Barham's signallers were unable to read the signal and her officer of the watch presumed that it was the expected point zigzag to the left of the base course and signalled that course change to the rest of the squadron. One 250-kilogram (550lb) bomb struck 'Y' turret and started a fire inside the turret that took 20 minutes to quench. HMS Barham was a 35,000-ton battleship built for World War I but had had an extensive refit in the 1930s. Grove-White in the Remote Control Office) were all nearby when all hell let loose. Everything fits," said Mr Mearns, who sets out the case in his book The Shipwreck Hunter. But barring a photograph I can say in my expert opinion there's a very, very high probability that that's Athenia. [90], 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. Within four minutes, the battleship had listed over to Port and the. The Queen Elizabeth class warship was the only British battleship to be sunk at sea by a U-boat during the conflict. "If I hadn't dived headfirst and knocked myself out, I would be dead, too.". The ship participated in the Silver Jubilee Fleet Review for George V on 16 July at Spithead[58] and was then transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet at the end of August. 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". They and the sacrifice they made will never be forgotten. None of the men were ever found alive, and the expedition is considered one of the worst disasters in the history of polar exploration. 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. The last shell passed all the way through the ship without detonating; it struck and dislodged a 100-millimetre (3.9in) armour plate on the waterline on the other side of the ship that caused also some flooding. She was present when the High Seas Fleet surrendered for internment on 21 November. 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. Neilson Larry 05/01/2011. 2023 BBC. At 14:32, Beatty ordered a course change to south-southeast in response to the spot report. Multiple air strikes by Formidable's Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers damaged the battleship Vittorio Veneto and crippled the heavy cruiser Pola later that evening. [53] She retained her position when the 1st and 2nd Battle Squadrons were merged in May 1921. The British captured the submarine and took possession of its Enigma cipher machine. 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. By this time the 5th Battle Squadron was about seven point five nautical miles (13.9km; 8.6mi) northwest of Beatty. 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. Chamberlain's famous "this country is at war with Germany" broadcast was delivered shortly after 11 in the morning. [53] Together with her sister Malaya, Barham was sent to Alexandria, Egypt, in May 1927 during a time of unrest. This required maximum offensive power and a speed several knots faster than any other battleship to allow them to defeat any type of ship. Hamilton. "Can I go into a court of law and say, '100%, that's Athenia?' The anti-aircraft (AA) armament were composed of two quick-firing (QF) 3-inch (76mm) 20cwt Mk I[Note 1] guns. [1][2], Barham had a length overall of 643feet 9inches (196.2m), a beam of 90feet 7inches (27.6m) and a deep draught of 33 feet (10.1m). 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. Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in December 1939, Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in November 1941. Rawlings took over temporarily from P-W who became Vice Admiral Light Forces. Wikipedia. To the untrained eye, sonar imagery can be difficult to interpret, but Mr Mearns says the dimensions of the target match exactly what would be expected of a 160m-long, 13,500-tonne passenger liner. 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. [51], Barham became flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet in April 1919, and made a port visit to Cherbourg, France that month together with the rest of the squadron. Barham quickly capsized to port and was lying on her side when a massive magazine explosion occurred about four minutes after she was torpedoed and sank her. BARHAM, on November 25, 1941!!!. The footage is at the end of this post. Once the news had come through around 1630 hours that Force K out of Malta had sunk these, the battleships turned for Alexandria. (Mute & Track Negs.) Our own inner-world is largely unexplored," Mr Mearns told BBC News. Shortly afterwards, she was deployed to Gibraltar for several months after the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in July. "I remember so many faces of my friends and shipmates who weren't as fortunate as me.". [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. 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. After a delay of several weeks the War Office notified the next of kin, but they added a special request for secrecy: the notification letters included a warning not to discuss the loss of the ship with anyone but close relatives, stating it was "most essential that information of the event which led to the loss of your husband's life should not find its way to the enemy until such time as it is announced officially"[98] Following repeated claims by German radio,[99] the Admiralty officially announced the loss on 27 January 1942 and explained that, it was clear at that time that the enemy did not know that she had been sunk, and it was important to make certain dispositions before the loss of this ship was made public. [67] Barham played no role in the Norwegian Campaign although some of her crew and marines participated. 