Tallboy explosion in Poland
Discussion
Some mangled quotes/facts from Edwyn Grays "Hitlers Battleships":
11th September 1944
27 Lancasters from 9 & 617 squadrons + 1 photographic lanacaster attacked Tirpitz at Kaajford.
The bomber crews claimed no hits, but one did hit the bows and blew a 150sq/ft hole at the waterline. Two other near misses caused more chaos and to add to the problems, the main engines seized up.
At this point the Captain Junge sent a request that Tirpitz be removed from active duty. The request was denied and she was towed 200miles to Tromso for repair and refit. This meant she was in direct striking range for the RAF, without the need to stage from Russian airbases.
29th October 1944
32 tallboys dropped on the target - but it had been obscured by smoke and cloud. Again pilots reported no direct hits, but the series of near misses had effectively finished off Tirpitz. (Port propeller shaft and the rudder were seriously damaged and there was extensive flooding at the stern)
Tirpitz was now incapable of moving under her own power.
12th November 1944 she was attacked for the final time by tallboy equipped Lancasters:
"...One of the 6-ton Tallboy bombs struck turret Bruno while a second smashed through the armoured deck amidships and exploded deep inside the bowels of the battleship. The blast wave from two others peeled back the hull plating like the opened lid of a sardine tin. The Tirpitz, her guns still blazing, lurched sharply to port, and, almost before anyone had time to gather thair breath and assess the damage, the magazine under turret Ceaser erupted in a sheet of white flame. The great ship, mortally wounded, slowly turned turtle, leaving her keel exposed above the waterline as her superstructure grounded on the bottom of the shallow fjord..."
11th September 1944
27 Lancasters from 9 & 617 squadrons + 1 photographic lanacaster attacked Tirpitz at Kaajford.
The bomber crews claimed no hits, but one did hit the bows and blew a 150sq/ft hole at the waterline. Two other near misses caused more chaos and to add to the problems, the main engines seized up.
At this point the Captain Junge sent a request that Tirpitz be removed from active duty. The request was denied and she was towed 200miles to Tromso for repair and refit. This meant she was in direct striking range for the RAF, without the need to stage from Russian airbases.
29th October 1944
32 tallboys dropped on the target - but it had been obscured by smoke and cloud. Again pilots reported no direct hits, but the series of near misses had effectively finished off Tirpitz. (Port propeller shaft and the rudder were seriously damaged and there was extensive flooding at the stern)
Tirpitz was now incapable of moving under her own power.
12th November 1944 she was attacked for the final time by tallboy equipped Lancasters:
"...One of the 6-ton Tallboy bombs struck turret Bruno while a second smashed through the armoured deck amidships and exploded deep inside the bowels of the battleship. The blast wave from two others peeled back the hull plating like the opened lid of a sardine tin. The Tirpitz, her guns still blazing, lurched sharply to port, and, almost before anyone had time to gather thair breath and assess the damage, the magazine under turret Ceaser erupted in a sheet of white flame. The great ship, mortally wounded, slowly turned turtle, leaving her keel exposed above the waterline as her superstructure grounded on the bottom of the shallow fjord..."
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