Massive resources were employed to destroy the 'Tirpitz'. After three raids dropping Tallboys, 9 Squadron was credited with delivering the mortal blow. Andy Thomas explains
Obsessive is a word that Royal Navy high commanders would use to describe Winston Churchill’s attitude to the German battleship Tirpitz. The great man required regular updates regarding its location and status; opportunities to neutralise what the Prime Minister referred to as ‘The Beast’ were never to be overlooked.
Churchill summed up the vessel’s importance with typical directness in 1943: “The destruction, or even the crippling, of this ship is the greatest event at sea at the present time. No other target is comparable to it. The entire naval situation throughout the world would be altered.”
