P.W and staff moved to MALAYA and QUEEN ELIZABETH, and Rear Admiral B.S. She became a private ship in January of that year and was refitted at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard in FebruaryJuly. At 17:45 he turned eastwards to take his position in front of the Grand Fleet and re-engage Hipper's ships. 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. An ASDIC operator aboard one of the leading destroyers, Jervis, detected the submarine at 16:18 at an estimated range of 9001,100 yards (8201,010m), but the contact was disregarded as it subtended an angle between 40 and 60 degrees wide, far larger than a submarine. "I was disorientated but reached out and felt the ship. [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. In addition, the rear of the six-inch gun casemates was enclosed by a 1.5-inch (38mm) bulkhead. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross that day. 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). 713 x 435. En route, Eagle's aircraft attacked Tripoli on 26 November. It is just over 49 years since H.M.S. Battleship sunk on 25 of November 1941. [89] The following morning, the German submarineU-331, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen, detected the faint engine noises of the British ships and moved to intercept. 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. Egypt Mar Sidi Barrani. 11/25/2022, @ 13:16-Still stands thine ancient sacrifice, a humble and a contrite heart; Lord God of Hosts be with us yet, LEST WE FORGET, LEST WE FORGET!! The torpedo from U-30 struck the Athenia at 7:38 that evening. 340, 346, 349, 354355, 358, Jones, pp. She became a private ship on 1 December and departed Alexandria to join the Home Fleet that same day. 219220; Raven & Roberts, p. 359; Shores, Cull & Malizia, pp. The full truth only emerged at the Nuremberg Trials. Richard Laland is one of only two survivors from the doomed battleship HMS Barham still alive today. Aquarian Press, pp. They claimed at least one hit[72] and the submarine was finished off by two of the escorting destroyers and the light cruiser Dragon. During the third week in November, 1941, there was evidence that two convoys were being despatched from Italy to Benghazi to reinforce the Africa Korps. After some time we came to a Carley float, to which about six of our shipmates were clinging. This meant that they were some 4,000 yards (3,700m) closer to the rapidly advancing High Sea Fleet. Casualties: 861. One 250-kilogram (550lb) bomb struck 'Y' turret and started a fire inside the turret that took 20 minutes to quench. 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. Throughout the next day, Jellicoe and Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, commander of the High Seas Fleet, received conflicting intelligence; after reaching the location in the North Sea where they expected to encounter the High Seas Fleet, the British turned north in the erroneous belief that they had entered a minefield. BARHAM was torpedoed by U.331 and lost off the Western Desert of Egypt - off Sollum and Sidi Barrani. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Fungus case forces Jack Daniels to halt construction, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, Dozens of girls treated after new Iran poisonings, Man survives 31 days in jungle by eating worms, How fake copyright complaints are muzzling journalists. She had a normal displacement of 32,590 long tons (33,110t) and displaced 33,260 long tons (33,794t) at deep load. 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 British battleships then switched targets to bombard the harbour and Richelieu. It is just over 49 years since H.M.S. [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. The enemy struck at 4.25pm as Richard was on a tea break and talking with a friend. 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.. 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. What is more, the coordinates are very close to those sent out by the Athenia's radio officer in his distress call, and recorded in the logbooks of the vessels that came to the rescue. She later became the flagship of Force M's commander, Vice-Admiral John Cunningham. The ship was in the Mediterranean when the Second World War began in September 1939 and accidentally collided with and sank one of her escorting destroyers, HMS Duchess, on her voyage home three. The following year the UP mount was replaced by a pair of quadruple Vickers 0.5-inch machine gun mounts and another pair of eight-barreled "pom-pom" mounts were added abreast her conning tower. Contents 1 Service 1.1 First World War Her complete service history can be found at this link. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. More Disasters Caught on Camera: https://goo.gl/hYJzzNBRITISH PATH'S STORY Before television, people came to movie theatres to watch the news. Richard worked as a shop floor foreman at Ratby Engineering, in Leicester, until 1982. 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. petrol. 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. A near miss ruptured her portside bulge over an area 20 by 16 feet (6.1 by 4.9m) and caused a 1.5 degree list that was easily corrected by pumping oil. [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). . (Mute & Track Negs.) When Richard came round, he was underwater. She was sunk during the Second World War on 25 November 1941 by the German submarine U-331 . 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. 