HMS Barham was one of five Queen Elizabeth-class battleships built for the Royal Navy during the early 1910s. Completed in 1915, she was often used as a flagship and participated in the Battle of Jutland during the First World War as part of the Grand Fleet. For the rest of the war, except for the inconclusive action of 19 August 1916, her service generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea.
Barham underway at low speed, mid-1930s
Aerial view of Barham in Scapa Flow, 1917
Barham leading Malaya and the aircraft carrier Argus in the late-1920s
Barham in the Mediterranean
Queen Elizabeth-class battleship
The Queen Elizabeth-class battleships were a group of five super-dreadnoughts built for the Royal Navy during the 1910s. These battleships were superior in firepower, protection and speed to their Royal Navy predecessors of the Iron Duke class as well as preceding German classes such as the König class. The corresponding Bayern-class ships were generally considered competitive, although the Queen Elizabeth class were 2 knots (3.7 km/h) faster and outnumbered the German class 5:2. The Queen Elizabeths are generally considered the first fast battleships of their day.
Queen Elizabeth in her original configuration at Lemnos, 24 April 1915
Right plan and elevation drawing from Brassey's Naval Annual 1923; the shaded areas represent the ships' armour plating
Queen Elizabeth c. 1918 showing the two aft port secondary casemates plated over
Forecastle deck gun as added to all ships in 1915–1916, here seen on Warspite after Jutland
