On her arrival at Alexandria shortly afterwards, my Admiral (P-W) and I joined her when she took over from ROYAL SOVEREIGN as flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron. At 17:45 he turned eastwards to take his position in front of the Grand Fleet and re-engage Hipper's ships. Ltzow 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. In addition, the rear of the six-inch gun casemates was enclosed by a 1.5-inch (38mm) bulkhead. [Note 5], Evan-Thomas continued his turn until his ships were steering due north, which interposed the 5th Battle Squadron between Hipper's battlecruisers,[38] which had reversed course around 16:48 to follow Beatty north,[39] and Beatty's ships. Read about our approach to external linking. "It always takes me back to that day in November 1941," he said. [79] She was briefly assigned to Force H, before she was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in November 1940. The relatively shallow water on Rockall Bank, an area of raised seabed a few hundred km from the Irish coastline, means it should be reasonably straightforward to send down a remotely operated vehicle to investigate the sonar contact. U-331 was not attacked by the escorting destroyers and reached port on 3 December. 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. "It was a shocking event," said Riverside curator Emily Malcolm. The battleships were providing distant cover to the light cruisers of Force B[1], engaged in searching for the German merchantsMaritzaandProcida (see also this link and this link). [53] The ship was relieved as flagship by Revenge in June[54] and she was ordered to Palestine in August where her crew helped to suppress rioting in Haifa and also operated the Haifa-Jerusalem railroad. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. While covering the evacuation of Crete the following day, the ship was attacked by Junkers Ju 88 bombers from II./LG (Demonstration Wing) 1 and Heinkel He 111 bombers of II./KG (Bomber Wing) 26. Shipwreck H.M.S. [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. Egypt Mar Sidi Barrani. [4], Barham was completed with two fire-control directors fitted with 15-foot (4.6m) rangefinders. [57] Now under the command of Captain Richard Scott,[53] Barham was assigned to the Home Fleet as the flagship of the 2nd Battle Squadron,[54] and deployed to the West Indies in JanuaryFebruary 1935 for training. The battleship heels over and explodes. . Shortly after 4.00 pm I was on the Admirals Bridge. She helped to sink an Italian heavy cruiser and a destroyer during the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941 and was damaged by German aircraft two months later during the evacuation of Crete. Thanks to the advancements in artificial intellige. David Mearns: "My research rules out all other shipwrecks in this 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. The impact was right on the joints between several armour plates and drove them inwards and destroyed part of the hull behind them. She was sunk during the Second World War on 25 November 1941 by the German submarine U-331 . The footage is at the end of this post. The battle was known as "Operation Crusader" to the British, the 2nd (British) Offensive to the Italians, and as the 'Winterschlacht' (winter battle) to the Germans. U-boat commander Fritz Julius Lemp had mistaken the liner for an armed cruiser and the German naval authorities tried to cover up the sub's actions. 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. During the 1920s and 1930s, the ship was assigned to the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Home Fleets. [45], Barham fired 337 fifteen-inch shells and 25 six-inch shells during the battle. For the rest of the war, except for the inconclusive action of 19 August 1916, her service generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. The only contact came in the evening when Tyrwhitt sighted the High Seas Fleet but was unable to achieve an advantageous attack position before dark, and broke off contact. The number of hits cannot be confirmed, but it is believed that she and Valiant made 23 or 24 hits between them, making them two of the most accurate warships in the British fleet. "We had no idea there were U-boats in the area.". The fore funnel was trunked into the aft funnel to reduce smoke in the spotting top. . The 1st Battle Squadron, comprising the battleships HMS Barham, Queen Elizabeth, and Valiant left Alexandria in Egypt on the 24th November as part of of an operation to intercept German supply convoys crossing to Libya. She was briefly deployed to Haifa in May 1936 at the beginning of the Arab revolt in Palestine. "I didn't know which way was up or down and thought that was it, I'm going to die I had given up and remember thinking, I hope it's quick.". Hipper ordered his ships to turn to starboard, away from the British, to assume a south-easterly course, and reduced speed to 18 knots (33km/h; 21mph) to allow three light cruisers of the 2nd Scouting Group to catch up. HMS Barham floating on side at sea. The destroyer Hotspur rescued 337 survivors, including Vice-Admiral Henry Pridham-Wippell and the pair who later died of their wounds, while the Australian destroyer Nizam reportedly rescued 150 men. "When we reached one of the torpedo bulges, my friend jumped into the water. Jan Lettens 02/08/2012. Underwater protection was improved by the addition of torpedo bulges. The ship had been hit amidships by torpedoes on the port side. [54] Reinforced by the battleship Resolution and the aircraft carrier Ark Royal from Force H, Barham departed Gibraltar for Freetown, Sierra Leone, four days later. The anti-torpedo bulge was essentially destroyed adjacent to the strike, with four men killed and two wounded. The Queen Elizabeth class warship was the only British battleship to be sunk at sea by a U-boat during the conflict. 