In the time before World War II, HMS Hood was considered to be the greatest of all warships and demonstrated the strength of British marine power on the seven seas. However, by the start of World War II, this proud ship was already somewhat obsolete. Nevertheless, its crew took up the fight with the vastly more modern German warship Bismarck, which formed the greatest threat to the convoys of the allied troops coming from from Gibraltar. There was no escape the radar-controlled cannons of the Bismarck. HMS Hood exploded and sank off Greenland after a bitter struggle. Almost the entire crew perished; only 3 of the total of 1,417 sailors in the crew were saved.