On March 9th, the weather was good enough for the Albacores on Victorious to be used. Vice-Admiral Ciliax, in charge of the Tirpitz, also passed within a few miles of the convoys PQ-12 and QP-8 – but again the weather saved them. On March 7th, the weather was so bad that both sides found it impossible to make any form of reconnaissance and both fleets sailed a mere 90 miles from one another – near enough for the Albacores carried on the Victorious to have made an attack – the same type of attack that had happened to the Bismarck. Churchill himself realised the danger the Tirpitz created for the Atlantic and Artic convoys. The move of the Tirpitz provoked The RAF into a whole series of attacks against her – all failures. Therefore on the night of January 14th/15th, 1942, the Tirpitz left for Trondheim – going via the Kiel Canal so that the Swedish Coast Guard would not spot her. The sinking of the Bismarck took away one ship from the equation and Hitler effectively took away the Tirpitz as he believed that the Tirpitz should be used the guard the coast of Norway as he believed that any invasion of Europe would come via Norway. The Admiralty were very concerned at the prospect of two ships such as the Bismarck and Tirpitz being at large in the Atlantic. The Tirpitz had been completed by March 1941 and started trials in the Baltic Sea. As a result of the experience the Royal Navy had with the Bismarck in May 1941, it was ordered by the Admiralty that any attack against a similar ship such as the Tirpitz, would include at least two King George V type battleships and an aircraft carrier.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |