Howdy Folks! It’s been a while since I have posted some art here. Heck, it’s been a while since I painted much. I started this painting of the Hood around Thanksgiving of last year and finally finished It enough to frame it. This will be my 3rd painting of her. She was such a beauty it beckons me to paint her. Anyway, I hope you enjoy looking at it. If anyone has any constructive criticism, or see any major flaws, it’s always welcome to comment. I tried to take my time paint her right. Her crew deserve that.
The only thing I can find that might be a little off is it's not on the proper placement. I have a wall in my house that could fix that for you ! Great work once again Darren.
We've missed you Darren. You've come back in a big way. The Hood is magnificent. Well done. Keep up the good work and keep posting!
Thanks for the feedback Roger, CAC, and Lou. Good to talk to you. Roger I know you are a aircraft guy. I’ll check and see if I still have one of my old spitfire battle paintings around to send you. I can’t paint aircraft as good for some reason.
The Spitfire is one of the best looking aircraft of WW2 ! Maybe we can arrange a Maple syrup for painting swap?
My favourite Spitfire painting..."Spitfires over Darwin" You can just see where I was born in this picture...under the "Z" of the far Spitfire.
For someone who has trouble drawing flies, I'm filled with awe. Question: Where would the ship's Captain be when at general quarters-in that circular structure behind B turret or in the superstructure behind that?
Signalman Briggs, one of Hood's three survivors, was on the compass platform (British term for bridge) and reported that the Captain and Admiral were there. H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: H.M.S. Hood Reference Materials - ADM 116/4351: Report on the Loss of H.M.S. Hood The circular structure is the conning tower, armored up to 11" on Hood, but it was common for the ship to be commanded from the compass platform; the tower's vision slits gave very limited visibility. p.s. the RN term for "general quarters" was "action stations".
Carronade, thank you for clearing that up. I was thinking along the lines of your response, but was not sure. I had never heard the compass platform was the term for bridge. I always thought the compass platform was the box over the covered bridge. I thought I remember hearing Ted Briggs descending down a ladder to the bridge when he went into the sea. So you are saying the actual bridge is the open structure with the arrow? I know Bismarck had an admirals bridge and a open. Maybe something like that?
The Compass Platform is the enclosed structure just underneath that. There were thick glass plates or screens that could be raised for protection. IIRC, the Admiral's bridge & open bridge, is the large set of rectangular portholes & walkway on the superstructure behind the conning tower. Nice painting, very well done and a lot of attention to detail.
Thanks Takao, was hoping you would chime in. So the conning tower as I understand it is an “auxiliary bridge”? I know it’s well armored. I always got confused to where any battle ship was commanded at. Bismarck had her admirals bridge, which looked like a “classic” Ships bridge (with the square windows and the open wings). But then she had an open bridge I think lower than admiral’s. Then her own conning tower. Or is the conning tower more for fire/ gun control?
The British had mostly abandoned the conning tower as a position of command during WW1, and instead commanding from the compass platform. Beatty did this at Dogger Bank, and Jellicoe did the same at Jutland. Although, some members of the staff would be sent to the better protected conning tower when the battle was joined - just in case. Captain Leach also commanded Prince of Wales from the compass platform, switching to the conning tower when the compass platform was hit. Then going back to the compass platform when it was repaired and tidyed up.
I may have overstated the analogy. British practice, at least then, differed from ours in that the conning station was not where the helm was located. The helmsman was on the lower level, receiving orders by voice tube or phone. On ships which had a separate flag bridge, in almost all navies, that was located below the ship's bridge, on the grounds that he ship's capta and officers needed the best visibility to navigate and fight the ship. Of course an admiral, like Holland on Hood, could station himself wherever he wished.
Yeah, I have to agree with Biak, that its location is all wrong. But I disagree as to where it should be. there is an empty spot in my study that was asking me just yesterday about having a nice painting on it.