B. Cunningham. [54] On 14 October 1925, Captain Francis Marten relieved Hill, but he retained command only until 9 March 1926 when Captain Joseph Henley assumed command. Barham was herself was struck twice during the "Run to the South": the first was a 28.3-centimetre (11 in) shell from von der Tann that failed to do any damage when it hit the waterline armour and the battlecruiser SMS Lützow fired a 30.5-centimetre (12 in) shell that detonated in the aft superstructure. [88], There was no time for evasive action, and three of the four torpedoes struck amidships so closely together as to throw up a single massive water column. [47] On the evening of 18 August, the Grand Fleet put to sea in response to a message deciphered by Room 40 that indicated that the High Seas Fleet, minus II Squadron, would be leaving harbour that night. [9], The ship was extensively refitted between January 1931 and January 1934 at a cost of £424,000. Hipper ordered his ships to turn to starboard, away from the British, to assume a south-easterly course, and reduced speed to 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) to allow three light cruisers of the 2nd Scouting Group to catch up. [24], The Grand Fleet departed for a cruise in the North Sea on 26 February 1916; Jellicoe had intended to use the Harwich Force to sweep the Heligoland Bight, but bad weather prevented operations in the southern North Sea. [44], Hipper turned his ships southward around 18:05 to fall back upon Scheer's advancing battleships and then reversed course five minutes later. [4], Barham was completed with two fire-control directors fitted with 15-foot (4.6 m) rangefinders. [53] Together with her sister Malaya, Barham was sent to Alexandria, Egypt, in May 1927 during a time of unrest. This story has been placed in the following categories. [86] Repairs were completed six weeks later on 30 July and the ship returned to Alexandria in August where she resumed her role as flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron. Because she … MS of HMS Barham listing heavily to port, towards the camera - her secondary 6-inch guns already underwater. Each turret was also fitted with a 15-foot rangefinder. [26], In an attempt to lure out and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, the High Seas Fleet, composed of 16 dreadnoughts, 6 pre-dreadnoughts, 6 light cruisers, and 31 torpedo boats, departed the Jade early on the morning of 31 May. Barham played a minor role in quelling the 1929 Palestine riots and the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. In addition, the rear of the six-inch gun casemates was enclosed by a 1.5-inch (38 mm) bulkhead. She had a normal displacement of 32,590 long tons (33,110 t) and displaced 33,260 long tons (33,794 t) at deep load. The fleet sailed in concert with Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper's five battlecruisers and supporting cruisers and torpedo boats. The ships were fitted with four submerged 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, two on each broadside. This resulted in spreading to and detonating the ship’s main magazines. Between them, Barham and Valiant hit Moltke four times from 16:16 to 16:26, but only one of those hits can be attributed to Valiant. Twelve of the fourteen BL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XII guns were mounted in casemates along the broadside of the vessel amidships; the remaining pair were mounted on the forecastle deck near the aft funnel and were protected by gun shields. The capsizing ship suddenly blows up in a huge explosion, only her bows remaining visible, steeply canted at the edge of the smoke pall. An ASDIC operator aboard one of the leading destroyers, Jervis, detected the submarine at 16:18 at an estimated range of 900–1,100 yards (820–1,010 m), but the contact was disregarded as it subtended an angle between 40 and 60 degrees wide, far larger than a submarine. After returning to port, Jellicoe issued an order that prohibited risking the fleet in the southern half of the North Sea due to the overwhelming risk from mines and U-boats unless the odds of defeating the High Seas Fleet in a decisive engagement were favourable. The impact was right on the joints between several armour plates and drove them inwards and destroyed part of the hull behind them. HMS Barham was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship of the Royal Navy named after Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, built at the John Brown shipyards in Clydebank, Scotland, and launched in 1914. The HMS Barham was torpedoed by U-331, a German c-class submarine captained by Freiherr Von Tiesenhausen, and sunk in the Eastern Mediterranean in November 1941. [35], At 16:30, the light cruiser Southampton, scouting in front of