The British battleship HMS “Barham” was one of the five ships of the Queen Elizabeth class. It was put into service in 1915 and took part in the eponymous and pivotal naval battle of Jutland, in 1916, which decided the sea struggle in the First World War. The ships of the class were the most powerful in the world when they were built.
Barham carried 8 15in (381mm) main guns, 14 152mm secondary guns. and quite a bit smaller. After the conversions she underwent in the interwar period she developed a maximum speed of 24 knots and carried a maximum thickness of armor of 13 in (331 mm) in the battleship belt, the armored bridge and the main gun turrets.
With the outbreak of World War II, the vessel joined the Mediterranean Fleet. He later joined the Metropolitan Fleet. On December 28, 1939, she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-30 and severely damaged, while four crewmen were killed. The repairs lasted until April 1940.
Supported De Gaulle's Free French operation in Dakar against the Vichy forces where he sank a surfacing Vichy submarine by fire. During the exchange of fire the Barham was hit by the French battleship Richelieu. Barham was hit twice more by coastal gunfire but was not seriously damaged. The British battleship hit the French one hard with her heavy guns.
Joined again in the Mediterranean Fleet, the battleship took part in various operations to reinforce Malta. He took part in the famous naval battle of Matapa where he alone sank an Italian destroyer and together with his "sisters" battleships Warspite and Valiant he sank the Italian heavy cruiser Zara. During the operation to evacuate Crete, the battleship was hit by German aircraft quite seriously. After repairs she returned to the Mediterranean.
On the afternoon of November 25, 1941 the battleship was attacked by the German submarine U-331. This unleashed a beam of four torpedoes against the battleship from a distance of only 375 m. The result was devastating. Heavily wounded, the Barham listed on its side and began to sink when it was rocked by a terrifying explosion as its ammunition exploded. The once proud giant of the seas went to pieces, taking 862 of its crew with it to its wet grave. The tragedy was captured by a Pathé News camera aboard the Valiant.