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12th November 1944


radiomike7

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The Tirpitz finally sunk.

 

Tirpitz was the second Bismarck class battleship of the German Kriegsmarine, sister ship of Bismarck and named after Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz. She never fired against an enemy ship but spent most of WW2 in various bases in German occupied Norway, where her mere presence was a great threat to the Allies, tying up huge naval and air forces to make sure she could be dealt with if she ever made an offensive sortie and causing a major convoy to scatter and be destroyed piecemeal by other ships.

 

After very many efforts by the royal navy and air force, 617 squadron led by Wing Commander 'Willie' Tait were tasked with destroying the seemingly unsinkable Tirpitz, using Tallboys dropped from 14,000 feet to penetrate the ship's deck armour and explode once inside.

 

Ably assisted by 9 squadron, the first of three raids was a failure as the target was obscured by smoke generators, although one of 9 squadron's bombs did hit the bow and cause substantial damage. A similar problem occurred on the second raid when within 30 seconds of releasing the first bomb the target was shrouded by sea clouds and only one near miss was recorded. However at the third attempt, the target was clearly visible and 30 Lancasters successfully dropped their Tallboys, Tait being credited with the first hit on the bow. The second hit glanced off a heavily armoured turret but the third penetrated the deck armour and set off a series of explosions which ripped a 200ft gash in the side of the ship, which quickly rolled over and settled on the bottom with the loss of over 1000 men. From that moment on, Tait was always known as 'Tirpitz Tait'

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On 30 March 1944, HMS Furious and HMS Victorious of the Home Fleet sailed from Scapa Flow in company with a powerful force of battleships and escort carriers, in Operation Tungsten. Their objective was to attack the German battleship Tirpitz, Germany's last surviving heavy surface unit, moored in the supposedly impregnable anchorage of Altenfjord in northern Norway.

 

In the early hours of 3 April, having approached to within 120 miles of the Norwegian coast, the carriers launched 42 dive-bombers and 80 fighters in the largest air strike yet undertaken by the Fleet Air Arm.

 

Tirpitz_OpTungsten_BF_hit.jpg

 

Tirpitz lay in Kaafjord and was hit by 15 bombs and badly crippled, and although not sunk, was incapable of putting to sea for several months during the crutial Normandy D-Day invasion period of the Allies.

 

fleetairarm.jpg

The Operation Tungsten strike was under the air coordination and strike leadership of Lt Cdr RS Baker-Falkner DSC, RN. The main force consisted of two strikes of Barracuda dive-bombers, from No 8 TBR Wing (827/830 sqdns) led by Lt Cdr Baker-Falkner and No. 52 TBR Wing led by Lt Cdr V Rance DSO RN. The Barracudas were operating from HMS Furious and HMS Victorious.

 

The fighter cover was provided by Hellcats and Wildcats of the 7th Naval Fighter Wing (800/804/881/896/882/898 sqdns) led by Lt Cdr (A) MF Fell RN from HMS Emperor, HMS Pursuer, and HMS Searcher, along with the 47th Naval Fighter Wing (1834 and 1836 Corsair sqdns) - the first time corsairs had been used in action by the FAA - led by Lt Cdr FRA Turnbull, DSC RN from HMS Victorious.

 

HMS Furious's 801 and 880 fighter squadrons provided top cover whilst an 842Q sdqn detachment provided a/s patrols from HMS Furious.

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30 Lancasters of Nos 9 and 617 Squadrons and a No 463 Squadron Lancaster with cameramen on board flew from Lossiemouth to attack the Tirpitz, which was still moored near Tromso. The weather was clear. Tirpitz was hit by at least 2 Tallboys and then suffered a violent internal explosion. She capsized to remain bottom upwards - a total loss. Approximately 1,000 of the 1,900 men on board were killed or injured. German fighters which were stationed near by to protect the Tirpitz failed to take off in time and only 1 Lancaster, of No 9 Squadron, was severely damaged, by flak; it landed safely in Sweden with its crew unhurt.

Edited by antarmike
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