From the July 30, 2012, BBC News.
U.S. philanthropist Paul G. Allen has offered to recover the bell of the HMS Hood, sunk in action with the German battleship Bismarck in 1941 at no cost to Britain. He is co-founder of Microsoft and a yacht owned by him will be equipped with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).
Blue Water Recoveries, which found the Hood 2,800 metres underwater in 2011 will coordinate and film the recovery.
The bell is lying on the sea floor away from the hull, which will not be disturbed during the operation.
The HMS Hood, based out of Portsmouth was the largest Royal Navy warship sunk during World War II. When it went down there were 1,415 killed, the largest single loss of life ever suffered on a British ship. It was the flagship of the fleet chasing the Bismarck which was sunk by the RAF on 27 May 1941. When the Bismarck was sunk, it had a loss of 2.090.
If the bell is recovered it will go on display at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in 2014.
Rear Admiral Philip Wilcocks is president of the HMS Hood Association and said the bell would be a fitting memorial.
--GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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