In 1923–24, battlecruisers HMS Hood, HMS Repulse and the Special Service Squadron sailed around the world on The Empire Cruise, making many ports of call in the countries which had fought together during the First World War. The squadron departed Devonport on 27 November 1923 and headed for Sierra Leone. Returning from the Pacific, the battlecruisers passed through the Panama Canal, while the light cruisers rounded Cape Horn.
