H.M.S. Hood Reference Materials
Plans & Drawings of H.M.S. Hood
Updated 01-Mar-2008

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 created and/or sold 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, alphabetically, below.

Be advised that this listing is in not necessarily complete or all-inclusive. 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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Anatomy of the Ship- The Battlecruiser Hood' by John Roberts

This superb book contains many detailed draughts and drawings of Hood throughout her career. 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.

It is available through most online book retailers.

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!

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

David MacGregor

These are the same as the 1/192 Norman Ough plans. Many detailed views. Does have some incorrect hull lines though.

Monografie Morskie 6

This was a Polish language monograph from the late 1990s. An affordable source of reference photos of Hood. Contains many photos of varying quality. Includes a decent (though not entirely correct) black & white line drawing plan/profile of Hood. It also contains a disappointingly inaccurate colour poster (wrong paint scheme). 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 from poor to decent. Good coverage at a low price, but we would still recommend readers go for the 2003 Classic Warships title instead. As for the plans, we recommend the Sambrook Marine plans, pencil corrected using information from our website. Out of print, but possibly still available from some online model retailers.

National Maritime Museum

The NMM's Centre for Research has a wealth of information on Hood. This includes the plans listed below. Most are fairly large scale and should be most accurate.

Click here to learn more

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.

Norman Ough

These were drawn up in the 1960s, by Norman Ough, one of the greatest draughtsmen of his time. They were first published in 1964 as a feature in "Model Maker and Model Boats". They are 1/192 scale plans and show Hood as she appeared in 1933. Sadly, Mr Ough died before fully completing them.

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 some serious errors in the hull and elsewhere. If you use these plans, we advise you to double-check them very closely. Anyone wishing to add to this description is welcome to contact us.

Profile Morskie 63

A Polish language book containing many deck and profile templates. Most drawings are nicely done and very professional in appearance. Many are actually quite accurate, but others are not. Disappointingly, there are some notable errors- particularly involving various features of Hood's bridge and superstructure. The colour poster also has errors. Let the buyer beware...this one is somewhat "hit and miss". Another coloquial term that describes this is "a mixed bag". 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. Available now.

Sambrook Marine

Largely accurate plans based upon the work of Maurice Northcott. 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. This work is very detailed and highly recommended.

You can obtain them from his website.

University of Glasgow Industrial Archives

The University of Glasgow holds a complete set of plans for Hood as well as several hundred photos of the ship from the keel to completion. Like the NMM plans, these are large scale and should be the most accurate. We currently have no specific information on the number of sheets or amount of information.