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the terrible story of how the royal navy attempt to sink the German battleship Tirpitz at its anchorage in kaafjord, Norway.

the terrible story of how the royal navy attempt to sink the German battleship Tirpitz at its anchorage in kaafjord, Norway.




On 24 August 1944, Royal Navy Home Fleet aircraft carriers launch Operation Goodwood III, another attempt to sink the German battleship Tirpitz at its anchorage in Kaafjord, Norway.

Even though the RN Home Fleet's carrier strikes during Operation Tungsten, which we covered in our 3 April post, killed almost a third of Tirpitz's crew, the ship remained a threat in the eyes of the British Admiralty.

The departure of Operation Tungsten's experienced aircrew, poor weather, improved German air defenses, and additional smokescreen generators covering Tirpitz led to a series of operations being canceled or aborted between late April and mid-July.

Operations were paused as Home Fleet ships were assigned to protect the Arctic convoys. But the intelligence that Tirpitz was out for sea trials with her destroyer escorts in Altafjord on 31 July and 1 August caused the Admiralty to order renewed strikes.

After escorting Arctic Convoy JW 59, Admiral Moore's force consisting of the battleship HMS Duke of York, fleet carriers HMS Indefatigable, Furious, and Formidable, escort carriers HMS Nabob and Trumpeter, cruiser HMS Kent, and their escorts, prepared to launch Operation Goodwood on 21 August.

The two strikes launched following a weather delay in the morning and evening of 22 August; Operations Goodwood I and II failed to score significant hits.

Early afternoon today, 33 Barracudas, 24 F4Us, 10 F6Fs, 10 Fireflies, and 8 Seafires take off from HMS Indefatigable (the only carrier remaining in the area after Goodwood I). 

Despite taking an alternate flight path, when they reach Kaafjord at 1600 hours, German radar stations have detected them, and they find Tirpitz partially covered in a smokescreen.

The aircraft conduct blind bombing attacks and only score two hits. One, a 730 kg (1,600 lbs) armor-piercing bomb from a Barracuda, penetrates five decks but fails to explode due to a faulty fuse, sparing Tirpitz from catastrophic damage.

After waiting for the weather to clear, Indefatigable's aircraft will conduct Operation Goodwood IV on 29 August, with similarly disappointing results.


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