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. Guy Morris), S.O.O./S.N.O. [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). "I shot to the surface," he said. The ships were fitted with four submerged 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, two on each broadside. Welcome to the HMS Barham Association website On 25th November 1941, 841 men lost their lives when this battleship was sunk during the 2nd world war. 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. The shell devastated a messdeck and dented the armoured deck by a depth of 8 centimetres (3.1in), but caused no casualties. She was briefly deployed to Haifa in May 1936 at the beginning of the Arab revolt in Palestine. 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. Rawlings took over temporarily from P-W who became Vice Admiral Light Forces. 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. 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. Twelve of the fourteen BL 6-inch (152mm) 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. Shipwreck H.M.S. She was present when the High Seas Fleet surrendered for internment on 21 November. The marine scientist first got involved in the search for the wreck in a commission from the BBC. [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. It proved to be worse than expected and Barham had to be repaired at Durban, South Africa, as she was unfit to make the trans-Atlantic crossing for repair in the United States. You can see all the lifeboats. 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. 2023 BBC. One was mounted above the conning tower, protected by an armoured hood, and the other was in the spotting top above the tripod mast. (1966). 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. During the 1920s and 1930s, the ship was assigned to the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Home Fleets. But barring a photograph I can say in my expert opinion there's a very, very high probability that that's Athenia. The ship had been hit amidships by torpedoes on the port side. The S.G.O (Cdr. After several minutes it became apparent that the squadron was not conforming to Beatty's other ships, but Evan-Thomas refused to change course until clear instructions had been received despite entreaties from the Barham's captain. Nov 24, 2021. The video of HMS Barhams loss can seen here, in the context of the overall newsreel. Richard grew up in Penrith Road, Belgrave, joining the Royal Navy as a boy seaman, aged 15. U-331 thus passed through the screen and was in a position to fire her torpedoes after the leading ship, Queen Elizabeth, had passed her by and the second ship, Barham, was closing rapidly. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The aim of this blog is to accompany the preparation of a complete history incorporating the Axis and Commonwealth perspectives of the Winterschlacht (Winter Battle) in North Africa, November 1941 to February 1942. The 92-year-old, from Leicester, miraculously escaped death when the ship was sunk by a. Shortly before the turn, one of his escorting light cruisers, Galatea spotted smoke on the horizon and continued on her course to investigate. 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 torpedoes seemed to hit the ship amidships just abaft the funnel, judging by the waterspout in that general area, of which I had a ringside view from the Admirals Bridge. "If I hadn't dived headfirst and knocked myself out, I would be dead, too.". 862 men went down with her, and her end was filmed by a war correspondent on board one of the escorting Read more During this time BARHAM was bombed and severely damaged by the Luftwaffe and had to go to Capetown for extensive repairs. Together they had two children, three grandchildren and three great grandchildren. The ship was not hit, but was forced to return to port under the cover of a heavy smoke screen. [22], Barham joined the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow the next day and participated in a fleet training operation west of Orkney during 25 November. "We looked at each other and said, 'right, let's get up top!'. [88] 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. She participated in the Battle of Dakar in mid-1940, where she damaged a Vichy French battleship and was slightly damaged in return. copyrights: Unknown. The reaction to the loss had echoes in the debates we have today about the reporting of news events, he told BBC News. In addition the torpedo-control tower aft was replaced by an air-defence position during that same refit. 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. It is the first wreck in his consultancy career "which I've identified from my armchair, so to speak". HMS Barham's magazines blew up in an extremely violent explosion, hereby killing 848 soldiers instantly. The BdU (Commander Submarines) noted in his war diary the rather jubilant: U331 1 battleship torpedoed in the Mediterranean. 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. [87] 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. British Path was at the forefront of cinematic journalism, blending information with entertainment to popular effect. Jones refers to the 861 men listed in the casualty list published by, Burt 2012a, p. 85; Raven & Roberts, pp. Kapitaenleutnant Freiherr von Tiesenhausen, who did a radio broadcast on this attack in December 1941. 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. "It was a shocking event," said Riverside curator Emily Malcolm. (Lt. Cdr. She became the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet on 9 June until relieved by Warspite on 8 February 1938. 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. At Ratby Engineering, in Leicester, miraculously escaped death when the High Seas Fleet surrendered for internment 21... 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