The legendary Battle of the Denmark Strait, which saw the mighty German battleship Bismarck sink Britain's HMS Hood in an epic duel of the titans, has been dogged by controversy to this day.

Was the doomed HMS Hood really sunk by a shell that penetrated her wooden decks to explode in one of her magazine compartments?

Others believe that Bismarck's fortunate shell detonated in Hood's cordite supply-the powder that propelled 82-lbs shells some staggering 17,700 yards-suggesting that damage examined on the wreck indicates a more distinct explosion. Or was the Hood's destructive and violent demise a new, and until now, unexplained act of war?

The sinking of HMS Hood on Empire Day, 24 May 1941, resulted in the single largest loss of life for the Royal Navy during the Second World War: 1,415 lives were lost.

There were absolutely no traces of any crewmen save three survivors.