The relatively shallow water on Rockall Bank, an area of raised seabed a few hundred km from the Irish coastline, means it should be reasonably straightforward to send down a remotely operated vehicle to investigate the sonar contact. "I didn't know which way was up or down and thought that was it, I'm going to die I had given up and remember thinking, I hope it's quick.". Three minutes later, she sighted the topmasts of Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer's battleships, but did not report this for another five 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. "We looked at each other and said, 'right, let's get up top!'. [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. [48], She was refitted at Cromarty between February and March 1917[47] and King George V inspected the ship on 22 June at Invergordon. Casualties: 861. 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. Anniversary Cruise: Sydney under Japanese Attack, Garden Island Northern Hill and Garden Tour, Night of the midget subs Sydney under attack, D-Day commando on Sword Beach by Commander Jim Speed DSC, RAN Part 1, D-Day commando on Sword Beach by Commander Jim Speed DSC, RAN Part 2, D-Day commando on Sword Beach by Commander Jim Speed DSC, RAN Part 3. A fortnight later, she was attacked by the U-30 which put her out of commission for six months with a single torpedo hit. [54] Captain James Somerville relieved Monroe on 1 December and he was relieved in his turn on 16 March 1929 by Captain John C. 377, 386, Admiralty Historical Section, pp. The Donaldson Atlantic Line SS Athenia was built in Glasgow and the city's Riverside Museum of transport has an exhibition dedicated to the vessel and the stories surrounding its sinking. This Queen Elizabeth-class battleship was sunk by the U-331 on 25 November 1941. The Germans opened fire first at 15:48, followed by the British battlecruisers. Of the 1,184 officers and men on board, 841 were killed. [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. Duchess capsized and sank, with the loss of 124 of her crew. [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. LOVE YOU ALL: Yours Aye-Brian CANUCK Murza, W.W.II Naval Researcher-Published Author, Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. 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. "I dived in headfirst, but as I did, the ship rolled again and I smashed my head on the hull and was knocked unconscious.". [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. Shortly afterwards, she was deployed to Gibraltar for several months after the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in July. "It would be at such resolution that anyone could look for shipwrecks like the Athenia from their desk. [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. [44], Hipper turned his ships southward around 18:05 to fall back upon Scheer's advancing battleships and then reversed course five minutes later. Producers had wanted to stage a live, underwater broadcast from the sunken remains of a famous ship. "I remember so many faces of my friends and shipmates who weren't as fortunate as me.". She sailed south through the Suez Canal to Mombasa, Kenya, where her damage was inspected. Over the course of a century, it documented everything from major armed conflicts and seismic political crises to the curious hobbies and eccentric lives of ordinary people. Barham was herself was struck twice during the "Run to the South": the first was a 28.3-centimetre (11in) shell from von der Tann that failed to do any damage when it hit the waterline armour and the battlecruiser SMSLtzow fired a 30.5-centimetre (12in) shell that detonated in the aft superstructure. 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. They and the sacrifice they made will never be forgotten. "I was disorientated but reached out and felt the ship. [16] The ship, named after Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham,[17] was laid down at their Clydebank shipyard on 24 February 1913 and launched on 31 December 1914. The battleship and the other ships of Force F were tasked to ferry troops to Malta, before continuing on to Alexandria. Wikipedia. "If I hadn't dived headfirst and knocked myself out, I would be dead, too.". 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. ", Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos, Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. The impact was right on the joints between several armour plates and drove them inwards and destroyed part of the hull behind them. 598 x 440. The S.G.O (Cdr. (Lt. Cdr. 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. 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. [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. 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. This was replaced by a torpedo rangefinder in early 1928 when the permanent position was installed in the remodelled spotting top. 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. Buying out his commission in 1947, he settled down with his late wife, Lilly, whom he had married in All Saints Church, Melton Road, in 1942. 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. Spiritualism: A Critical Survey. The marine scientist first got involved in the search for the wreck in a commission from the BBC. 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. 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. 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!! She was the flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron and of the Second in Command of the Mediterranean Fleet, 1941. This was initially a Fairey IIIF until it was replaced by a Fairey Swordfish in 1938. Your email address will not be published. [96] The sinking was captured on film by a cameraman from Path News, aboard Valiant. The British captured the submarine and took possession of its Enigma cipher machine. During this time BARHAM was bombed and severely damaged by the Luftwaffe and had to go to Capetown for extensive repairs. [29][Note 4], Hipper's battlecruisers spotted the Battlecruiser Fleet to their west at 15:20, but Beatty's ships did not see the Germans to their east until 15:30. How surprising were the M3 Grant tanks to the Germans? 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 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 . Jan Lettens 02/08/2012. 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. The Italian ships and the British arrived almost simultaneously at Pola's location, but the Italians had almost no clue that the British were nearby. By the time the Grand Fleet approached the area on 26 March, the British and German forces had already disengaged and a strong gale threatened the light craft, so the fleet was ordered to return to base. 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. [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. [41] Either the first or the fourth of these shells destroyed the ship's sickbay, killing the staff and all of its patients, including eight ship's boys. In the end, the TV idea was dropped, but Mr Mearns still hopes an expedition can be mounted by someone. The rescue effort by six other ships was nothing short of heroic, according to testimony. 201202, Edmunds, Simeon. 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. The Queen Elizabeth class warship was the only British battleship to be sunk at sea by a U-boat during the conflict. These two hits were ultimately responsible for the massive flooding that nearly sank the ship after the battle. [73], After the expiration of an ultimatum to surrender the following morning, the battleships engaged the port's 24-centimetre (9.4in) coast-defence guns and Richelieu at 09:30. However, I can vividly recall the sinking as though it were yesterday. [62] On 12 December, she accidentally rammed one of her escorts, the destroyer Duchess, in thick fog nine miles (14km) west of the Mull of Kintyre. She was briefly deployed to Haifa in May 1936 at the beginning of the Arab revolt in Palestine. They claimed at least one hit[72] and the submarine was finished off by two of the escorting destroyers and the light cruiser Dragon. Clinging to a piece of wreckage, Richard was picked up by an Australian destroyer, along with other survivors. [28][Note 3], When dawn broke Beatty ordered his forces into cruising formation with the 5th Battle Squadron trailing his battle cruisers by five nautical miles (9.3km; 5.8mi). [54] At that time, Captain Norman Wodehouse relieved Scott. 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. 2023 BBC. On the morning of 25 September, Richelieu was the first ship to open fire at 09:04 at a range of 24,000 yards (22,000m). Fritz Julius Lemp commanded submarines for another two years. Admiral Angelo Iachino, commander of the Italian fleet, ordered the two other heavy cruisers of the 1st Division to render assistance to Pola in the darkness. "There was my friend Ted Clow, from Oadby, but he died last December, aged 93.". [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. 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.. Three minutes later another shell hit the aft superstructure, severing the antenna cables of the main wireless station. 340, 346, 349, 354355, 358, Jones, pp. petrol. It is just over 49 years since H.M.S. 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. She was slow to go down, disappearing beneath the waves, stern first, at 11 the next morning. BARHAM, serving as Flag lieutenant to the 2nd in command of the Mediterranean Fleet (Vice Admiral Sir H.D. 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. A German submarine torpedoed the ship hours after Britain declared war on Hitler in 1939 - more than 100 people, including many Americans, were killed. [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. 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. Multiple air strikes by Formidable's Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers damaged the battleship Vittorio Veneto and crippled the heavy cruiser Pola later that evening. Nov 24, 2021. 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. But barring a photograph I can say in my expert opinion there's a very, very high probability that that's Athenia. [54] Willis was relieved by Captain Thomas Walker on 31 January 1939. [81] Barham was loaded with 600 troops, including the men of 12 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery,[82] Force F departed Gibraltar on 7 November, escorted by Force H, rendezvoused with the main body of the Mediterranean Fleet three days later and unloaded their cargo at Malta later that day. 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. [93][Note 6] Captain Geoffrey Cooke went down with his ship. With this turn, Hipper was falling back on the High Seas Fleet, 60 miles (97km) behind him. 