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. 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. Your email address will not be published. "I remember so many faces of my friends and shipmates who weren't as fortunate as me.". 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. "It always takes me back to that day in November 1941," he said. Your email address will not be published. This podcast series examines Australias Naval history, featuring a variety of naval history experts from the Naval Studies Group and elsewhere. Barham was sunk off the Egyptian coast the following November by the German submarineU-331 with the loss of 862 crewmen, approximately two thirds of her crew. . 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. [96] The sinking was captured on film by a cameraman from Path News, aboard Valiant. 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. Beatty then ordered Evan-Thomas to turn his ships in succession to follow the battlecruisers three minutes later. 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). [78] The severe damage to Resolution caused Operation Menace to be abandoned and Barham had to tow her to Freetown for temporary repairs, before escorting a convoy to Gibraltar where she arrived on 15 October where her own damage was repaired. 598 x 440. "It was a shocking event," said Riverside curator Emily Malcolm. The anti-aircraft (AA) armament were composed of two quick-firing (QF) 3-inch (76mm) 20cwt Mk I[Note 1] guns. [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. After some time we came to a Carley float, to which about six of our shipmates were clinging. 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. Introduction Hoping the wind is strong enough, http://sommecourt.wordpress.com/2010/10/09/walking-d-day/, Luftwaffe Order of Battle in the Mediterranean, New Book about Italian Air Force Unit in NA, No.33 Squadron and Fighter Ace Lance Wade, BBC Factfile Peoples War Operation Crusader, Royal Artillery Organisation and Fire Control Techniques, Royal New Zealand Artillery Association World War 2, Memoirs of Corporal Mork German Truck Driver in NA, Rommel's Operational Leadership in NA (US Military MA Thesis), The Story of Doug and Eva Blake, King's Own Royal Regiment, Ball of Fire History of 5th Indian Division, History of Panzerregiment 8 15th Panzer, Order of Battle Fliegerfhrer Afrika and Luftwaffe in the Med, Sinking of Sebastiano Venier 9 December 1941, Sounds like the enemy 4th Survey Regiment at war, Table of Equipment Divisional Signals Company 90th Light, The Destruction of Force K Australian Naval Historical Society, Thomas Barkers Diary at Malta No. The 92-year-old, from Leicester, miraculously escaped death when the ship was sunk by a. Hamilton. The following morning, they were spotted by an aircraft from the carrier Formidable and the Battle of Cape Matapan began. [61], Barham remained part of the Mediterranean Fleet at the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. [70], Force M departed Freetown for Dakar on 21 September and had arrived Dakar before dawn two days later. [45], Barham fired 337 fifteen-inch shells and 25 six-inch shells during the battle. Rawlings took over temporarily from P-W who became Vice Admiral Light Forces. She was the flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron and of the Second in Command of the Mediterranean Fleet, 1941. A very detailed account by a surviving officer of her loss is at this link. 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. [54] At that time, Captain Norman Wodehouse relieved Scott. A new beautiful success. The footage is at the end of this post. [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. [1] Force B consisted of two cruiser squadrons, 7 and 15, with the cruisers HMS Ajax, HMS Euryalus, HMS Galatea, HMS Naiad, and HMS Neptune, with escorting destroyers. Shipwreck H.M.S. 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 . [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. 101102, 108110, 115116, 134142, Campbell 1986, pp. 1,306 individuals were successfully pulled off the Athenia in deteriorating seas. Multiple air strikes by Formidable's Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers damaged the battleship Vittorio Veneto and crippled the heavy cruiser Pola later that evening. Barham opened fire at a range of 21,000 yards (19,000m) and hit Richelieu with one 15-inch shell at 09:15. [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. [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. [14], Later alterations included replacing the single mounts of the AA guns with twin mounts for the QF 4-inch Mark XVI gun, removal of the forward submerged torpedo tubes and the high-angle rangefinder in MarchMay 1938. 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). After Free French emissaries were either captured or driven off by the Vichy French, Cunningham ordered his ships to open fire. Richard will be reading the Royal British Legion epitaph, "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old", at Buckminster Road Baptist Church on Sunday, during the act of remembrance. While making the turn,[40] Barham was struck by two 30.5-centimetre shells beginning at 16:58, probably from the battlecruiser SMSDerfflinger. 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. [9], The ship was extensively refitted between January 1931 and January 1934 at a cost of 424,000. They and the sacrifice they made will never be forgotten. [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. Three minutes later another shell hit the aft superstructure, severing the antenna cables of the main wireless station. She sailed south through the Suez Canal to Mombasa, Kenya, where her damage was inspected. [75], After a conference aboard Barham later that day, the Allied commanders resolved to continue the attack. [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. Wikipedia. [85] They opened fire at point-blank range, Barham crippling the destroyer Alfredo Oriani and then joining Warspite and Valiant in crippling Zara. Our own inner-world is largely unexplored," Mr Mearns told BBC News. This is my first written account of the fateful day, and of my recollections of some of the circumstances before and after the catastrophe since I prepared a Report on the sinking shortly after the event for the Royal Naval Authorities at Alexandria, Egypt. Full title reads: "HMS BARHAM 1914 - 1941". Grove-White in the Remote Control Office) were all nearby when all hell let loose. Fritz Julius Lemp commanded submarines for another two years. 340, 346, 349, 354355, 358, Jones, pp. Craske), the Admiral and S.W.O. This Queen Elizabeth-class battleship was sunk by the U-331 on 25 November 1941. 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). 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. Something went wrong, please try again later. Read about our approach to external linking. petrol. The Germans said he had ordered a British submarine to fire on the Athenia as part of a plot to force Washington's hand. Second World War (1939-1945) Sidi Barrani. In addition, a pair of quadruple mounts for Vickers 0.5in (12.7mm) AA machine guns were added abreast the conning tower. [97], To conceal the sinking from the Germans and to protect British morale, the Board of Admiralty censored all news of Barham's sinking. 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). P.W and staff moved to MALAYA and QUEEN ELIZABETH, and Rear Admiral B.S. Lilly died in 2007, aged 86. 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. No. [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). During a port visit to Corfu in July, the ship was visited by King George II of Greece. Germany initially denied involvement fearing the US would join the war. HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran Shipwreck Sites, Admiralty House, Garden and Fortifications, Royal Australian Naval Transmitting Station ACT, 81st. 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. In 19211922, 30-foot (9.1m) rangefinders replaced the smaller ones in 'B' and 'X' turrets. The shell struck just below the waterline and burst on impact with the belt armour. She was briefly deployed to Haifa in May 1936 at the beginning of the Arab revolt in Palestine. "Can I go into a court of law and say, '100%, that's Athenia?' "I was disorientated but reached out and felt the ship. 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. 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