Lost heroes of the 'Tirpitz'

Page 1 of 9

• 1. Convoy threat
• 2. Midget submarines
• 3. Lair of the 'beast'
• 4. Treacherous crossing
• 5. Closing the attack
• 6. Running blind
• 7. 'Tirpitz' shattered
• 8. X-5's vital role
• 9. Find out more
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Convoy threat

The powerful German battleship Tirpitz, sister of Bismarck sunk at sea after a long and difficult chase in 1941, exerted a powerful influence on the Royal Navy.

'Tirpitz was the centrepiece of the German surface forces ...'

She was the centrepiece of the German surface forces based in Norway, threatening the Arctic convoys to Russia. A break-out into the Atlantic could not be ruled out. Disabling her would do much to solve a core problem of Allied maritime strategy, but bombing her in her defended anchorages was difficult with the available aircraft and weapons.

More novel approaches were tried. In October 1942, a daring attempt to use chariot 'human torpedoes' failed because of bad weather. Tirpitz was nonetheless disabled by an extensive self-maintenance period over the winter, but in March she was mobile once more and moved to the inaccessible fastness of Kaa Fiord at the head of Alta Fiord in the far north, where she formed the centrepiece of a powerful battle group.

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Published: 2004-10-08