Battleship Tirpitz

The German battleship Tirpitz was launched on April 1, 1939. Although she was almost identical to her class sister KMS Bismarck, she had undergone a series of improvement, such as the addition of two sets of quadruple torpedo tubes and updated aircraft handling arrangement. Her main armament consisted of eight 380-mm naval guns, which were set up in four, twin turrets.

After sea trials, the KMS Tirpitz was finally commissioned on February 25, 1941, entering operational service in September that year. Her first mission was cruising the Gulf of Finland to prevent any breakout by the Soviet Baltic Fleet. Next, she was sent to Trondheim, in Norway, to attack and disrupt Allied convoys to Murmansk.

In September 1943, she would be damaged by torpedoes fired from a midget submarine. In April and August 1944, she was damaged again by an bombers scrambled from a British aircraft carrier. Finally, on November 12, 1944, she was permanently destroyed and capsized by an Avro Lancaster bomber. Two direct hits had ripped a massive hole in her hull. Tons of water poured in, making her to list. She finally capsized as 971 sailors were trapped and drowned.

Specifications

Type: Battleship class Bismarck

Length: 253 m

Beam: 36 m

Displacement: 53,500 tons

Draft: 11 m

Power Plant: 3 Brown-Boveri geared turbines, with 3 shafts, developing 150,170 HP.

Maximum Speed: 30 knots

Range: 19,000 km

Armament: Eight 38-cm (380-mm) main guns; twelve 15-cm (150mm) guns; and sixteen 10.5-cm (105-mm) Flak guns.

Below, KMS Tirpitz being towed by a tug boat into her mooring dock in Kaafyord, Norway, in late 1941.

Broadside view of Tirpitz anchored at the coast of the Scandinavian country in the Summer of 1942.