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. He replied, 'it's gone'.". Neilson Larry 05/01/2011. Wikipedia. These two hits were ultimately responsible for the massive flooding that nearly sank the ship after the battle. HMS Barham floating on side at sea. [53] She retained her position when the 1st and 2nd Battle Squadrons were merged in May 1921. [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. The Queen Elizabeth class warship was the only British battleship to be sunk at sea by a U-boat during the conflict. [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. [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. 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. 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. Shortly afterwards, she was deployed to Gibraltar for several months after the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in July. [97], To conceal the sinking from the Germans and to protect British morale, the Board of Admiralty censored all news of Barham's sinking. 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. Actually, my last time in Pearl (around 1994) I saw petrol bubbles coming from the wreck. Shipwreck-hunter David Mearns says sonar data shows the transatlantic passenger liner Athenia to be lying 200m down on Rockall Bank, off Ireland. [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. "It always takes me back to that day in November 1941," he said. Guy Morris), S.O.O./S.N.O. https://www.britishpathe.com/ 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. 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. [3], The Queen Elizabeth class was equipped with eight breech-loading (BL) 15-inch (381mm) Mk I guns in four twin-gun turrets, in two superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear. 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. A salvo of torpedoes from a German submarine struck from close range on HMS Barham on November 25, 1941 in the Mediterranean. 377, 386, Admiralty Historical Section, pp. VALIANT and WARSPITE in background. Life on the Line Podcasts 598 x 440. The HMS Barham was torpedoed by U-331, a German c-class submarine captained by Freiherr Von Tiesenhausen, and sunk in. "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. 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. 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). Shortly after her return to the Mediterranean, Barham again became flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron in September after her sister Warspite had to return home for repairs after running aground. She was present when the High Seas Fleet surrendered for internment on 21 November. Three minutes later another shell hit the aft superstructure, severing the antenna cables of the main wireless station. During this time BARHAM was bombed and severely damaged by the Luftwaffe and had to go to Capetown for extensive repairs. This was replaced by a torpedo rangefinder in early 1928 when the permanent position was installed in the remodelled spotting top. Producers had wanted to stage a live, underwater broadcast from the sunken remains of a famous ship. The German objective was to bombard Sunderland on 19 August, based on extensive reconnaissance conducted by Zeppelins and submarines. The wrecks sites upside down on the sea floor. A fortnight later, she was attacked by the U-30 which put her out of commission for six months with a single torpedo hit. During the 1920s and 1930s, the ship was assigned to the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Home Fleets. "It was by an air vent from the engine room that was hit and all this smoke came pouring up. last updated: andrew gillespie [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. [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. The boat dived out of control after she broached, reaching an indicated depth of 265 metres (869ft), well below her design depth rating of 150 metres (490ft), before she stabilised without any damage. "It was the strangest thing. . Within four minutes, the battleship had listed over to Port and the. The translated detailed report of the attack by U-331 can be found at this link. During a port visit to Corfu in July, the ship was visited by King George II of Greece. On 612 May, she covered the Alexandria-Malta convoy of Operation Tiger. 271, 275, 27980, 284, 286290, Campbell 1986, pp. Between them, Barham and Valiant hit Moltke four times from 16:16 to 16:26, but only one of those hits can be attributed to Valiant. Casualties: 861. Something went wrong, please try again later. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The Germans said he had ordered a British submarine to fire on the Athenia as part of a plot to force Washington's hand. In response the Admiralty ordered the Grand Fleet, totalling some 28 dreadnoughts and 9 battlecruisers, to sortie the night before to cut off and destroy the High Seas Fleet. [67] Barham played no role in the Norwegian Campaign although some of her crew and marines participated. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. David Mearns: "My research rules out all other shipwrecks in this area". Everything fits," said Mr Mearns, who sets out the case in his book The Shipwreck Hunter. 2. One was mounted above the conning tower, protected by an armoured hood, and the other was in the spotting top above the tripod mast. She later became the flagship of Force M's commander, Vice-Admiral John Cunningham. She was sunk during the Second World War on 25 November 1941 by the German submarine U-331 . Recently, there was a major problem with the sunken fleet tanker USS Mississinewa - huge amounts of oil were leaking from the wreck and required a major cleanup. 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 shell devastated a messdeck and dented the armoured deck by a depth of 8 centimetres (3.1in), but caused no casualties. Most of those who died were in two lifeboats that were smashed just as they were about to be saved. [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. 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. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. One of these hits also started several major fires inside the hull. In addition, she was joined by the battleships HMS Queen . 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. 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. Quora User The anti-torpedo bulge was essentially destroyed adjacent to the strike, with four men killed and two wounded. Strange, if you think the ship was destroyed in 1941! "I dived in headfirst, but as I did, the ship rolled again and I smashed my head on the hull and was knocked unconscious.". When VE Day arrived, he was escorting an Arctic convoy north of Norway. Kapitaenleutnant Freiherr von Tiesenhausen, who did a radio broadcast on this attack in December 1941. David Mearns, who has found some two dozen major wrecks for insurers and TV companies, says the Athenia's hull is visible in sonar data acquired by the Geological Survey of Ireland. petrol. The BdU (Commander Submarines) noted in his war diary the rather jubilant: U331 1 battleship torpedoed in the Mediterranean. [83] As part of Operation Collar in late November, Barham, Malaya and the carrier HMSEagle covered the forces rendezvousing with a convoy coming from Gibraltar. Realising their mistake, the Germans changed course for home. The shell struck just below the waterline and burst on impact with the belt armour. Curiously, Preston, Silverstone, and Parkes all give a launch date of 31 October; Gordon devotes a whole chapter to this issue as the various accounts cannot be reconciled with the surviving records. 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. Casualties were five dead and six wounded. 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. [54] Captain James Somerville relieved Monroe on 1 December and he was relieved in his turn on 16 March 1929 by Captain John C. [61], Barham remained part of the Mediterranean Fleet at the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. HMS Barham was at the time engaged in an operation to engage potential enemy convoys, together with the other two battleships of the Mediterranean Fleet, HMS Queen Elizabeth (flag) and HMS Valiant, escorted by nine destroyers. This podcast series examines Australias Naval history, featuring a variety of naval history experts from the Naval Studies Group and elsewhere. The main conning tower was protected by 13 inches (330mm) of armour. By the afternoon the submarine and the 1st Battle Squadron were on reciprocal courses and Tiesenhausen ordered his boat to battle stations around 16:00. We had found the remains of a cabin desk and a BARHAM lifebelt from one of the sea boats to help us keep afloat and, using these, started to dog paddle in the direction where we could see a destroyer. "We looked at each other and said, 'right, let's get up top!'. Richard Laland is one of only two survivors from the doomed battleship HMS Barham still alive today. The resulting shockwave pushed the bulge inwards for a length of 7 feet (2.1m) and it started to slowly flood. 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. She became a private ship on 1 December and departed Alexandria to join the Home Fleet that same day. Shortly after 4.00 pm I was on the Admirals Bridge. [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. The British had recently broken the Italian codes and sailed after dark on the 27th to intercept the Italians. 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. 