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. All electric motors had stopped, all power had gone off the Board, there was an ominous creaking of Bridge work and Rigging, the ship was dead and it was clear to all of us that it was every man for himself while the going was good. Life on the Line Podcasts A pair of octuple mounts for 2-pounder (40mm (1.6in)) Mk VIII "pom-pom" anti-aircraft guns were added abreast the funnel and two positions for their directors were added on new platforms abreast and below the spotting top. Possibly due to her closeness to Valiant's bow wave and discharging the torpedoes, the boat's conning tower broached the surface and was fruitlessly engaged by one of the battleship's "pom-pom"s at a range of about 30 yards (27m). They hit Ltzow, Derfflinger and Seydlitz three times each between 17:19 and about 18:05. Barham, now assigned to the 1st BS, and Malaya were detached to refuel at Souda Bay, Crete, before sailing for Alexandria, reaching there on 14 November. He is now involved in efforts to change this. [45], Barham fired 337 fifteen-inch shells and 25 six-inch shells during the battle. The impacts drove in the plates and fragments caused much flooding by damaging the surrounding structure. 713 x 435. Earlier in the day there had been a couple of Air Raid warnings, and reports of enemy aircraft Shadowers, but nothing of particular consequence. It is split in the aft section where the torpedo hit, but otherwise is sitting proud of the sediment and looks to be in reasonable shape. "The Germans were at the gates of Alexandria at that time and we were accompanying destroyers trying to stop their supplies," said Richard, who lives off Groby Road. Mediterranean. They even attempted to blame the sinking on Winston Churchill, who on that very day - 3 September, 1939 - was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. On 25 November 1941 one of the heaviest losses of life, and the only loss of a Royal Navy battleship to a submarine at sea, occurred off Bardia, when HMS Barham was torpedoed at extremely short range by U-331, and sank within four minutes. [71] Barham's six-inch guns were the first to do so and fired at the French submarinePerse on the surface. In preparation for Operation Menace, a British naval attack on Dakar, Senegal, prior to a planned landing by the Free French, the ship was detached from the Home Fleet on 28 August and was assigned to Force M, the Royal Navy component of the operation. Senior figures in the German navy were convicted at Nuremberg for war crimes in relation to the Athenia affair. How surprising were the M3 Grant tanks to the Germans? [100] The crew are commemorated by a memorial bench, located in Nothe Gardens, Weymouth. Most of those who died were in two lifeboats that were smashed just as they were about to be saved. A member of the Wigston branch of the Royal Naval Association, he is a member of the HMS Barham Association. Two of the others detonated upon striking the waterline armour, but failed to penetrate. [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. Richard Laland is one of only two survivors from the doomed battleship HMS Barham still alive today. BARHAM was torpedoed by U.331 and lost off the Western Desert of Egypt off Sollum and Sidi Barrani. The list of men lost is at this link. P.W and staff moved to MALAYA and QUEEN ELIZABETH, and Rear Admiral B.S. 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. In contrast, the hit on Ltzow flooded a 15-centimetre (5.9in) magazine and the hits on Seydlitz blew a 10-by-13-foot (3.0 by 4.0m) hole in the side of her bow. Your email address will not be published. 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. BARHAM's explosion after being torpedoed. 1. Beatty then ordered Evan-Thomas to turn his ships in succession to follow the battlecruisers three minutes later. All footage can be viewed on the British Path website. When Richard came round, he was underwater. Barham's speed was initially reduced to 10 knots (19km/h; 12mph), but it was increased to 16 knots (30km/h; 18mph) 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. Read more 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. Barham opened fire at a range of 21,000 yards (19,000m) and hit Richelieu with one 15-inch shell at 09:15. Lemp fired four torpedoes at the two capital ships,[64] and one struck Barham on her port side, adjacent to the shell rooms for 'A' and 'B' turrets. On 24 May, the fleet conducted another demonstration off Horns Reef to keep German attention focused on the North Sea. "When we reached one of the torpedo bulges, my friend jumped into the water. She was slow to go down, disappearing beneath the waves, stern first, at 11 the next morning. During this refit, the aft superstructure was rebuilt and the torpedo-control tower and its rangefinder were removed, together with the aft set of torpedo tubes. [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. Producers had wanted to stage a live, underwater broadcast from the sunken remains of a famous ship. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. [60] The ship resumed her former role as flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron in February 1938 while undergoing a refit at Portsmouth that lasted until May. 2 six-inch gun. "We had no idea there were U-boats in the area.". [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. All interested parties are warmly in. 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. Second World War (1939-1945) Sidi Barrani. This meant that they were some 4,000 yards (3,700m) closer to the rapidly advancing High Sea Fleet. [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. During the 1920s and 1930s, the ship was assigned to the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Home Fleets. Reblogged this on battleoftheatlantic19391945 and commented: Huge palls of smoke rising from the stricken ship. 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. The enemy struck at 4.25pm as Richard was on a tea break and talking with a friend. 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