Rico says the Bismarck movie wasn't terribly exciting, but the Tirpitz reality was:
The World War Two story of the German battleship Bismarck is legendary. The massive warship was destroyed by British ships and planes and then scuttled by its crew in one of the most famous naval battles of the Atlantic.
Bismarck, however, had a sister. The Tirpitz was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine in February of 1941 and, after a series of improvements, weighed even more than the Bismarck; it was the heaviest battleship ever built by a European navy.
The British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force each dedicated several missions to destroying this behemoth, finally succeeding in November of 1944. Apart from the sizable periods of time the Tirpitz spent under repair from the damage the British caused in a few of the missions, she was effectively an entire fleet in one ship. So feared was the Tirpitz, that the British had to dedicate a huge counter-force to remain in the region, lest the Germans release this beast in an attack.
The Tirpitz’ main guns were eight 38 cm pieces mounted on four turrets. Following those, 15 cm, 10.5 cm, 3.7 cm, and 2 cm (Flak) guns made up the rest of her armament, along with eight torpedo tubes. Her armor was over a foot thick in the belt and on the gun turrets.
Compared to other elements in the German Navy, U-boats for example, this giant battleship saw little action. In fact, the only time Tirpitz’ crew unleashed the power of her main batteries in an offensive action was on the Allied base on Spitzbergen, the main island of Svalbard. Tirpitz posed enough of a threat from her usual position in one of Norway’s fjords that the Allies were wary of moving any ships or convoys between the North and Baltic Seas.
The Tirpitz could also be a huge problem for the Germans, as well. While trying to intercept two Allied convoys in March of 1942, the Tirpitz and the destroyers accompanying her used up eight thousand metric tons of fuel. It took the Germans three months to recuperate from these massive efforts.
The first operation in which the British had any major success in damaging the Tirpitz was codenamed Source and took place on 20 to 22 September 1943, just two weeks after the assault on Spitzbergen. Using intelligence gathered by Norwegian Resistance brothers Torbjørn and Einar Johansen, the Royal Navy sent several X-class mini submarines into Norway’s Kåfjord, where the Tirpitz was stationed.
The mission was actually intended to destroy the Tirpitz, the battleship Scharnhorst, and the heavy cruiser Lützow (anchored in Langfjord). Six X subs were sent out, towed most of the way there by normal-sized subs. X8 was heavily damaged en route and had to be scuttled. X9’s tow cable broke and she plunged abruptly down into the sea, killing the entire crew. The Scharnhorst, target of X9 and X10, was out for exercises, so X10 turned back.
X5’s fate is still unconfirmed, but it is thought that she was detected by the Tirpitz and sunk before reaching her target. X6 and X7, however, slipped under the Tirpitz’ torpedo nets and each laid two mines on timer fuses below and around the battleship on the seafloor. While trying to escape, both subs were detected and attacked. Of the eight crew members of the two craft, two from X7 were killed and the other six were captured by the Germans, survived the war, and were highly decorated by their country for their actions.
Rico says it's yet another action he's happy to have missed...
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