through good online model retailers such as White Ensign Models and others.

Thomas Schmid

Thomas, working with members of our Association, created some beautiful/artistic computer renderings of Hood. He has made a limited edition plan/profile of Hood (as sunk) available for sale. Its not a true plan but is still an excellent source of inspiration when working on Hood. This work is very detailed and highly recommended.

You can obtain them from his website.

 

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Plans and Sources to Avoid (Alphabetically listed)

Bassett Lowke

Bassett-Lowke were the firm that built the actual builders model of Hood for John Brown and Company Shipyards. They later went on to build smaller models of Hood (mostly in the 1/1200 scale). They also built special order steam powered "working models" of Hood for various dignitaries (such as Lord Howard de Walden and the Maharajah of Patiala. Following this, they made the plans available to the public.

The plans were created by E.W. Hobbs and were roughly 1/120 scale. They were issued in the late 1920s (circa 1928). They came on what we have been told are linen sheets. Oddly, though Bassett-Lowke had access to original blueprints of Hood, their 1/120 draughts were not exactly the most accurate plans possible! We do not recommend using these.

  • Plan # 1- Hull
  • Plan # 2- Machinery
  • Plan # 2a- Cross Sections
  • Plan # 3- Profile and Plan of superstructure and guns

Kagero Super Drawings in 3D The Battlecruiser HMS Hood by Stefan Draminski

This is a very nicely executed look at Hood. It looks quite nice and some sections are very well done...but there are also numerous errors throughout (most notably certain bridge and boat deck details). We cannot recommend this book as a reliable primary source. On a promising note, we did contact the author and let him know about the errors. He did express interested at making corrections if the book ever comes up for republishing.

Kagero Top Drawings 24 The Battlecruiser HMS Hood by Stefan Draminski

Like its 3D source, this is also nicely drawn and executed., but it also has all the same errors. We cannot recommend this book as a reliable source in its current format.

Monografie Morskie 6

This was a Polish language monograph from the late 1990s. It was an affordable source of reference photos of Hood containing many photos of varying quality. Includes a decent (though not entirely correct) black & white line drawing plan/profile of Hood. It also contains a nice though somewhat inaccurate colour poster (wrong paint scheme, missing or incorrect details). Only available in the Polish language (but portions are clearly based heavily upon earlier Hood publications). Although there are many photos, the overall quality of said photos ranges varies considerably. Good coverage at a low price, but we would still recommend readers go for the 2003 Classic Warships title instead. We cannot recommend this as an overly reliable source for plans. Out of print, but possibly still available from some online model retailers.

Norman Ough/David MacGregor

These 1/192 scale plans depict Hood as she appeared in 1933. They were drawn up in the 1960s, by Norman Ough (1898-1965), one of the greatest draughtsmen/model builders of his time. Mr Ough was renowned for meticulous research and attention to detail. They were first published in 1964 as a feature in "Model Maker and Model Boats." Sadly, Mr Ough died before fully completing them. David MacGregor sold these same plans.

The best way to describe these plans is that they "were accurate according to the best publicly available materials at that time." Since then, however, much more information has been made available, or has come to light. The general arrangements are good or at least quite close, but there are reportedly some errors in the hull lines and elsewhere. We cannot recommend these as 100% reliable. You'd be better off mixing them with the NMM plans or Sambrook Marine plans.

Profile Morskie 63 The British Battlecruiser HMS Hood by Slawomir Moscinski and Jerzy Brzezinski

A Polish language book containing many deck and profile templates. The drawings are professionally executed, but unfortunately contain many notable/significant errors. This is likely because the drawings were created at a time before some key structural changes were well documented (that, or the content was based off other older flawed materials). We cannot in good conscience, really recommend this volume. In our opinion, you would be better off buying the Sambrook Marine plans and then pencil correcting them based on information from our website.