Beatty's ships, spotted the lead elements of the High Seas Fleet coming north at top speed. One was mounted above the conning tower, protected by an armoured hood, and the other was in the spotting top above the tripod mast. She reached Alexandria later that day, but she was too large for the floating dock there and had to be sent elsewhere for repairs. [54] Captain James Somerville relieved Monroe on 1 December and he was relieved in his turn on 16 March 1929 by Captain John C. [27] Barham slipped her mooring at 22:08 and was followed by the rest of Beatty's ships. The German crew were apparently given a tremendous reception when the submarine returned to her base. Her crew numbered 1,016 officers and ratings in 1916. Queen Elizabeth was leading, followed by H.M.S. [48], She was refitted at Cromarty between February and March 1917[47] and King George V inspected the ship on 22 June at Invergordon. 3 Two days later HMS Barham was torpedoed by U-331 at 4.15 pm on November 25th, 1941 some 55 miles NNE of Sidi Barani. It was a most beautiful day - warm sunshine, blue cloudless sky and the sea was flat calm. Another shell, probably also 24 cm in size, detonated in the water on the starboard side abreast of the funnels. Post by Pips » 10 Dec 2020, 06:46 On November 25, 1941, HMS Barnham was torpedoed by U-331. Saved by Robert Mann. VALIANT and WARSPITE in background. From NavyPhotos.co.uk Go to the item's page. Lützow was only slightly damaged by these hits, which essentially only knocked out the primary and back-up wireless rooms while the shells that hit Derfflinger hit the side of the ship's bow, knocking off several armour plates, while fragments opened holes that ultimately allowed roughly 2,000 tonnes (1,968 long tons) of water to enter the bow. 2 six-inch gun. After the Battle of Jutland, 1 inch of high-tensile steel was added to the main deck over the magazines and additional anti-flash equipment was added in the magazines. details see EAGLES WAR by P. HMS Barham. On 21 April, the Grand Fleet conducted a demonstration off Horns Reef to distract the Germans while the Russian Navy relaid its defensive minefields in the Baltic Sea. [99], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}32°34′N 26°24′E / 32.567°N 26.400°E / 32.567; 26.400. The anti-torpedo bulge was essentially destroyed adjacent to the strike, with four men killed and two wounded. 219–220; Raven & Roberts, p. 359; Shores, Cull & Malizia, pp. video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7009975008653689943&q=barham&pl=trueIn Finland we have this thing called "Reilu meininki" [33] About three minutes later, the ship opened fire on the battlecruiser SMS von der Tann at a range of about 23,000 yards (21,000 m). Experience the HMS Barham explosion after being struck by torpedo in 4K resolution at 50 fps and in color! While sailing eastwards, the aircraft carrier Illustrious was detached from the main body to attack Taranto on the night of 11/12 November, damaging three Italian battleships. [85] With her newly arrived sister Queen Elizabeth, Barham escorted Formidable as her aircraft attacked the Italian airfield at Scarpanto at dawn on 26 May with some success. Beatty then altered course to the east, as he was still too far north to cut Hipper off. En route, Eagle's aircraft attacked Tripoli on 26 November. 203, 205, Jellicoe, pp. Out of a crew of approximately 1,184 officers and men, 841 were killed, including my grandfather. At 17:45 he turned eastwards to take his position in front of the Grand Fleet and re-engage Hipper's ships. She became the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet on 9 June until relieved by Warspite on 8 February 1938. HMS Barham - 1941. It was difficult to imagine such a large ship sinking so quickly. The image is free to reuse for non-commercial purposes under the IWM Non Commercial Licence. [59], Barham served as the flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron from November 1936 to May 1937 and participated in the Coronation Fleet Review for King George VI on 19 May at Spithead. )cruisers was towed up the Forth from Scapa Flow for scrapping. Supposedly it was the after magazine that exploded as Barnham rolled onto her beam ends. It is no longer possible to leave messages here. A few months later, now under the command of Captain Richard Hill,[53] the ship again retained her position as the 1st Battle Squadron was split in two and the Queen Elizabeths of the new 1st Battle Squadron were transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet on 1 November 1924. On the other hand, the British knew exactly where the Italians were, thanks to their radar-equipped ships. Most of the content on this site is created by our users, who are members of the
