Barham

H.M.S. Barham

(Neptun 1105a)

Class: Queen Elizabeth - 5 battleships of 1912-13
Displacement: 31,100 tons
Dimensions: 600 (pp) 639.75 (oa) x 90.5 (104 outside bulges) x 30.75 ft.
Machinery: 4-shaft geared turbines, S.H.P. 80,000 = 24 knots
Armor: Main belt 4-6 in. (ends), 8-13 in. (amid), decks 1.25-3 in. (ends), 3.25-4 in. (amid), turrets 5-13 in., C.T. 11 in.
Armament: 8-15in (4x2), 12-6in (12x1), 8-4in (4x2) AA, 32-2pdr(4x8) AA guns, 16-0.5in (4x4) MG; 2 aircraft
Complement: 1,124

Service: 1915, 5th B.S.; 1916 Jutland, where she was the flagship of Adm Hugh Evan-Thomas and received 5 hits; 1920 Atlantic. Home fleet 1939-40. Damaged by German submarine torpedo Dec 1939 north of the British Isles. Took part in Operation Menace, the British naval attack on Dakar, Senegal, in Sep 1940, during which she engaged the French battleship Richelieu and received one 15" shell hit. Joined Force "H" at Gibraltar, taking part in several Malta convoys. Joined the Mediterranean fleet at the end of 1940 and participated in the Battle of Cape Matapan in Mar 1941. Bombarded Tripoli in Apr and then damaged by German aircraft off Crete in May. Torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-331 25 Nov 1941. Struck by 3 torpedoes close together, she rapidly rolled to port and then suffered a magazine explosion, taking more than two thirds of her crew down with her.