The sinking of the Hood lead directly to the sinking of the Bismarck. One has to wonder if the British would have expended the effort had it not been for their catastrophic loss. But in the face of disaster they threw all caution to the wind and attacked with a vengeance. And got very lucky when an out-of-date airplane (a Swordfish biplane flying too slow to be effectively tracked by the Bismarck’s modern anti-aircraft fire control) managed against all odds to disable the great ship’s rudder with a single fortuitously-placed torpedo.

What other series of events could have led to a similar outcome?