HMS Barham exploding 25 November 1941. hundreds of men cling to the hull when she explodes. Amazingly, 450 men survive.
QUEEN ELIZABETH-Class Battleship ordered from John Brown at Clydebank after approval of design in June 1912. This ship was laid down on 24th February 1913 and launched on 31st December 1914. She was the third RN warship to bear this name, introduced in 1811 and last used for a cruiser in 1989 sold in 1914. The ship began service in October 1915 and had cost ?2,408,000, including the armament, communication equipment and other items of Admiralty supply. She was present at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and after extensive service during WW2 was sunk by a U-Boat torpedo in November 1941.For more information on design see BRITISH BATTLESHIPS by A Raven and J Roberts.
24th - Took part with QUEEN ELIZABETH , VALIANT and screen of eight Fleet destroyers for provision of cover to cruisers of 7th and 15th Squadrons carrying out search for military convoys on passage to Benghazi (Operation ME7). (Note: cruisers were deployed as Force B ? See Naval Staff History).
25th November 1941, - Under constant supervision by enemy aircraft. Under attack by U331 and hit by three torpedoes which struck between funnel and X turret on port side. Ship sank in position 32.34N 26.24N within 4 minutes after the magazine detonated. (On VALIANT, the closest ship to BARHAM when she was hit, was the Gaumont News cameraman John Turner who shot 2 minutes of movie film, all he had left in the camera, of the sinking. This film became one of the most poignant shot in the whole war)
Only 450 survived from the complement of about 1312. (Casualty List - note on casualties)
Note: At the subsequent Board of Inquiry it was suggested that the fires started caused the explosion of the 4in and 15in magazines. All internal communications failed and the speed of the development of a list made it impossible for many to escape. See above references and TUBAL CAIN by E Muspratt.)
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