After some time we came to a Carley float, to which about six of our shipmates were clinging. "I dived in headfirst, but as I did, the ship rolled again and I smashed my head on the hull and was knocked unconscious.". [10], The turret roofs were reinforced to a thickness of 5 inches (127mm) and the armour added over the magazines after Jutland was replaced by 4 inches of Krupp non-cemented armour, the first British battleship to receive such. Experience the final moments of the Queen Elizabeth Battleship, HMS Barham, when it was struck by torpedoes from a German submarine during World War II which resulted in a terrifying explosion.. Beatty then altered course to the east, as he was still too far north to cut Hipper off. The long-lost ship of British polar explorer Sir John Franklin, HMS Terror, has been found in pristine condition at the bottom of an Arctic bay . The British battleships then switched targets to bombard the harbour and Richelieu. One 250-kilogram (550lb) bomb struck 'Y' turret and started a fire inside the turret that took 20 minutes to quench. He replied, 'it's gone'.". HMS Barham was a 35,000-ton battleship built for World War I but had had an extensive refit in the 1930s. Website with searchable ship database about warships, passenger liners, merchant ships, photo galleries, technical details, stories, news and much more. To control these guns a temporary High-Angle Control Position was mounted above the torpedo-control tower aft. HMS Barham was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship of the Royal Navy.On 25 November 1941, while steaming to cover an attack on Italian convoys, Barham was hit by three torpedoes from the German submarine U-331, commanded by Lieutenant Hans-Dietrich von Tiesenhausen.As she rolled over to port, her magazines exploded and the ship quickly sank with the loss of over two thirds of her crew. "By the time we got on deck, the ship was listing at a 45 degree angle. The fleet sailed in concert with Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper's five battlecruisers and supporting cruisers and torpedo boats. BARHAM, on November 25, 1941!!!. The third shell detonated on the face of the starboard wing turret, although some fragments entered the turret and caused minor damage. Richard worked as a shop floor foreman at Ratby Engineering, in Leicester, until 1982. Print This Page. [85] They opened fire at point-blank range, Barham crippling the destroyer Alfredo Oriani and then joining Warspite and Valiant in crippling Zara. A salvo of torpedoes from a German submarine struck from close range on HMS Barham on November 25, 1941 in the Mediterranean. Within four minutes, the battleship had listed over to Port and the ships magazines had exploded, sinking the battleship and killing 863 men. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. "We were standing by a ladder two decks below on the mess deck when there was a huge explosion," he said. [16] The ship, named after Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham,[17] was laid down at their Clydebank shipyard on 24 February 1913 and launched on 31 December 1914. The Queen Elizabeth class warship was the only British battleship to be sunk at sea by a U-boat during the conflict. The following morning, they were spotted by an aircraft from the carrier Formidable and the Battle of Cape Matapan began. The attack on an unarmed passenger liner was a clear breach of international protocols. She was powered by two sets of Brown-Curtis steam turbines, each driving two shafts using steam from 24 Yarrow boilers. A new beautiful success. Ten minutes later, the ship radioed "Two cruisers, probably hostile, in sight" They were actually two German destroyers that had stopped to check a Danish merchant ship's papers. Contents 1 Service 1.1 First World War HMS Barham Explodes - Slow MotionOn the afternoon of 25 November 1941, the 1st Battle Squadron, Barham, Queen Elizabeth, and Valiant, with an escort of eight. The sea, which had fortunately been smooth as BARHAM sank was, as far as I could see, a vast area of oil fuel and debris, with at that time no signs of life. Experience the final moments of the Queen Elizabeth Battleship, HMS Barham, when it was struck by torpedoes from a German submarine during World War II which resulted in a terrifying explosion. [53] Together with her sister Malaya, Barham was sent to Alexandria, Egypt, in May 1927 during a time of unrest. Two minutes later, Beatty ordered a course change to east-southeast, positioning the British ships to cut off the German's line of retreat, and signalled action stations. [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. Two of the others detonated upon striking the waterline armour, but failed to penetrate. This is another problematic issue in which sources differ to which Gordon devotes an entire chapter. This was replaced by a torpedo rangefinder in early 1928 when the permanent position was installed in the remodelled spotting top. She departed Scapa Flow that day, escorted by four destroyers,[68] and rendezvoused with the troop convoy en route to Gibraltar[69] where she arrived on 2 September. Barham was not hit during this time and she and Valiant, later joined by their sister Warspite, continued to