Operation Catechism

Operation Catechism Part of Battle of the Atlantic German battleship Tirpitz capsized after Operation Catechism Date 12 November 1944 Location near Tromsø, Norway Result British victory Tirpitz sunk Belligerents RAF Bomber Command Kriegsmarine Luftwaffe Commanders and leaders Group Captain James Brian Tait Kapitan zur See Robert Weber † Major Heinrich Ehrler Strength 30 Avro Lancasters Tirpitz (Bismarck-class battleship) Casualties and losses 1 bomber damaged 1 battleship sunk 971 dead or missing

Norwegian Campaigns (1941–45) Claymore Anklet Archery Musketoon Oslo raid Checkmate Cartoon Attacks on Tirpitz Source Tungsten Mascot Goodwood Paravane Obviate Catechism Leader Finnmark Provident 28 January 1945 Black Friday 9 February 1945 Judgement Doomsday Atlantic Campaign America Northern Barrage Caribbean St. Lawrence Gibraltar Timeline River Plate HX 72 SC 7 HX 79 HX 84 HX 90 SC 19 Berlin HX 106 HG 53 OB 293 HX 112 4 April 1941 OB 318 HX 126 Denmark Strait Bismarck OG 69 OG 71 SC 42 HG 73 SC 48 HG 76 2nd Happy Time Torpedo Alley Neuland ON 67 27 March 1942 OG 82 6 June 1942 HG 84 SL 78 QS 15 SC 94 ON 122 QS 33 ON 127 Laconia SC 100 SC 104 HX 212 SL 125 SC 107 Casablanca ON 144 ON 154 TM 1 SG 19 SC 118 ON 166 UC 1 SC 121 HX 228 UGS 6 HX 229/SC 122 Black May ONS 5 SC 129 SC 130 ONS 18/ON 202 SC 143 ONS 20/ON 206 Sept-Îles SL 138/MKS 28 SL 139/MKS 30 SL 140/MKS 31 Stonewall Bay of Biscay Lyme Bay 26 April 1944 13 May 1944 HX 300 WEP 3 BX 141 Teardrop

Operation Catechism was the last of nine attempts to sink or sabotage the Kriegsmarine battleship Tirpitz during the Second World War. The ship was finally sunk in this attempt.

Action

RAF Flight Lieutenant John Leavitt (center) and crew prior to taking off on Operation Catechism

On 12 November 1944, RAF Bomber Command dispatched 30 Avro Lancaster heavy bombers from No. 9 Squadron RAF and No. 617 Squadron RAF (including a film unit aircraft from No. 463 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force) from RAF Lossiemouth to Tirpitz's mooring in Tromsø, Norway. Each bomber carried a single 5-ton Tallboy bomb.

At least two bombs^[1] hit Tirpitz, which suffered a violent internal explosion. The battleship capsized and remained bottom upwards.^[1] Approximately 1,000 of the 1,900 men on board were killed or injured.

One No. 9 Squadron RAF Lancaster was severely damaged by flak; it landed safely in neutral Sweden with its crew unhurt.^[2]

Aftermath

The destruction of Tirpitz meant that the threat from German surface ship attack against the Allied Arctic convoys supplying the Soviet Union was considerably lessened, and several British capital ships could therefore be moved from the Atlantic to support the war in the Pacific.

See also

• German battleship Tirpitz

References and notes

External links

• Operation "Catechism" - Bismarck-class.dk

Coordinates: 69°38′55″N 18°48′16″E / 69.64861°N 18.80444°E / 69.64861; 18.80444