Anniversary of the Sinking of the Tirpitz

the ship did more time in dock than on Sea, attacked numerous times and finally dealt the death blows by two groups of Lancaster Bobmers on 12.11.44.

900 plus crew members killed some 80 rescued from the compliment.

Tirpitz - Menu

remember the fallen from both sides ..........

 

A bit off topic, but Michael Tamelander's "Tirpitz" is an excellent book on the subject. It's account of the final raid is detailed, as are the salvage efforts.

A depiction of the raid:



And its aftermath:



Tromso has always been a place I've wanted to visit.

 

Sad Story! Tromsö is a nice place to visit! Take July or August for a visit at there. Those are the best months and than is there the midsummer with its endless days, great to see!

 

RAMs told me earlier this year that his parents use to live there in Tromso, and that his father helped with the salvage of the Tirpitz wreck.

He has some beautiful photos of the area in his album.

 

A bit off topic:

In HyperWar: United Kingdom London Gazette Despatches, inter alia, you can find the relate (year 1948) of this fact:
No. 38204 Despatch on the attack on the German battle cruiser "Tirpitz" by midget submarines, 1943 Sept.22, by Rear Admiral C. B. Barry, Admiral (Submarines) http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/LondonGazette/38204.pdf





Jan.

 

great example of a fleet in being.

 

A great shame that more didn't survive the bombs but I suppose the Talboys were more then strong enough to cripple it before they realized what hit them.

 

Yeah, it seems that the ship didn't have but a few minutes to live after those things crashed through her. IMO, capsizing is the most tragic of shipwrecks, no matter who the enemy is.

 

Yes. Agreed. Definitely tragic.

 

I have heard of these, unfortuanate, lancaster crews being shot down by boats and the Tirpitz mostly

 

sorry but that is not correct the Tirpitz could not reach any BC Lancaster bomber within it's on Bord Flak, the range was too great

 

Did a Tall Boy actually hit the Tirp? I thought they were near misses but because of TB's attributes, the shock wave is what killed her. That would be pretty amazing bombing if planes could accurately bomb such a small target from such altitude.

 

The sources below suggest that attak was made at either 14,000 ft or between 12,000 and 16,000 feet.
The Tirpitz
Sinking of the Battleship Tirpitz
This site Germany 10.5 cm/65 (4.1") SK C/33
lists the AA ceiling of the Tirpitz's 105mm AA guns as slightly in excess of 41,000 ft. Sounds like the range wouldn't have been "too great".

The sources below mention actual hits:
Operation Catechism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lancaster Squadrons 1944-45 - Google Books

 

limited traversing gears and the turret set up - dual kept them from reaching any maximum height, the 41,00o in theory might work for the single heavy Flak defending the Ruhr Gebeit as an example but even then were not effective except at below 30,000 ft. the 105's and even the 88's on the heavy Km ships couldn't hit the broadside of a barn and were effective as a moral support only. if anything most effective as a means of an off-shore battery in late war.

 

Interesting as some of those over on the Kbismarck forum claim they were very effective. Indeed I've seen such claims specifically for Tirpitz. It's also worth noteing that 30,000 ft is approximatly twice the altitude the British planes attacked at.

 

unless the heavy gunners/gun crew were interviewed off the Tirpitz which I strongly doubt I would place my bet on the lighter 37 and 20mm flak crews as doing the most danger to the low flying Allied planes. lets also remember the almost useless earlier 3.7cm flakzwilling setups which were heavy and slow firing until replaced in later 44 with the newer lighter and quick firing setups. Th Tirpitz was indeed locked in a very precarious position to me not at all ideal for complete Flak whether heavy or light protection the British bomber command executed the operation boldly and effectively. She should of been pulled out of that really unprotected berth long ago especially after the failed attempt to sink her by British small submarines/mines. the ultimate ideal would be to purchase of the OOP book produced by a Norwegian firm with many accounts and photos.

interesting reading especially the German official account at the bottom of page two and the extra 2cm Flakvierlings aboard the Tirpitz even early war which I was making reference to :

http://www.kbismarck.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3452

 

Tirpitz suffered at least two direct hits. A dud may have struck forward. Then a bomb landed amidships and exploded. Another landed abreast D turret. It seems that she began to capsize but was checked by contact with the fjord bottom. Then C magazine exploded, throwing the entire rotating structure of C turret into the air and loosing the hull to continue its roll-over. The turret came crashing down upon a party of men trying to swim ashore.

 

That would parallel the US experiance in the Pacific I believe at least until proximaty fuses came into use. However the altitudes the Lancasters were flying at were right on the edge of the limits of the 37mm and probably over that of the 20mm. I think the latter is listed as having a max altitude of just over 12,000 ft with the 37 having one under 18,000 ft.

 

Hi, I'm new to the forum, and wondered if this might be of interest to Tirpitz followers.

My dad was in the RN and was stationed in Tromso from August 1945. Whilst he was there he got to meet Wing Commander JB Tait who, as you know, led the Lancaster attacks on the Tirpitz.

In my dad's war album is this signed photo of the upturned hull of the Tirpitz.

Cheers

Simon