fire at Hipper's 1st Scouting Group until 18:02 when Valiant lost sight of the Germans. This increased her metacentric height to about 7 feet (2.1m) at deep load, despite the increase in her deep displacement to 35,970 long tons (36,550t). It is the first wreck in his consultancy career "which I've identified from my armchair, so to speak". Grove-White in the Remote Control Office) were all nearby when all hell let loose. "It was the strangest thing. A fortnight later, she was attacked by the U-30 which put her out of commission for six months with a single torpedo hit. In addition, she was joined by the battleships HMS Queen . Barham played a minor role in quelling the 1929 Palestine riots and the 19361939 Arab revolt in Palestine. A German submarine torpedoed the ship hours after Britain declared war on Hitler in 1939 - more than 100 people, including many Americans, were killed. The detonation blew a 7-by-7-foot (2.1 by 2.1m) hole in the main deck, sent fragments through the middle and lower decks and burned out the casemate for starboard No. The main armament could be controlled by 'B' turret as well. Quora User 219220; Raven & Roberts, p. 359; Shores, Cull & Malizia, pp. Another sweep began on 6 March, but had to be abandoned the following day as the weather grew too severe for the escorting destroyers. [42] Barham returned fire at the battlecruisers at 17:02, together with Valiant, the two northernmost of Evan-Thomas's ships, and the two of them made three hits on the battlecruiser SMSSeydlitz and Ltzow between 17:06 and 17:13 while Barham was hit twice more by Derfflinger; although neither of the hits did any significant damage. "I remember so many faces of my friends and shipmates who weren't as fortunate as me.". [70], Force M departed Freetown for Dakar on 21 September and had arrived Dakar before dawn two days later. HMS Barham floating on side at sea. "The Moon and Mars are mapped to a greater degree of accuracy than our seabed. Reblogged this on battleoftheatlantic19391945 and commented: Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. Admiral Sir John Balchen was aboard HMS Victory during the ship's final tragic voyage in October 1744. "I shot to the surface," he said. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Your email address will not be published. One of these hits also started several major fires inside the hull. [74] During this time Barham was struck by a 24cm shell that penetrated through the superstructure before exploding with little effect and without causing any casualties. They set several merchant ships on fire, but again failed to hit the latter at a range of 17,000 yards (15,500m) before breaking off fire at 13:20. 862 men went down with her, and her end was filmed by a war correspondent on board one of the escorting Her complete service history can be found at this link. Beatty continued south for another two minutes to confirm the sighting before ordering his force to turn north, towards the Grand Fleet in what came to be known as the "Run to the North". Mediterranean. Shortly afterwards, she was deployed to Gibraltar for several months after the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in July. In addition the torpedo-control tower aft was replaced by an air-defence position during that same refit. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Other fragments from the second hit caused damage that allowed the water to spread even further. Before leaving the Bridge to make my attempt to escape, the conning tower of a submarine surfaced about one hundred and fifty yards from the port side, and remained exposed for perhaps half a minute before the U boat dived again. The impact was right on the joints between several armour plates and drove them inwards and destroyed part of the hull behind them. Neilson Larry 05/01/2011. If it happened, British Path filmed it. Hamilton. Admiral Angelo Iachino, commander of the Italian fleet, ordered the two other heavy cruisers of the 1st Division to render assistance to Pola in the darkness. [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. [54] Now under the command of Captain Hubert Monroe[53] and accompanied by the battleship Ramillies, she cruised along the coast of West Africa from December 1927 to February 1928. The battleship and the other ships of Force F were tasked to ferry troops to Malta, before continuing on to Alexandria. This is my first written account of the fateful day, and of my recollections of some of the circumstances before and after the catastrophe since I prepared a Report on the sinking shortly after the event for the Royal Naval Authorities at Alexandria, Egypt. I assumed that this had happened because the submarine Captain had fired all his bow tubes at once, and had not compensated quickly enough with seawater to keep the conning tower below the surface. One fragment ricocheted off the upper deck and through the side plating on the opposite side of the ship. [54] Dalglish was relieved in his turn by Captain Percy Noble on 18 October 1922. HMS Barham was one of five Queen Elizabeth -class battleships built for the Royal Navy during the early 1910s. Barham. Required fields are marked *. [97], To conceal the sinking from the Germans and to protect