They invested heavily in this capability. Their most iconic battleship, HMS Hood, was the envy of the world during the interwar years.

Germany's Bismarck gained notoriety for sinking the HMS Hood before being sunk itself. The USS Washington achieved the only one-on-one battleship kill during WWII.

The Mighty Hood was sunk in 1941 by the German battleship Bismarck, with the loss of all but three of the 1,418 crew Lady Hood launched Hood in 1918 in memory of her late husband Rear Admiral Sir ...