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Schlachtschiff
Tirpitz March 1944
History
The two battleships of the Bismarck
class, Bismarck and Tirpitz were the last
battleships built in Germany and the most famous.
The first design studies for Panzerschiff F
were made as early as 1934 and showed a ship of 35000 t with eight
33 cm (13") guns. But after the construction of the second
French battleship of the Dunkerque class, the naval
construction department was forced to modify the previous design to
build a stronger ship than the French counterparts. From this time,
the new ship was not reclassified as Schlachtschiff F
(Battleship F ).
Officially the ship still had a size of 35000t,
but in reality it was about 50% bigger, about 50000t.
Although the primary mission objective for German
ships was to sink allied merchant shipping, the battleships of the Bismarck
class should also engage allied warships, unlike the Panzerschiffe
and the Scharnhorst class.
The final design was completed by May 1935 and Schlachtschiff
F (later named Bismarck ) was laid down on July 1st,
1936 at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg. Its sister ship, Schlachtschiff
G (later named Tirpitz ) was laid down at the
Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in October 1936. Bismarck
was completed in August of 1940, Tirpitz in February 1941.
Both ships had a totally different operational
record. The Bismarck was sunk on its first operation
(Operation Rheinübung) after the ship destroyed the British
battlecruiser Hood . The wreck of the ship was detected in
1989, sitting upright in a depth of 4500 m.
The Tirpitz spent almost all her time in Norwegian Fjords.
After the loss of all other major German ships, the last battleship
of the Kriegsmarine was used as a mobile coast defense battery.
After several unsuccessful attempts, the Tirpitz was
finally sunk by British "Tallboy bombs.
|
| Construction
Data |
Dimensions |
Commanders
|
| Laid
down: |
Kriegsmarinewerft
Wilhelmshaven 02.11.1936 |
| Launched: |
01.04.1939 |
| Commissioned: |
25.02.1941 |
| Fate: |
sunk
12.11.1944 (Norway) |
| Costs: |
181
Mio Reichsmark |
|
| Size
(Max): |
52600
t |
| Length
(Total): |
251,0
m |
| Length
(Waterline): |
241,6
m |
| Beam: |
36,0
m |
| Draft: |
10,6 m
|
| Crew: |
2608 |
|
| KzS
Karl Topp: |
Feb 1941 - Feb 1943 |
| KzS
Hans Meyer: |
Feb 1943 - May 1944 |
| KzS
Wolf Junge: |
May 1944 - Nov 1944 |
| KzS
Robert Weber: |
Nov
1944 |
|
|
Weapons |
Armour and
Aircraft |
Engines
& Performance |
| 38
cm L/47 C/34 (15"): |
8 |
| 15
cm L/55 C28: |
12 |
| 10.5
cm L/65 C/33: |
16 |
| 3,7
cm L/83: |
16 |
| 2
cm MG L/64: |
16-58 |
| 53,3
torpedo tubes: |
8 |
|
| Deck: |
80-120
mm |
| Belt: |
320mm
(max) |
| Command
Tower: |
220
- 350 mm |
| Turrets: |
360
mm (max) |
|
| Shafts: |
3 |
| Turbines: |
3 |
| Type: |
Brown,
Boveri & Cie |
| Total
Performance: |
163026
shp |
| Speed: |
30,8
kn |
| Range: |
8870
miles at 19kn |
|
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Operational
History
| 25.02.1941: |
Commissioned. |
| -January
1942: |
Trials
and training in the Baltic Sea. |
| 14.01.1942: |
Tirpitz
and Admiral Scheer transfer from Wilhelmshaven to
Drontheim. |
| 05-09.03.1942: |
Operation
"Sportpalast":
First combat action against allied convoys. The ship sails
into the Arctic Ocean to intercept the convoys PQ-8 and PQ-12.
After unsuccessful attacks by British carrier aircraft and
submarines, the Tirpitz sails into the Bow Beight
near Narvik. |
| 05.07.1942: |
Operations against the convoys PQ 17 and QP
13 are canceled after the breakdown of several
supporting units. During this operation, the Tirpitz
is attacked by the Russian submarine K21 . While
the Russians claim a hit on the battleship, the Germans did
not notice any attack.
|
| Winter
1942/43: |
Docked
in the Loo Fjord. |
| March
1943: |
Transferred
to the Bow Beight and later to the Ka Fjord. |
| 06-07.09.1943: |
Operation
"Sizilien":
A squadron consisting of Tirpitz , Scharnhorst
and 9 destroyers (Erich Steinbrink , Karl Galster
, Hans
Lody ,Theodor Riedel , Z27 , Z29
, Z30 , Z31, Z33 ) attack the enemy base on
Spitzbergen. |
| 22.09.1943: |
The Tirpitz is attacked by British
midget submarines X5 , X6 and X7 .
They break through the torpedo
nets and X6 manages to place a mine below the ship.
All midged subs are destroyed but the exploding mine causes
heavy damage on board of the Tirpitz : Besides some
hull damage, the turbines are put out of action, the
propellor shafts and rudder are disabled.
|
| Sep
1943 - Mar 1944: |
Repairs. |
| 05.04.1944: |
Attacked
by several waves of carrier aircraft. The Tirpitz is
hit by 15 bombs. |
| 17.04.1944: |
Another
air attack, this time the ship was is only hit by one bomb,
but it was the first and only time that the armored deck are
penetrated. |
| 22-29.08.1944: |
Several
unsuccessful air attacks. |
| 14.10.1944: |
Attacked
by a squadron of four-engined long range bombers stated in
Russia. One bomb hit on the
bow. The Tirpitz is out out of action. |
| 17.10.1944: |
Transferred
to the Sande Sound, the ship is only able to make 8 kn. |
| 12.11.1944: |
A
squadron of 32 Lancaster bombers attack the ship with
"Tallboy" bombs. After the first three hits and
several near misses the ship capsizes, the magazine of one 38
cm (15") turret detonates. |
| 1948-1957: |
The
wreck of the Tirpitz is broken down. |
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