How U-331 penetrated the screen and sank HMS Barham

U-331 happened onto a British force of battleships, cruisers, and eight destroyers operating from Alexandria. HMS Jervis obtained an ASDIC contact but rejected it as too large to be a submarine, letting the boat pass inside the screen and fire four torpedoes at only a few hundred meters. At the moment of firing, HMS Valiant's bow wave forced U-331's conning tower to the surface; the submarine was shot at from close range, then descended to an indicated 265 meters against a stated 150-meter depth rating before stabilizing. Three torpedoes struck Barham almost together; she capsized and suffered a catastrophic magazine explosion minutes later. Rescue ships recovered hundreds, but Captain Geoffrey Cooke and 861 others were lost. The Admiralty briefly delayed announcing the sinking so Germany would not receive immediate confirmation while British dispositions were adjusted.