HMS Barham - 126 Royal Marines Lost

Unit/ Formation: Memorial

Location: Mediterranean

Period/ Conflict: World War II

Year: 1941

Date/s: 25th November 1941

1941 Loss of Battleship HMS Barham while supporting cruisers searching for a German convoy to Benghazi. She was under constant observation by enemy aircraft. Under attack by U331 and hit by three torpedoes which struck between funnel and X turret on port side.

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. This archive footage was remarkably captured by Pathé News cameraman, John Turner, on an adjacent ship. [Follow link below for video]]

Ship sank in position 32.34N 26.24E within 4 minutes after the magazine detonated.

Only 450 survived from the complement of about 1312, 126 Royal Marines lost their lives.

Battleship HMS Barham Sinking

During the 1920s and 1930s, the ship was assigned to the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Home Fleets. Barham played a minor role in quelling the 1929 Palestine riots and the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. 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 months later. She participated in the Battle of Dakar in mid-1940, where she damaged a Vichy French battleship and was slightly damaged in return. Barham was then transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet, where she covered multiple Malta convoys. She helped to sink an Italian heavy cruiser and a destroyer during the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941 and was damaged by German aircraft two months later during the evacuation of Crete.

On the afternoon of 24 November 1941, the 1st Battle Squadron, Barham, Queen Elizabeth, and Valiant, with an escort of eight destroyers, departed Alexandria to cover the 7th and 15th Cruiser Squadrons as they hunted for Italian convoys in the Central Mediterranean. The following morning, the German submarine U-331, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen, detected the faint engine noises of the British ships and moved to intercept. 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. An ASDIC operator aboard one of the leading destroyers, Jervis, detected the submarine at 16:18 at an estimated range of 900–1,100 yards (820–1,010 m), but the contact was disregarded as it subtended an angle between 40 and 60 degrees wide, far larger than a submarine. U-331 thus passed through the screen and was only in a position to fire her torpedoes after the leading ship, Queen Elizabeth, had passed her by and the second ship, Barham, was closing rapidly.

Tiesenhausen ordered all four bow torpedo tubes fired at a range of 375 metres (410 yd) at 16:25. 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 (27 m). The boat dived out of control after she broached, reaching an indicated depth of 265 metres (869 ft), well below her design depth rating of 150 metres (490 ft), before she stabilised without any damage. U-331 was not attacked by the escorting destroyers and reached port on 3 December. Tiesenhausen was not certain of the results of his attack and radioed that he had hit a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship with one torpedo.

There was no time for evasive action, and three of the four torpedoes struck amidships so closely together as to throw up a single massive water column. Barham quickly capsized to port and was lying on her side when a massive magazine explosion occurred about four minutes after she was torpedoed and sank her. The Board of Enquiry into the sinking ascribed the final explosion to a fire in the 4-inch magazines outboard of the main 15-inch magazines, which would have then spread to and detonated the contents of the main magazines. Due to the speed at which she sank, 862 officers and ratings were killed, including two who died of their wounds after being rescued. The destroyer Hotspur rescued some 337 survivors, including Vice-Admiral Henry Pridham-Wippell and the pair who later died of their wounds, while the Australian destroyer Nizam reportedly rescued some 150 men. Captain Geoffrey Cooke went down with his ship. The sinking was captured on film by a cameraman from Pathé News, aboard Valiant.

The crew are commemorated by a memorial bench, located in Nothe Gardens, Weymouth [Wikipedia]

References/ Further Reading

1. Youtube Video - HMS Barham Explodes & Sinks: World War II (1941) | British Pathé

Royal Marines Roll of Honour HMS Barham

AIREY, Sidney, Marine, PO/X 102279:

ANDERSON, Thomas W, Marine, PO/X 102259:

ARSCOTT, William R, Musician, RMB/X 572:

ATKINSON, George A, Marine, PO/X 101744:

BAILEY, John C, Marine, PLY/X 1795:

BAKER, Richard J, Marine, PO/X 4815:

BALL, Albert, Marine, PO/X 4039:

BARBER, Kenneth A, Marine, PO/X 4997:

BARKER, Albert E, Marine, PO/X 4491:

BATES, Harold G, Marine, PO/X 100101:

BEAN, Kenneth A, Marine, PO/X 100414:

BERRY, Joseph, Marine, PO/X 4370:

BERRY, Thomas J A, Marine, PO/X 663:

BISHOP, George, Marine, PLY/22433:

BOAG, Richard, Marine, PO/X 4210:

BONNARD, John W, Sergeant, RM, PO/X 133:

BOOTLE, John F, Musician, RMB/X 649:

BOWERS, Peter H, Marine, PO/X 2374:

BRIDLE, Edward G, Marine, PO/X 2390:

BROWELL, George B, Marine, PO/X 2517:

BROWN, Sydney, Marine, PO/X 2313:

BURNS, Samuel, Marine, PO/X 102297:

BURTON, Wilfred, Marine, PO/X 4743:

BUTLER, Roland, Marine, PO/X 5019:

BUTLIN, Colin R, Marine, PO/X 100294:

CAMPBELL, Robert, Marine, PO/X 100263:

CANNONS, Leslie E, Marine, PO/X 2378:

CHANDLER, William, Marine, PO/X 2227:

CHAPMAN, Charles S, Musician, RMB/X 1593:

CHARD, Ronald H, Band Master 2c, RMB/X 182:

CHILTON, George, Marine, PO/X 101784:

CHOWINGS, Samuel G, Marine, PO/X 100333:

CHRISTOPHER, James V, Sergeant, RM, PO/X 456:

COLLARD, Arthur L, Corporal, RM, PO/X 1269:

COOK, Basil S C, Marine, PO/X 2624:

