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HMS ''Barham'' was a built for the Royal Navy during the early 1910. Often used as a flagship, she participated in the Battle of Jutland during the First World War as part of the Grand Fleet. Other than that battle, and the inconclusive Action of 19 August, her service during the war generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. During the 1920s and 1930s, the ship was assigned to the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Home Fleets. ''Barham'' was played a minor role in quelling the 1929 Palestine riots and the 1936–39 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 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. ''Barham'' was sunk off the Egyptian coast in November 1941 by the . == Design and description == The ''Queen Elizabeth''-class ships were designed to form a fast squadron for the fleet that was intended to operate against the leading ships of the opposing battleline. This required maximum offensive power and a speed several knots faster than any other battleship to allow them to defeat any type of ship.〔Burt 1986, p. 251〕〔Parkes, pp. 560–61〕 ''Barham'' had a length overall of , a beam of and a deep draught of . She had a normal displacement of and displaced at deep load. She was powered by two sets of Brown-Curtis steam turbines, each driving two shafts, using steam from 24 Yarrow boilers. The turbines were rated at and intended to reach a maximum speed of . During her abbreviated sea trials on 6 July 1916, the ship only reached a mean top speed of . ''Barham'' had a range of at a cruising speed of . Her crew numbered 1,016 officers and enlisted men in 1916.〔Burt 1986, pp. 255, 257–58, 261〕 The ''Queen Elizabeth'' class was equipped with eight breech-loading (BL) guns in four twin gun turrets, in two superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear. Twelve of the fourteen guns were mounted in casemates along the broadside of the vessel amidships; the remaining pair were mounted on the forecastle deck near the aft funnel and were protected by gun shields. Their anti-aircraft (AA) armament consisted of two quick-firing (QF) 〔"Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.〕 guns. The ships were fitted with four submerged torpedo tubes, two on each broadside.〔Burt 1986, pp. 252–53, 256–57〕 ''Barham'' was completed with two fire-control directors fitted with rangefinders. One was mounted above the conning tower, protected by an armoured hood, and the other was in the spotting top above the tripod foremast. Each turret was also fitted with a 15-foot rangefinder. The main armament could be controlled by 'B' turret as well. The secondary armament was primarily controlled by directors mounted on each side of the compass platform on the foremast once they were fitted in July 1917.〔Raven & Roberts, p. 20–21, 30〕 The waterline belt of the ''Queen Elizabeth'' class consisted of Krupp cemented armour (KC) that was thick over the ships' vitals. The gun turrets were protected by of KC armour and were supported by barbettes thick. The ships had multiple armoured decks that ranged from in thickness. The main conning tower was protected by 13 inches of armour. After the Battle of Jutland, 1 inch of high-tensile steel was added to the main deck over the magazines and additional anti-flash equipment was added in the magazines.〔Raven & Roberts, pp. 21, 26〕 The ship was fitted with flying-off platforms mounted on the roofs of 'B' and 'X' turrets in 1918, from which fighters and reconnaissance aircraft could launch. During her early 1930s refit, the platforms were removed from the turrets and an extending Type EIT catapult was installed on the roof of 'X' turret, along with a crane to recover a floatplane. This was initially a Fairey IIIF until it was replaced by a Fairey Swordfish in 1938.〔Raven & Roberts, pp. 30, 197, 203〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMS Barham (04)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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