TIRPITZ

  • RAF ENDS GERMAN BATTLESHIP TIRPITZ’S CAREER

    ByNorm Haskett Reading Time: 7 minutes

    Tromsø Fjord, Occupied Norway • November 12, 1944 On this date in Norway’s Tromsø Fjord the British Royal Air Force dropped 3 “Tallboy” 13,000‑lb/­5,897‑kg bombs to cap­size the German battle­ship Tirpitz, the Kriegs­marine’s ill-starred wan­nabe sur­face raider. Ever since Septem­ber 22, 1943, when a pair of Royal Navy mid­get sub­marines engineered a hair-raising day­light attack on this…

  • CAPITAL SHIPS, GERMAN

    ByNorm Haskett Reading Time: 2 minutes

    The definition of “capital ship” was formalized in a series of naval treaties in the 1920s and 1930s. Falling into this category were battleships and battle cruisers. These ships were close to 20,000 tons displacement or heavier, with large caliber guns and heavy armor protection. Heavy cruisers, despite being important ships, were not considered capital ships….