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". Shipwreck-hunter David Mearns says sonar data shows the transatlantic passenger liner Athenia to be lying 200m down on Rockall Bank, off Ireland. "Fearing the impact of the affair on American opinion, the Germans promoted an absurd conspiracy theory, claiming that Winston Churchill, as First Lord of the Admiralty, had been responsible. "I was disorientated but reached out and felt the ship. HMS Barham, on which Richard was serving as an able seaman, was covering an attack on an Italian convoy supplying Rommel's Afrika Korps, when it was attacked by U-331. HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran Shipwreck Sites, Admiralty House, Garden and Fortifications, Royal Australian Naval Transmitting Station ACT, 81st. HMS Barham was a 35,000-ton battleship built for World War I but had had an extensive refit in the 1930s. [91] Due to the speed at which she sank, 862 officers and ratings were killed,[54][92] including two who died of their wounds after being rescued. [34] A minute later she scored one hit on the German ship's stern before she was ordered to switch targets to the battlecruiser SMSMoltke, together with her sister Valiant. Late in the afternoon of November 24, 1941 WARSPITE, (C. in C.), BARHAM and VALIANT and a screen of nine destroyers sailed from Alexandria to provide heavy gun cover for the Cruisers. Required fields are marked *. With this turn, Hipper was falling back on the High Seas Fleet, 60 miles (97km) behind him. During this time BARHAM was bombed and severely damaged by the Luftwaffe and had to go to Capetown for extensive repairs. Richard Laland is one of only two survivors from the doomed battleship HMS Barham still alive today. Barham played a minor role in quelling the 1929 Palestine riots and the 19361939 Arab revolt in Palestine. [33] About three minutes later, the ship opened fire on the battlecruiser SMSvon der Tann at a range of about 23,000 yards (21,000m). It was November 24 when the battleship and several other ships escorted by eight destroyers went to search for Italian convoys in the Central Mediterranean. At 14:32, Beatty ordered a course change to south-southeast in response to the spot report. [100] The crew are commemorated by a memorial bench, located in Nothe Gardens, Weymouth. ! Poem by Rudyard Kipling. [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. Merlin Burrows have found and pin-pointed the exact location of the wreck of HMS Barham - a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship built for the Royal Navy in February 1913. [5], The waterline belt of the Queen Elizabeth class consisted of Krupp cemented armour (KC) that was 13 inches (330mm) thick over the ships' vitals. "I dived in headfirst, but as I did, the ship rolled again and I smashed my head on the hull and was knocked unconscious.". The fleet returned to Scapa Flow on 24 April and refuelled before proceeding south in response to intelligence reports that the Germans were about to launch a raid on Lowestoft. [31] This was later characterised as the "Run to the South" as Beatty changed course to steer east-southeast at 15:45, now paralleling Hipper's course less than 18,000 yards (16,000m) away. Multiple air strikes by Formidable's Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers damaged the battleship Vittorio Veneto and crippled the heavy cruiser Pola later that evening. Within four minutes, the battleship had listed over to Port and the ships magazines had exploded, sinking the battleship and killing 863 men. Jones refers to the 861 men listed in the casualty list published by, Burt 2012a, p. 85; Raven & Roberts, pp. The ship was in the Mediterranean when the Second World War began in September 1939, on her voyage home three months later, she accidentally collided with and sank one of her escorting destroyers, HMSDuchess. 2023 BBC. [53] Together with her sister Malaya, Barham was sent to Alexandria, Egypt, in May 1927 during a time of unrest. Completed in 1915, she was often used as a flagship and participated in the Battle of Jutland during the First World War as part of the Grand Fleet. search wreck . A High-Angle Control System (HACS) Mk I director were added to the roof of the spotting top and the mainmast was reconstructed as a tripod to support the weight of a second HACS director. It is just over 49 years since H.M.S. A new beautiful success. For Archive Licensing Enquiries Visit: https://goo.gl/W4hZBv Explore Our Online Channel For FULL Documentaries, Fascinating Interviews \u0026 Classic Movies: https://goo.gl/7dVe8r #BritishPath #History #WWII #Navy #RoyalNavySubscribe to the British Path YT Channel: https://goo.gl/hV1nkf Dramatic Newsreel footage captured the sinking of the Queen Elizabeth Battleship. Realising their mistake, the Germans changed course for home. 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. 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 main conning tower was protected by 13 inches (330mm) of armour. [54] Dalglish was relieved in his turn by Captain Percy Noble on 18 October 1922. Craske), the Admiral and S.W.O. The 5th Battle Squadron preceded the rest of the Grand Fleet to reinforce Vice-Admiral David Beatty's battlecruiser fleet, but the British arrived in the area after the Germans had withdrawn. [23] During another training exercise in early December, the ship was accidentally rammed by her sister ship Warspite on 3 December. Shortly before the turn, one of his escorting light cruisers, Galatea spotted smoke on the horizon and continued on her course to investigate. 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