Sinking the Tirpitz

Sinking the Tirpitz
by
Nicolas Trudgian
Throughout four long years of war Allied air and naval forces endeavored to sink the German battleship Tirpitz The mighty warship was a constant threat to Allied shipping, even while lying at anchor in her lair among the fjords of Norway. Her very presence demanded constant attention and hampered all naval decision making till she was sunk at the end of 1944.
Without so much as weighing anchor, Tirpitz could disrupt the north Atlantic convoys by tying up urgently needed escort vessels in readiness in case she made a run for the open sea. Churchill was exasperated and called upon RAF Bomber Command to make a decisive bid to finish her off once and for all.
On November 12, 1944 Lancasters of Numbers 9 and 617 Squadrons set forth towards the Norwegian fjord of Tromso where Tirpitz lay at anchor surrounded by a web of protective submarine nets. Armed with the 12,000lb "Tallboy" bomb devised by Barnes Wallis, the Lansaster crews arrived in clear skies overhead the fjord to see the great battleship sharply contrasted against the still deep waters some 10,000ft below. As flak from the ship's heavy armament burst all around them, one by one the 31 Lancasters rolled in for the attack. In a matter of three minutes the devastating aerial bombardment was completed, and eleven minutes later, her port side ripped open, the Tirpitz Capsized and sank. The Coup de Grace was complete.

The Signatures
Each print in this valuable edition is signed by the artist and three of the most prominent survivors of this historic mission.

Group Captain J.B. Tait DSO*** DFC* ADC
Commissioned in 1936, "Willie" Tait led an inspired career in Bomber Command throughout the war but is best remembered for his attacks on the Tirpitz.
Having already commanded three bomber squadrons, including 78 Sqn - the sister squadron of 76 Sqn commanded by Leonard Cheshire, in March 1944 he joined 5 Group as a master bomber. The evening before D-day he personally led a force of over 200 Lancasters eliminating targets on the Cherbourg peninsular prior the the Normandy landings. In July he succeeded Cheshire who was now Commanding Officer at 617 Sqn Tait then led 617 in the last 3 raids against the Tirpitz, including the final raid of 12 November, 1944. It was Tait's own "Tallboy" bomb that was the first of two to hit the Tirpitz itself. By the end of the war he had flown over 100 operational sorties.

Wing Commander Tait with Lancaster crews who sank the Tirpitz.

Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC
Tony Iveson's first tour of duty was in Fighter Command. He flew as a Sergeant pilot with 616 Sqn flying Spitifires out of Kenley during the Battle of Britain. Commissioned in 1942, he did his second tour with Bomber Command, flying with 617 Squadron. Tony Iveson was to become one of 617 Squadron's most prominent pilots and flew on the Squadron's three missions against the Tirpitz.

Leutnant Zur See Willibald Volsing
Joining the Kriegsmarine in 1942, Willi Volsing was Senior Controller in the Gunnery Fire Control Section on Tirpitz, one of the most important gunnery positions on the ship, passing vital information between the ship's guns and the ship's commanders. After the Tirpitz capsized, he was one of the few fortunate survivors to be released from deep inside the ship by rescuers cutting into the upturned hull.