The Tirpitz

The destruction of the German battleship Tirpitz ranks as one of Bomber Command’s greatest achievements of the Second World War. Previous attempts to sink the heavily-defended vessel as she lay at anchor in Norwegian coastal waters had all failed, but on 12 November 1944, 30 Lancasters of Nos 617 and 9 Squadrons tried again. In a daylight attack they scored several direct hits with their 12,000lb Tallboy bombs, capsizing the Tirpitz at her moorings near Tromsӧ. A Halifax that crash-landed during the Tirpitz attacks can be seen in the RAF Museum London, Hangar 5.