HMS Barham

1912 BARHAM During most of World War II, HMS Barham formed part of the Royal Navys Mediterranean Fleet; she was to perish in the Mediterranean with the loss of 862 officers and men after being hit by three torpedoes from U331.

FLAGSHIP AT JIJTLAND

The fourth ship of the Queen Elizabeth class, HMS Barham was laid down at John Browns yard on the Clyde in February 1913, launched on 31 October 1914 and commissioned a year later. Design displacement was 27,000 tons, 31,000 tons deep load, but all the ships of the class were some 3000 tons heavier, and their performance suffered accordingly. None achieved the 25 knots (46km/h) desired, though by overloading the powerplant so that it delivered close to 70,000shp, they did manage almost 24 knots. The Queen Elizabeth class was the first to mount l5in (381 mm) guns, which fired a 19201b (872kg) shell to a range of 29,000 yards (26.5km). Eight such guns were mounted in four turrets. Secondary armament consisted of 14 X 6in (152mm) quick-firing guns, and anti-aircraft (AA) armament varied from two X 3m (76mm) guns to eight X 4in (lO2mm),plus 32 X 2pdr pom-poms in octuple mounts, as well as large numbers of 20mm Oerlikon cannon.

BARHAM AT WAR

At the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 Barham was flagship of the 5th Battle Squadron. Between the wars she served with the Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleets, and underwent a major modernisation in 1931- 34. Barham was torpedoed in January 1940 off the Hebrides by U30, but survived and after repairs, she joined the Mediterranean Fleet. She was present at the Battle of Cape Matapan on 28 March 1941, when three Italian heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and two destroyers were destroyed for no loss. During the evacuation of Crete she was hit by a 250kg (5001b) bomb. On 24 November, while on patrol between Crete and the African coast, she was struck by a salvo of torpedoes fired by U33 I (Lieutenant von Tiesenhausen), and sank almost immediately.

TECHNICAL DATA
Type: Battleship
Machinery: 4-shaft Brown Curtis geared turbines delivering a total of 56 Dimensions (overall): Length, 196.8m (648.78ft); beam, 27 (90.Sft)
Displacement (1941): 37,480t deep load Draught: 8.8m (2a75ft) mean Complement: 981