Tirpitz and accompanying warships in Norwegian waters, October 1942, according to the Bundesarchiv catalogue.
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-J19316 / Boeckmann / CC BY-SA 3.0 DE · CC BY-SA 3.0 DE · Supplied archive crop
About this photograph
Licensed by the source under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Germany. The supplied Commons version is cropped; no further image edits were made. This 1942 photograph does not establish readiness following the damage of 1943–44.
1942–1944 · Norway & the Arctic
Tirpitz1942–44
Tirpitz could shape a convoy’s fate without firing at it. Keeping her from the sea became a campaign of intelligence, attack and repeated repair.
Start chapter 1: The Threat from Norway →A campaign against availability
The threat changed. So did the ship.
Convoy interception and its limits
Attack · repair · trials · attack again
Each stage is dated. Restricted movement and service as a floating battery do not imply full operational readiness.
Convoy operations reveal both the threat and its limits.
Midget submarines and carrier aircraft interrupt recovery.
RAF bombers overturn the damaged battleship near Tromsø.
Find your bearings
Two anchorages, different capabilities
Kåfjord · Altafjord
The setting of the September 1943 midget-submarine attack and the subsequent repair campaign.
Tromsø area
Tirpitz transferred here on 15–16 October 1944 in a damaged condition. She capsized at her final anchorage on 12 November.
The dots locate the anchorage areas approximately. They do not mark exact berths or reconstruct the coastal passage. Kåfjord here is near Alta, not the similarly named fjord closer to Tromsø.
Follow the story
Begin with the background and follow the events through to their consequences, or choose a chapter below. Ships, aircraft and source documents are connected throughout.
- 01
- 02
- 03
- 04
- 05
- 06
One life within the battle
Lieutenant B. C. G. Place
Commander of X.7 · Operation Source, 22 September 1943
Reaching Tirpitz was only half the task. The charges were set, and X.7 still had to get clear.
Read the personal account →