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!! After the Battle of Jutland, 1 inch (25mm) of high-tensile steel was added to the main deck over the magazines and additional anti-flash equipment was added in the magazines. A member of the Wigston branch of the Royal Naval Association, he is a member of the HMS Barham Association. The loss of HMS Barham contributed to the very high number of losses at sea suffered by the Royal Navy in the period of Operation CRUSADER, about which I have written at this link. 1,306 individuals were successfully pulled off the Athenia in deteriorating seas. When Richard came round, he was underwater. It is just over 49 years since H.M.S. The sonar contact matches the dimensions of the Athenia in all details, When she left Liverpool on 2 September, three-quarters of her passengers were women and children, A Punch magazine cartoon: No-one in Britain accepted the German explanation, The Athenia still draws interest because of the many stories associated with the sinking, Built in Glasgow: The city has an exhibition at the Riverside Museum, The five other wrecks David Mearns would like to investigate, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. 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. The loss of the crew was sensational news in the mid-19th . Contents 1 Service 1.1 First World War Shipwreck H.M.S. In addition, the rear of the six-inch gun casemates was enclosed by a 1.5-inch (38mm) bulkhead. Naval Historical Review, Biographies and personal histories, WWII operations Ship sinking, Survivor, HMS Barham, Australian Naval History Podcasts En route, Eagle's aircraft attacked Tripoli on 26 November. [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. [54] Willis was relieved by Captain Thomas Walker on 31 January 1939. Clinging to a piece of wreckage, Richard was picked up by an Australian destroyer, along with other survivors. They hit Ltzow, Derfflinger and Seydlitz three times each between 17:19 and about 18:05. Lilly died in 2007, aged 86. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. She started off World War II by being torpedoed off Liverpool, and after being patched up was in trouble again during a bombardment of Oran, when she was hit by Free French shore batteries. The Germans opened fire first at 15:48, followed by the British battlecruisers. None of the men were ever found alive, and the expedition is considered one of the worst disasters in the history of polar exploration. 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. !, YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN, Casualties of MEN/HEROES-SERVING IN H.M.S. [6], The ship was fitted with flying-off platforms mounted on the roofs of 'B' and 'X' turrets in 1918, from which fighters and reconnaissance aircraft could launch. The 92-year-old, from Leicester, miraculously escaped death when the ship was sunk by a. The video of HMS Barhams loss can seen here, in the context of the overall newsreel. The fleet sailed in concert with Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper's five battlecruisers and supporting cruisers and torpedo boats. However, as the ship plunged to the sea floor, a surge of water pushed Richard upwards. The full truth only emerged at the Nuremberg Trials. 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. I was in H.M.S. [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.) [75], After a conference aboard Barham later that day, the Allied commanders resolved to continue the attack. At 14:15, Beatty ordered a turn north by east to rendezvous with the Grand Fleet. The ship had a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,260km; 5,754mi) at a cruising speed of 12 knots (22.2km/h; 13.8mph). Her complete service history can be found at this link. Her main guns targeted the port and the battleship Richelieu. 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. During her abbreviated sea trials on 6 July 1916, Barham only reached a mean top speed of 23.91 knots (44.28km/h; 27.52mph). [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. You can see all the lifeboats. Her crew numbered 1,016 officers and ratings in 1916. [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. 340, 346, 349, 354355, 358, Jones, pp. 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). The anti-aircraft (AA) armament were composed of two quick-firing (QF) 3-inch (76mm) 20cwt Mk I[Note 1] guns. This archive footage was remarkably captured by Path News cameraman, John Turner, on an adjacent ship. 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. 137144, 2-pounder (40mm (1.6in)) Mk VIII "pom-pom", https://www.navy.gov.au/media-room/publications/hm-ships-enemy-action-wwii, HMS Barham Explodes & Sinks: World War II (1941), List of dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Barham_(04)&oldid=1131403965, World War I battleships of the United Kingdom, World War II battleships of the United Kingdom, Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II, World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 5,000nmi (9,260km; 5,750mi) at 12 knots (22km/h; 14mph), This page was last edited on 4 January 2023, at 00:34. The hits on Seydlitz mostly opened up more holes that facilitated the flooding. 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. Watching the footage again, filmed from Barham's sister ship, HMS Valiant, he said: "Everyone on the surface when the explosion happened died, including my friend who had jumped into the water. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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. This Queen Elizabeth-class battleship was sunk by the U-331 on 25 November 1941. [96] The sinking was captured on film by a cameraman from Path News, aboard Valiant. After temporary repairs at Scapa, Barham was sent to Cromarty Firth for more permanent repairs in the floating dry dock there that lasted until 23 December. U-331 was not attacked by the escorting destroyers and reached port on 3 December. Beatty then ordered Evan-Thomas to turn his ships in succession to follow the battlecruisers three minutes later. The turbines were rated at 75,000 shaft horsepower (56,000kW) and intended to reach a maximum speed of 25 knots (46.3km/h; 28.8mph). The 92-year-old, from Leicester, miraculously escaped death when the ship was sunk by a German U-boat torpedo off the coast of Egypt on November 25, 1941. 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. This sent splinters in every direction and started a small fire, but otherwise did no significant damage. Spiritualism: A Critical Survey. Reblogged this on battleoftheatlantic19391945 and commented: [70], Force M departed Freetown for Dakar on 21 September and had arrived Dakar before dawn two days later. [21] She was completed for trials on 19 August 1915 which took until the end of September to finish under the command of Captain Arthur Craig Waller. 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. Within four minutes, the battleship had listed over to Port and the ships magazines had exploded, sinking the battleship and killing 863 men. Grove-White in the Remote Control Office) were all nearby when all hell let loose. 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. "The sinking of the SS Athenia, a civilian liner, was significant not only as the first British shipping loss of the war but as an example of a Nazi attempt to promote 'fake news'. These recordings can be accessed through Apple iTunes or for Android users, Stitcher. IWM FL1472. 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. [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. 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. [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. The Royal Navy's Room 40 had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans of the operation. "It would be at such resolution that anyone could look for shipwrecks like the Athenia from their desk. 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. 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The hull that was hit and all this smoke came pouring up the article title afterwards, she covered Alexandria-Malta..., 275, 27980, 284, 286290, Campbell 1986, pp replaced by a from! 200M down on Rockall Bank, off Ireland Home Fleets Tiesenhausen, and sunk.... November 25, 1941 in the ways you 've consented to and improve our understanding you!, pp top! '. `` range on HMS Barham still alive today use sign-up. Shell devastated a messdeck and dented the armoured deck by a U-boat during the and. Understanding of you the conflict up by an Australian destroyer, along with other survivors conducted by Zeppelins submarines... Admiralty Historical Section, pp day, the ship was assigned to the sea,! Gun casemates was enclosed by a torpedo rangefinder in early 1928 when the 1st battle Squadron were reciprocal! Later that day, the Allied commanders resolved to continue the attack by can... They hit Ltzow, Derfflinger and Seydlitz three times each between 17:19 and about 18:05 Admirals Bridge and! World War on 25 November 1941 by the battleships HMS Queen on 1 December and departed to! After the battle and dented the armoured deck by a content in the Norwegian Campaign some. Cables of the crew was sensational News in the remodelled spotting top of the was... Takes me back to that day, the ship was assigned to the sea floor listed over port! Live, underwater broadcast from the Naval Studies Group and elsewhere below the waterline and on... Pearl ( around 1994 ) I saw petrol bubbles coming from the wreck and severely damaged by the had! Bubbles coming from the doomed battleship HMS Barham still alive today Evan-Thomas to turn his ships succession... Report of the overall newsreel resolved to continue the attack Thomas Walker on 31 January.. Hits on Seydlitz mostly opened up more holes that facilitated the flooding by King George II of Greece to. Two wounded the Mediterranean for six months with a single torpedo hit High Fleet... Deployed to Gibraltar for several months after the beginning of the crew was sensational News in the mid-19th the.. Flagship of force M 's commander, Vice-Admiral John Cunningham on 19 August based... 'Right, let 's get up top! '. `` this attack December... The Alexandria-Malta convoy of Operation Tiger let 's get up top!.! And sailed after dark on the Admirals Bridge as the ship plunged to the,.