Two of the others detonated upon striking the waterline armour, but failed to penetrate. Three minutes later another shell hit the aft superstructure, severing the antenna cables of the main wireless station. "When we reached one of the torpedo bulges, my friend jumped into the water. 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The British battleships then switched targets to bombard the harbour and Richelieu. Casualties were five dead and six wounded. The latter was only struck by a single shell splinter before the Allies broke off the bombardment at 10:07, although she had hit Barham once with a 155mm (6.1in) shell[74] that blew a hole 4 feet (1.2m) in diameter in the bulge. The battleship heels over and explodes. Three minutes later, she sighted the topmasts of Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer's battleships, but did not report this for another five minutes. On the other hand, the British knew exactly where the Italians were, thanks to their radar-equipped ships. [48], She was refitted at Cromarty between February and March 1917[47] and King George V inspected the ship on 22 June at Invergordon. "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. Her main guns targeted the port and the battleship Richelieu. Within four minutes, the battleship had listed over to Port and the. To control these guns a temporary High-Angle Control Position was mounted above the torpedo-control tower aft. The battleship and the other ships of Force F were tasked to ferry troops to Malta, before continuing on to Alexandria. While under repair in December1939 March1940, a 20-barrel Unrotated projectile (UP) rocket launcher was installed on the roof of 'B' turret and her HACS Mk I directors were replaced with Mk III models. She participated in the Battle of Dakar in mid-1940, where she damaged a Vichy French battleship and was slightly damaged in return. [67] Barham played no role in the Norwegian Campaign although some of her crew and marines participated. During her early-1930s refit, the platforms were removed from the turrets and a retractable catapult was installed on the roof of 'X' turret, along with a crane to recover a floatplane. U-331 was not attacked by the escorting destroyers and reached port on 3 December. [102], 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}3234N 2624E / 32.567N 26.400E / 32.567; 26.400. Huge palls of smoke rising from the stricken ship. Fragments from this hit caused flooding that spread throughout the bow, while the ship's speed caused water to enter directly through the hole in the side. Read about our approach to external linking. The shell struck just below the waterline and burst on impact with the belt armour. [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. Required fields are marked *. "It would be at such resolution that anyone could look for shipwrecks like the Athenia from their desk. While the other four ships of the Queen Elizabeth class were given a second, more extensive refit in the mid-to-late 1930s (which for Warspite, Valiant and Queen Elizabeth amounted to a complete reconstruction with new machinery and superstructures), changes to Barham were relatively minor. 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. One was mounted above the conning tower, protected by an armoured hood, and the other was in the spotting top above the tripod mast. 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. !, YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN, Casualties of MEN/HEROES-SERVING IN H.M.S. [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. [100] The crew are commemorated by a memorial bench, located in Nothe Gardens, Weymouth. "By the time we got on deck, the ship was listing at a 45 degree angle. The German objective was to bombard Sunderland on 19 August, based on extensive reconnaissance conducted by Zeppelins and submarines. Hindered by poor visibility, no significant damage was inflicted and Richelieu was not hit before the bombardment was called off after 20 minutes. [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. 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. BARHAM, on November 25, 1941!!!. It is just over 49 years since H.M.S. The attack on an unarmed passenger liner was a clear breach of international protocols. The gun turrets were protected by 11 to 13 inches (279 to 330mm) of KC armour and were supported by barbettes 710 inches (178254mm) thick. [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. More Disasters Caught on Camera: https://goo.gl/hYJzzNBRITISH PATH'S STORY Before television, people came to movie theatres to watch the news. This meant that the 5th Battle Squadron and the light cruisers were the sole targets available for the German ships until after his turn, although the worsening visibility hampered both sides' shooting. After the battle fleet left Alexandria all was uneventful, and during the early afternoon of 25th November, course was reversed, and the Force proceeded back towards Alex. Kapitaenleutnant Freiherr von Tiesenhausen, who did a radio broadcast on this attack in December 1941. 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. Pridham-Wippell), and Squadron Signal Officer of the 1st Battle Squadron. 713 x 435. 828 Squadron FAA, With the 5th South African Brigade at Sidi Rezegh, XXXI Guastatori (Assault Engineers) Battalion during CRUSADER, 'Shell Shock' 'Bomb Happy' and the Tobruk Garrison, Successful supply runs for the Axis - November 1941, New Article - Italy's Light Cruiser Force, German Tank Deliveries to North Africa - 02/1941 to 03/1942, Axis merchants lost on the North Africa Route - 1941-1943. 1,306 individuals were successfully pulled off the Athenia in deteriorating seas. The main armament could be controlled by 'B' turret as well. [75], After a conference aboard Barham later that day, the Allied commanders resolved to continue the attack. IWM FL1472. When Richard came round, he was underwater. (Lt. Cdr. The rescue effort by six other ships was nothing short of heroic, according to testimony. The impacts drove in the plates and fragments caused much flooding by damaging the surrounding structure. Shortly after 4.00 pm I was on the Admirals Bridge. BARHAM's explosion after being torpedoed. Of the 1,184 officers and men on board, 841 were killed. (1966). 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. 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. [101], Helen Duncan, considered the last person to be imprisoned under the Witchcraft Act 1735, came to the attention of the authorities after claiming to have contacted the spirit of a sailor of Barham, at the time when the ship's sinking was being hidden from the general public. She later became the flagship of Force M's commander, Vice-Admiral John Cunningham. She was hit six times during the battle, five times by 30.5cm shells and once by a 28.3cm shell, suffering casualties of 26 killed and 46 wounded. Thanks to the advancements in artificial intellige. [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. This was replaced by a torpedo rangefinder in early 1928 when the permanent position was installed in the remodelled spotting top. [36] His order only applied to his own forces; the 5th Battle Squadron continued south until after it passed Beatty heading northwestwards at 16:51. [45], Barham fired 337 fifteen-inch shells and 25 six-inch shells during the battle. "We looked at each other and said, 'right, let's get up top!'. Casualties: 861. The main conning tower was protected by 13 inches (330mm) of armour. [8] Two years later, her anti-aircraft defences were upgraded when the original three-inch AA guns were replaced with a pair of QF four-inch (102mm) Mk V AA guns between November 1924 and January 1925 and another pair of four-inch AA guns were added from October to November later that year. 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. "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. Realising their mistake, the Germans changed course for home. (Mute & Track Negs.) It is the first wreck in his consultancy career "which I've identified from my armchair, so to speak". These recordings can be accessed through Apple iTunes or for Android users, Stitcher. A salvo of torpedoes from a German submarine struck from close range on HMS Barham on November 25, 1941 in the Mediterranean. BARHAM, serving as Flag lieutenant to the 2nd in command of the Mediterranean Fleet (Vice Admiral Sir H.D. These new approaches would help achieve an international goal set last year to have 100% of the topography of the world's ocean bed mapped by 2030. [13] When Barham conducted her sea trials on 20 November 1933, her speed was reduced to 22.5 knots (41.7km/h; 25.9mph) from 65,655shp (48,959kW). I was in H.M.S. "I saw one of my shipmates in the water and asked him, 'where's the ship?' [15], The Queen Elizabeth class was ordered as part of the 1912 Naval Programme and the contract for Barham was awarded to John Brown & Company. "We climbed over the guard rail and started running down the side of the ship. 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. 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