Sjøsatt
i 1941, var den Tyske Marine`s mektige 42900 tonn Tirpitz en stor trussel
mot den Allierte shipstrafikk. Tirpitz så lite aksjon, men ved
å benytte sin krigskarriere i Norske vann var hun en konstant
fare for de Allierte konvoine til Russland. Tirpitz ble først
bombet av Royal Air Force i januar 1941 mens hun ble fullført
i tørrdocken i Wilhelmshaven. Andre angrep ble utført
senere i 1941 av tomotors bombere, og i april 1942 ble Tirpitz lokalisert
og angrepet v Halifaxer og Lancastere, men ingen bomber fant sine mål.
Royal Navy angrep ved flere anledninger slagskipet med mini-ubåter
og hangarskips baserte fly. Disse angrepene var delvis vellykkede, men
hadde liten effekt på slagskipets kamp funksjonalitet. Senere
bygde Sir B. Wallis en spesialbombe for jobben. I 1944 konstruerte han
bomben " Tallboy", et våpen som kunne trenge igjennom slagskipsom
faktisk hadde skadet Tirpitz, flyttet tyskerne henne ned til Tromsø.
Britene var ikke klar over omfanget av skadene på skipet, og angrep
Tirpitz igjen. 37 Lancastere fra skvadron 617 ( Dambusters ) ble sendt
fra Lossiemouth, Scottland. Ved å fjerne en av geværtårnene
og installering av ekstra bensintanker på Lancasterne, kunne nå
Tirpitz nås direkte fra England. Været var ideelt for angrepet
helt til et uventet vindskifte dekte Tirpitz med skyer tretti sekunder
før den første Lancasteren var klar til å bombe.
32 fly frigjorde Tallboys på den oppgitte posisjon, men ingen
direkte treff ble scoret. Tyskerne responderte med å stasjonære
en jagerskvadron på en nærliggende flyplass. Det siste angrepet
tok sted 12 november. 30 Lancastere fra skvadronene 6 og 617 "Dambusters"
tok igjen av fra Skottland. Skvadron leder Tait tok flyene på
en omvei, ankom Tirpitz fra innlandet som forvirret de tyske jagerne
som var for sene til å ta av. Slagskipet begynte å gnistre
fra baug til akter da luftvern ilden steg opp til 4500 meter. Bombene
ble frigjort og mannskapene ventet tretti lange sekunder på resultatet.
Tirpitz ble truffet av to Tallboys, og hun led en voldsom eksplosjon
da ammunisjons-magasinene gikk i luften. Hun tippet deretter rundt og
cirka et tusen av mannskapet ble drept. Bare en Lancaster ble skadet
av flak. Etter krigen ble mesteparten av skipet sprengt i filler og
berget for metal gjenvinning, men mye av henne ligger fortsatt igjen.
Bergningsjobben tok syv år! Du kan knapt kalle dette et intakt
vrak, men det er masse rot og rask fra henne å se. Høsten
2001 ble eieren ( Saga Shipping ) forespurt om å fjerne restene
av Tirpitz grunnet forurensning, men skjebnen til restene av Tirpitz
er ikke enda avgjort. Restene av dette slagskipet befinner seg rett
utenfor Håkøya ved Tromsø by i det nordlige Norge...
Commissioned
in 1941, the German Navy's mighty 42900 ton Tirpitz posed a grave
threat to Allied shipping. Tirpitz saw only limited action, but
spending her war career in Norwegian waters where she was a constant
danger to Allied convoys bound for Russia. The Tirpitz was first
bombed by the Royal Air Force in January of 1941 while it was
being completed in a Wilhelmshaven dry dock. Other attacks
were made later in 1941 by twin engines bombers and in April,
1942 the Tirpitz was located and attacked by Halifax's and Lancaster's
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 had
little effect on the battleship's fighting ability. Later, Sir
B. Wallis built a special bomb for the job. In 1944 he devised
the bomb" Tallboy", a weapon capable of piercing the Tirpitz armor
plating. After an attack which didn't was seen as an success from
the British, but in fact had damaged Tirpitz, the Germans moved
her down to Tromsø. The British were not aware of the extent
of the damage, and the Tirpitz was attacked again. 37 Lancaster's
from squadron 617 ( Dambusters ) were dispatched from Lossiemouth,
Scotland . With the removal of one of the Lancaster's gun turrets
and the installation of extra fuel tanks, the Tirpitz could now
be reached directly from Britain. 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 German responded by basing
a fighter wing at a nearby airfield. The final attack took
place on 12. November 30 Lancaster's from 9 and 617 "Dambusters"
Squadron again took off from Scotland. Wing Commander Tait led
the bombers on a detour, approaching the Tirpitz from inland,
confusing the fighters who were late to take off. 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. Tirpitz was hit by
at least two Tallboys, and she then suffered a tremendous explosion
as the ammunition stores magazine went up. She capsized and approximately
one thousand of her crew were killed. Only one Lancaster was severely
damaged by flak. After the war most of the ship was blown up and
saved for metal reproduction, but lots of her still remains. This
rescue job took seven years to fulfill! You cant hardly call this
a intact wreck, but there are lots of rubble left of her to see.
