The Tirpitz in Kafjord, Norway.

The Tirpitz in Altafjord, Norway.

5 July 1942: Operation "Rosselsprung" (Knight's Move).
German units having assembled in Altafjord preparatory to an offensive against
the Allied Murmansk convoys, one of the two battlegroups sets out,
with Tirpitz leading the heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper and Admiral Scheer.

The Tirpitz was first bombed by the Royal Air Force in January of 1941 while it was being completed in a Wilhelmshaven dry dock. Crews reported that bombs had "straddled" the battleship. Other attacks were made later in 1941 by twin engined bombers and in April, 1942 the Tirpitz was located and attacked by Halifaxes and Lancasters but no bombs found their target. The Royal Navy attacked the battleship on a number of occasions with miniature submarines and carrier based aircraft.

These attacks were somewhat successful but little effect on the battleship's double layer of armour plate could be expected until British inventor, Sir Barnes Wallis, built a special bomb for the job. Wallis had previously developed the bouncing bomb used in the Dambusters Raid. In 1944 he devised the "Tallboy", a 12 030 pound weapon capable of piercing the Tirpitz's armour plating.

The 12,000 pound "Tall Boy" bomb used to sink the Tirpitz

On September 11, 1944, 38 Lancasters of 9 and 617 Squadrons set out to fly to an airfield in Northern Russia which was to be used as a base for an attack on the battleship which was at anchor in Kaa Fjord in Northern Norway. Several of the bombers were forced to crash-land and only 27 took off on September 15th, 20 carrying Tallboys.

With mountains screening the Lancasters' approach from enemy radar, the Tirpitz was caught by surprise and her smoke-screens were late in starting. One Tallboy smashed through the Tirpitz's forecastle and burst deep in her hull. The shock caused by the explosion of this bomb or possibly other bombs which were near misses, also damaged the ship's engines. All of the Lancasters returned safely to the airfield in Russia. The Germans decided that it was not practical to make Tirpitz fully seaworthy again and she was moved to Tromso, further south in Norway, but only for use as a semi-static, heavy artillery battery.

The British were not aware of the extent of the damage and the Tirpitz was attacked again on October 29th. 37 Lancasters were dispatched from Lossiemouth, Scotland. With the removal of the Lancaster's mid-upper gun turrets and the installation of extra fuel tanks, the Tirpitz could now be reached directly from Britain, although it required a 2250 mile operation.

The weather was ideal for the attack until an unexpected wind shift covered the Tirpitz with cloud just thirty seconds before the first Lancaster was ready to bomb. 32 aircraft released Tallboys on the estimated position but no direct hits were scored. The Germans responded by basing a fighter wing at a nearby airfield.

The final attack took place on November 12th. 30 Lancasters from 9 and 617 Squadron again took off from Scotland. The weather was clear as Wing Commander Willie Tait led the bombers on a wide detour, approaching the Tirpitz from inland. For some reason, despite frantic calls for air cover to the German fighter base at Bardufoss, not a single fighter seems to have taken off. There was no smokescreen as the Lancasters passed over the last mountain and the fjord with the Tirpitz came into view. The battleship began to sparkle with flashes from stem to stern as the anti-aircraft fire rose to 14 000 feet. The bombs were released and the crews waited thirty long seconds for the results. A great yellow flash burst on the foredeck and the Tirpitz was seen to tremble as it was hit by at least two Tallboys. It then suffered a tremendous explosion as the ammunition stores magazine went up. She rolled over to port and capsized. Approximately 1000 of her crew were killed. None of the attacking aircraft were significantly damaged and all returned safely to base.

12 November, 1944:
The bright point at the foot of the cloud of smoke is the explosion of a direct hit.
This photograph was taken from an altitude of about 2,000 meter (6,600 feet).

The wreck of the Tirpitz being scrapped after the war.