CORRIE, John M, Lieutenant, RM:

CROSS, Leonard F, Marine, PO/X 1235:

CUTHBERT, Albert J, Marine, PO/X 937:

DAVIES, Herbert F, Colour Sergeant, RM, PO/22648:

DEACON, Ronald F, Marine, PO/X 3518:

EVERETT, Leslie R, Ty/Corporal, RM, PO/X 2310:

FLINT, Wilfred L, Marine, RFR, PLY/18809:

FREEGARD, William G, Marine, PO/X 1939:

GARDNER, Kenneth R, Musician, RMB/X X 995:

GORMAN, William G, Marine, PO/X 3359:

GOVER, William A, Marine, PO/X 4040:

GREEN, George A, Marine, PO/X 102268:

GREEN, William H, Marine, PO/X 3517:

GURNEY, Kenneth A, Marine, PO/X 4590:

HALL, John W C, Ty/Corporal, RM, PO/X 2436:

HARRIS, George I, Marine, PO/X 2708:

HARRIS, Harry, Marine, PO/X 100315:

HARRIS, William H, Ty/Sergeant, RM, PO/X 1139:

HATHERICK, Sydney, Marine, PO/X 1657:

HAWTIN, Thomas W, Marine, PO/X 3984:

HENTY, Alfred J, Marine, PO/X 4867:

HIBBERT, Charles L, Marine, PO/X 102299:

HIGGS, Richard H, Marine, PO/X 4001:

HILL, Christopher St G S, Lieutenant, RM:

HISCOCKS, Edward R J, Marine, PO/X 2333:

HOOKER, Victor E, Marine, PO/X 208 3371:

HUMBLE, John L, Marine, PO/X 4052:

INGALL, Laurence J, Bugler, CH/X 100537:

IRETON, Ernest, Marine, PO/X 4214:

JENNINGS, William J, Ty/Midshipman, RNR:

JERRARD, Ronald C J, Musician, RMB/X 46:

JONES, David R, Marine, PO/X 4174:

JONES, Haydn, Marine, PO/X 2459:

JONES, James H, Marine, PO/X 100118:

LEARMOUTH, Douglas C, Marine, PO/X 2304:

LEES, Harold M, Marine, PO/X 4542:

LEONARD, Francis, Musician, RMB/X 549:

LEWTY, Harry, Ty/Sergeant, RM, PO/22287:

LIDDINGTON, Aubrey W C, Marine, PO/X 2395:

LITTLEFORD, James, Marine, PO/X 4205:

LITTLEFORD, William, Marine, PO/X 4204:

LOCK, Henry, Marine, PO/X 4462:

LYMBURN, Andrew, Sergeant, RM, PO/21698,:

MAHY, Herbert E, Marine, PO/X 236:

MARTIN, James L, Marine, PO/X 2273:

MCLOUGHLIN, Reginald M, Marine, PO/X 2183:

MILLER, George R, Boy Bugler, PO/X 3320:

MILTON, Hedderville, Ty/Corporal, RM, PO/X 2180:

MOIR, Stanley C, Musician, RMB/X 928:

MOORE, Frederick J, Marine, PO/X 2290,:

NICHOLLS, Harold D E, Marine, PO/X 1684:

PAINE, John R, Musician, RMB/X 627:

PARK, Alexander, Marine, PO/X 100564:

PARKIN, Ronald L, Marine, PO/X 4060:

PARTRIDGE, Walter R, Marine, PLY/X 2711:

PERROTT, Alfred C S, Marine, PO/X 1633:

PINNOCK, James R A, Marine, PO/X 3269:

PITT, Thomas R, Marine, PO/X 2298:

PITTS, George S, Captain, RM:

POOLE, William F, Marine, PO/X 2462:

RICH, George F, Marine, PO/X 4393:

ROBINSON, Harold W, Marine, PO/X 2715:

ROBINSON, William P, Marine, PLY/X 2051:

ROSE, George H, Marine, PO/X 1055:

SELBY, Stanley I, Corporal, RM, PO/X 1694:

SHEPPARD, Harry C, Marine, PO/X 3542:

SMITH, Joseph E, Marine, PO/X 3664:

SMYLIE, John F, Marine, PO/X 4563:

SNEDDON, John, Marine, PO/X 4624:

SPRINGETT, Frederick J W, Marine, PO/X 4063:

STONE, Roy F, Musician, RMB/X 1013:

STOWER, Walter H, Marine, CH/X 2315:

STURGESS, Edward L, Marine, PO/X 2287,:

TAYLOR, Leslie A, Sergeant, RM, PO/22437:

TEAGER, Clifford A, Marine, PO/X 4761:

TERRY, Reginald B, Marine, PO/X 21609:

THOMAS, Reginald F, Marine, PO/X X 2425,:

THOMAS, Ronald, Corporal, RM, PO/X 1284:

TOMLINSON, Arthur R, Marine, PO/X 4570:

TOWELL, Laurence F, Ty/Corporal, RM, PLY/X 778:

TRAVIS, Samuel G W, Marine, PO/X 4083:

UDEN, Peter W, Marine, PO/X 2332,:

UNDERWOOD, Richard C, Marine, PO/X 4064:

WALTON, Douglas H, Marine, PO/X 2422:

WEST, Mark, Marine, PO/X 4053:

WHEEL, William, Marine, PO/X 100303:

WHEELER, Noel H, Marine, PO/X 3275:

WILKINS, Percy J, Marine, PO/X 3560:

WISE, Richard G, Marine, PO/X 799:

WOOD, Robert, Marine, PO/X 4552:

WOODMAN, Edward W K, Marine, PO/X 3547:

WYATT, Ronald B, Musician, RMB/X 988.