In the autumn 2001 the owner ( Saga Shipping ) was asked to remove
the remains of Tirpitz because of pollution, but the fate of Tirpitz
remains are not yet decided. The remains of this battleship are
located just outside the island Håkøya near the city
of Tromsø in northern Norway...
Name: |
Former names: |
Material: |
Dimensions: |
Tirpitz |
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Steel |
824,6x 118,1x 28,5 f. |
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| Brt \ Nrt: |
Built: |
Homeport: |
Cargo: |
| 42343 \ |
Wilhelmshaven ( D ) 1941 |
Trondheim( N ) |
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Underwaterpicture: © Jonas Vannar
History provided by
German
Kriegsmarine Encyclopedia;
The
two battleships of the Bismarck class, Bismarck and Tirpitz were the
last battleships built in Germany and the most famous. The first design
studies for Panzerschiff F were made as early as 1934 and showed a
ship of 35000 t with eight 33 cm (13") guns. But after the construction
of the second French battleship of the Dunkerque class, the naval
construction department was forced to modify the previous design to
build a stronger ship than the French counterparts. From this time,
the new ship was not reclassified as Schlachtschiff F (Battleship
F). Officially the ship still had a size of 35000t, but in reality
it was about 50% bigger, about 50000t. Although the primary mission
objective for German ships was to sink allied merchant shipping, the
battleships of the Bismarck class should also engage allied warships,
unlike the Panzerschiffe and the Scharnhorst class. The final design
was completed by May 1935 and Schlachtschiff F (later named Bismarck)
was laid down on July 1st, 1936 at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg. Its
sister ship, Schlachtschiff G (later named Tirpitz) was laid down
at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in October 1936. Bismarck
was completed in August of 1940, Tirpitz in February 1941. Both ships
had a totally different operational record. The Bismarck was sunk
on its first operation (Operation Rheinübung) after the ship
destroyed the British battlecruiser Hood. The wreck of the ship was
detected in 1989, sitting upright in a depth of 4500 m. The Tirpitz
spent almost all her time in Norwegian Fjords. After the loss of all
other major German ships, the last battleship of the Kriegsmarine
was used as a mobile coast defense battery. After several unsuccessful
attempts, the Tirpitz was finally sunk by British "Tallboy bombs.
25.02.1941 Commissioned
-January 1942
Trials and training in the Baltic Sea
14.01.1942 Tirpitz and Admiral Scheer transfer from Wilhelmshaven
to Drontheim.
05-09.03.1942 Operation "Sportpalast":
First combat action against allied convoys. The ship sails into the
Arctic Ocean to intercept the convoys PQ-8 and PQ-12. After unsuccessful
attacks by British carrier aircraft and submarines, the Tirpitz sails
into the Bow Beight near Narvik. 05.07.1942 Operations against the
convoys PQ 17 and QP 13 are canceled after the breakdown of several
supporting units. During this operation, the Tirpitz is attacked by
the Russian submarine K21. While the Russians claim a hit on the battleship,
the Germans did not notice any attack. Winter 1942/43 Docked in the
Loo Fjord
March 1943 Transferred to the Bow Beight and later to the Ka Fjord.
06 - 07.09.1943 Operation "Sizilien":
A squadron consisting of Tirpitz, Scharnhorstand 9 destroyers (Erich
Steinbrink, Karl Galster, Hans Lody,Theodor Riedel, Z27, Z29, Z30,
Z31, Z33) attack the enemy base on Spitzbergen. 22.09.1943 The Tirpitz
is attacked by British midget submarines X5, X6 and X7. They break
through the torpedo nets and X6 manages to place a mine below the
ship. All midged subs are destroyed but the exploding mine causes
heavy damage on board of the Tirpitz: Besides some hull damage, the
turbines are put out of action, the propellor shafts and rudder are
disabled.
September 1943 - March 1944 Repairs
05.04.1944 Attacked by several waves of carrier aircraft. The Tirpitz
is hit by 15 bombs.
17.04.1944 Another air attack, this time the ship was is only hit
by one bomb, but it was the
first and only time that the armored deck are penetrated.
29.08.1944 Several unsuccessful air attacks.
14.10.1944 Attacked by a squadron of four-engined long range bombers
stated in Russia. One
bomb hit on the bow. The Tirpitz is out out of action.
17.10.1944 Transferred to the Sande Sound, the ship is only able to
make 8 kn.
12.11.1944 A squadron of 32 Lancaster bombers attack the ship with
"Tallboy" bombs. After
the first three hits and several near misses the ship capsizes, the
magazine of one
38 cm (15") turret detonates.
1948-1957 The wreck of the Tirpitz is broken down.
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