Apparently a fire aboard the Barham caused a small magazine to explode and this in turn blew into the main magazine of the battleship. Barham's speed was initially reduced to 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), but it was increased to 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) about an hour and a half later and she was able to proceed under her own power[66] to Birkenhead for repairs by Cammell Laird that lasted until April 1940. Debris was hurled into the air, and I saw one of the 15 inch gun turrets lifted up hundreds of feet. She became a private ship on 1 December and departed Alexandria to join the Home Fleet that same day. Subsequently the resulting hit caused a massive explosion on HMS Barham resulting in her loss and that of 2/3rds of her crew. [55] The ship was transferred to the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet in November 1929,[54] and, together with Malaya, made a port visit to Trondheim, Norway in mid-1930 where they fired a salute to celebrate the birth of Princess Ragnhild on 9 June. By downloading any images or embedding any media, you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution … Rear-Admiral Sir Hugh Evan-Thomas (private collection) with his beloved “Jutland Jack” Her end in the Mediterranean in the Second World War was as … The battleship was attacked by U-331. Obviously, some combination of these factors did cause the ship to capsize and then explode, but I'd appreciate any technical insight that anybody has come across. 12th Operation MC6 cancelled because of damage to HMS ILLUSTRIOUS. While making the turn,[40] Barham was struck by two 30.5-centimetre shells beginning at 16:58, probably from the battlecruiser SMS Derfflinger. The Italian ships and the British arrived almost simultaneously at Pola's location, but the Italians had almost no clue that the British were nearby. Valiant another 300 yards astern of her. [84], In mid-April she escorted the fast transport MV Breconshire, together with Warspite and Valiant, from Alexandria to Malta before the battleships bombarded Tripoli on the evening of 20 April. She had been struck by four torpedoes. The Royal Navy's Room 40 had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans of the operation. The Grand Fleet sailed with 29 dreadnoughts and 6 battlecruisers while the Germans mustered 18 dreadnoughts and 2 battlecruisers. She was briefly deployed to Haifa in May 1936 at the beginning of the Arab revolt in Palestine. After temporary repairs at Scapa, Barham was sent to Cromarty Firth for more permanent repairs in the floating dry dock there that lasted until 23 December. [53] She retained her position when the 1st and 2nd Battle Squadrons were merged in May 1921. After Free French emissaries were either captured or driven off by the Vichy French, Cunningham ordered his ships to open fire. Realising their mistake, the Germans changed course for home. [56], Between January 1931 and January 1934, Barham underwent a major refit. She was the third RN warship to bear this name, introduced in 1811 and last used for a cruiser in 1989 sold in 1914. [77] She was briefly assigned to Force H, before she was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in November 1940. Sunk at Sheerness, 24 November 1914, due to an accidental explosion. [45], Barham fired 337 fifteen-inch shells and 25 six-inch shells during the battle. November 25, 1941 in the Mediterranean Sea near the border of Egypt and Libya, the British battleship 'Barham' was torpedoed by German submarine U-331 (commander Lieutenant von Tizengauzen). [54] Dalglish was relieved in his turn by Captain Percy Noble on 18 October 1922. It was obvious to us on the Queen Elizabeth that the Barham was sinking fast, and I can remember that we were shouting to the men to jump. My father lost his life along with 862 of his shipmates. One of these hits also started several major fires inside the hull. During immersion in water detonated ammunition battleship, which caused a powerful explosion. Barham towed the … She was the flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron and of the Second in Command of the Mediterranean Fleet, 1941. Survivors were rescued by the other British ships. She suddenly rolled to port, the after magazine exploded, and in moments she had gone, sunk, to take over 60% of the crew with her. In 4 minutes and 45 seconds a 35,000 ton battleship was lost and with her 868 officers and men. "HMS Barham on her beam ends as the magazine explodes." We were in the Eastern Mediterranean, midway between Crete and the Bay of Sollum. In response the Admiralty ordered the Grand Fleet, totalling some 28 dreadnoughts and 9 battlecruisers, to sortie the night before to cut off and destroy the High Seas Fleet. 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