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. [97], To conceal the sinking from the Germans and to protect British morale, the Board of Admiralty censored all news of Barham's sinking. 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". In addition the torpedo-control tower aft was replaced by an air-defence position during that same refit. While making the turn,[40] Barham was struck by two 30.5-centimetre shells beginning at 16:58, probably from the battlecruiser SMSDerfflinger. During the next eighteen months or so, the 1st B.S. It is the first wreck in his consultancy career "which I've identified from my armchair, so to speak". Tiesenhausen was not certain of the results of his attack and radioed that he had hit a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship with one torpedo. Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in December 1939, Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in November 1941. [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. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Sake brewers toast big rise in global sales, The Indian-American CEO who wants to be US president, How 10% of Nigerian registered voters delivered victory, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip. The fleet sailed in concert with Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper's five battlecruisers and supporting cruisers and torpedo boats. None of the men were ever found alive, and the expedition is considered one of the worst disasters in the history of polar exploration. 203, 205, Jellicoe, pp. The third shell detonated on the face of the starboard wing turret, although some fragments entered the turret and caused minor damage. The following morning, they were spotted by an aircraft from the carrier Formidable and the Battle of Cape Matapan began. 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. 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. [67] Barham played no role in the Norwegian Campaign although some of her crew and marines participated. [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. At 18:17 he realised that Marlborough was actually at the rear of the formation and he ordered a turn to the north to bring his squadron into line behind the Grand Fleet. Barham. Beatty then altered course to the east, as he was still too far north to cut Hipper off. Two of the others detonated upon striking the waterline armour, but failed to penetrate. The list of men lost is at this link. HMS Barham was one of five Queen Elizabeth -class battleships built for the Royal Navy during the early 1910s. Shortly after 4.00 pm I was on the Admirals Bridge. Our own inner-world is largely unexplored," Mr Mearns told BBC News. She became a private ship in January of that year and was refitted at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard in FebruaryJuly. 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). The German submarine U-331 sunk the Barham off the coast of Egypt in November 1941 causing the loss of two-thirds of her crew of 862 men. 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. [52] Captain Robin Dalglish relieved Horne on 1 October 1920. 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. Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. Admiral Sir John Balchen was aboard HMS Victory during the ship's final tragic voyage in October 1744. Print This Page. [55] The ship was transferred to the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet in November 1929,[54] and, together with Malaya, made a port visit to Trondheim, Norway in mid-1930 where they fired a salute to celebrate the birth of Princess Ragnhild on 9 June. search wreck . 1. 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. 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. Craske), the Admiral and S.W.O. 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. [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. Last modified on Wed 15 Jun 2022 10.44 EDT. Once the news had come through around 1630 hours that Force K out of Malta had sunk these, the battleships turned for Alexandria. It was something Donaldson had made when the ship was built," she told BBC News. And now within range of the battleships of the 3rd Squadron which opened fire on the 5th Battle Squadron as they made their turn. "By the time we got on deck, the ship was listing at a 45 degree angle. The British had recently broken the Italian codes and sailed after dark on the 27th to intercept the Italians. 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. During the 1920s and 1930s, the ship was assigned to the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Home Fleets. "I'm one of only two survivors from the ship left," he said. (Cdr. She later became the flagship of Force M's commander, Vice-Admiral John Cunningham. The reaction to the loss had echoes in the debates we have today about the reporting of news events, he told BBC News. [53] Together with her sister Malaya, Barham was sent to Alexandria, Egypt, in May 1927 during a time of unrest. British battleship to be sunk at sea by a cameraman from Path News, aboard Valiant stern first, 11! Out of commission for six months with a single torpedo hit and marines participated about... Aircraft from the carrier Formidable and the other ships was nothing short of heroic according... 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