On This Day… The Legendary Tirpitz
Written by: George Chittenden : 12 Jun 2019
It was on this day, 12th Nov, back in 1944 when Germany’s monster warship was finally destroyed after countless attempts spanning several years. The warship I’m talking about was the mighty 42,900-ton Tirpitz. Ever heard of it? If not, I guarantee you’ve heard of her sister ship… the Bismarck! They were the two largest battleships ever built by Germany.
The Tirpitz spent her war career in Norwegian waters where she was a constant danger to Allied convoys bound for Russia. She was first bombed by the Royal Air Force in January of 1941, and even though the bombs exploded on her decks they had little effect. The Royal Air Force attacked her on several occasions and the Royal Navy attacked her with miniature submarines and even carrier-based aircraft. These attacks caused very little damage to the battleship due to her double layer of armour plate.
Enter British inventor, Sir Barnes Wallis, who built a special bomb for the job. Wallis was the man who’d previously built the bouncing bomb used in the Dambusters Raid. The bomb he built to pierce the Tirpitz's armour plating was named Tallboy. The final attack took place on November 12th, 1944. A whopping thirty Lancaster Bombers were dispatched to take out the legendary Tirpitz. When the bombs were released most narrowly missed their target, but then the Tirpitz shook as it was hit by at least two Tallboys. Today we remember those lives lost.
Search
By Era
To 5000 BCE 5000 - 2000 BCE 2000 BCE - 0 0 - 400 CE 400 - 800 CE 800 - 1100 CE 1100 - 1500 CE 1500 - 1700 CE 18th Century 19th Century 1900's 1910's 1920's 1930's 1940's 1950's 1960's 1970's 1980's 1990's 2000's 2010'sBy Topic
Royal British Roman North American Egyptian Nautical European Social WW1 Military Viking Asian African Australian South American Political Celebrity WW2 Religion
We promote history by...
offering free articles and videos, providing free history experiences for children in schools and on weekends. Next year we will be visiting hospitals and providing unforgettable experiences to children who really need it and give them a chance to forget their condition, their treatment and their reality.
Please join others who support our free projects by giving a small donation. We can only continue our great work with your help.
