HMS Barham Explodes and Sinks, 1941. Dramatic Newsreel footage captured the sinking of the Queen Elizabeth Battleship. A salvo of torpedoes from a German submarine struck from close range on HMS Barham on November 25, 1941 in the Mediterranean. Within four minutes, the battleship had listed over to Port and the ships magazines had exploded, sinking the battleship and killing 863 men. The terrifying explosion was caught on film by Pathe cameraman John Turner who was on an adjacent ship.