Graham Pitchfork describes the intense efforts to neutralise the threat of the battleship Tirpitz
Along with the Bismarck, the Tirpitz symbolised the rebirth of the German battle fleet and the Nazi regime’s bid to gain supremacy on the high seas.
Both vessels were planned in the early 1930s as part of a class of heavy battleships with a displacement of 45,000 tons. Together with the construction of battle cruisers, these giants represented a serious threat to the Royal Navy.
The Admiral von Tirpitz, to give its full name, was laid down in Wilhelmshaven in October 1936, launched in April 1939 and commissioned on January 25, 1941, spending the remainder of the year carrying out trials.
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