British morale, the Board of Admiralty censored all news of Barham's sinking. [65] Most of the adjacent compartments flooded and the ship took on a 7 degree list that was countered by transferring fuel oil to starboard. [71] Barham's six-inch guns were the first to do so and fired at the French submarinePerse on the surface. [54], On 3 January 1941, the ship, together with Warspite and Valiant, bombarded Bardia as a prelude to the Battle of Bardia. The main conning tower was protected by 13 inches (330mm) of armour. [78] The severe damage to Resolution caused Operation Menace to be abandoned and Barham had to tow her to Freetown for temporary repairs, before escorting a convoy to Gibraltar where she arrived on 15 October where her own damage was repaired. "We had no idea there were U-boats in the area.". Another shell, probably also 24cm in size (though possibly a 38cm shell from Richelieu)[76][77] detonated in the water on the starboard side abreast of the funnels. She sailed south through the Suez Canal to Mombasa, Kenya, where her damage was inspected. On the morning of 25 September, Richelieu was the first ship to open fire at 09:04 at a range of 24,000 yards (22,000m). At 17:45 he turned eastwards to take his position in front of the Grand Fleet and re-engage Hipper's ships. First published on Mon 12 Sep 2016 11.41 EDT. The loss of the crew was sensational news in the mid-19th . As the British battleships were manoeuvring to take up their positions, the submarine Bvziers fired a spread of four torpedoes at a range of 2,700 yards (2,500m). [75], After a conference aboard Barham later that day, the Allied commanders resolved to continue the attack. "We climbed over the guard rail and started running down the side of the ship. However, I can vividly recall the sinking as though it were yesterday. The Queen Elizabeth-class ships were designed to form a fast squadron for the fleet that was intended to operate against the leading ships of the opposing battleline. [93][Note 6] Captain Geoffrey Cooke went down with his ship. British Path was at the forefront of cinematic journalism, blending information with entertainment to popular effect. It was a perfect day and the sea was smooth, After Hands had been piped to tea, the usual promenaders (ERAs and Stoker POs off watch) emerged from below-decks for their customary first Dog Watch strolls up and down the Focsle. [46], Following Jutland, Barham was under repair until 5 July 1916. Sinking of Royal Navy Battleship HMS Barham.A legendary battleship with a history at Jutland, during World War 2 HMS Barham was stationed with the Royal Navy's Eastern Mediterranean fleet in Egypt.. On the afternoon of the 24th November of 1941, HMS Barham, sailed to provide cover for the 7th and 15th Royal Navy Cruiser Squadrons. The German objective was to bombard Sunderland on 19 August, based on extensive reconnaissance conducted by Zeppelins and submarines. Casualties were five dead and six wounded. It is just over 49 years since H.M.S. (Cdr. 101102, 108110, 115116, 134142, Campbell 1986, pp. Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in December 1939, Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in November 1941. Our own inner-world is largely unexplored," Mr Mearns told BBC News. Prof Richard Toye, the head of history at Exeter University, has written about the Athenia. 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. [7], Barham received a series of minor refits during the 1920s. [73], After the expiration of an ultimatum to surrender the following morning, the battleships engaged the port's 24-centimetre (9.4in) coast-defence guns and Richelieu at 09:30. This sent splinters in every direction and started a small fire, but otherwise did no significant damage. [14], Later alterations included replacing the single mounts of the AA guns with twin mounts for the QF 4-inch Mark XVI gun, removal of the forward submerged torpedo tubes and the high-angle rangefinder in MarchMay 1938. [54], Captain Geoffrey Cooke assumed command on 25 March[53] and the Navy took the opportunity to augment her light anti-aircraft armament and upgrade its directors. He eventually lost his life in a confrontation in 1941 when his U-110 boat was forced to the surface after being damaged by depth charges. Pridham-Wippell), and Squadron Signal Officer of the 1st Battle Squadron. On the night of 25 March, Barham and the rest of the fleet sailed from Scapa Flow to support Beatty's battlecruisers and other light forces raiding the German Zeppelin base at Tondern. Scheer turned south again, then steered south-eastward to pursue a lone British battle squadron sighted by an airship, which was in fact the Harwich Force of cruisers and destroyers under Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt. [53] Barham participated in the Fleet review on 26 July 1924 at Spithead. No. The hits on Seydlitz mostly opened up more holes that facilitated the flooding. Actually, my last time in Pearl (around 1994) I saw petrol bubbles coming from the wreck. [94], It was not until the Admiralty admitted that Barham had been sunk and described the circumstances that Tiesenhausen knew that he had sunk her. Egypt Mar Sidi Barrani. 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