the-sinking-of-hitler-s-battleship-tirpitz

On September 15, 1944, British bombers hit the German battleship Tirpitz with Tallboy bombs. An excerpt from the article:

"The idea of using a Soviet base was revived. On the evening of 11 September, 18 9 Squadron (one forced to abort the operation) and 20 617 Squadron aircraft set off for Yagodnik airfield near Archangel in the northern USSR. A reconnaissance Mosquito would follow next day. Flying through the night across Norway, neutral Sweden and occupied Finland, the Lancasters encountered ‘isolated instances of ineffective flak’. After running into ‘considerable low cloud and rain … about 150 miles from Archangel’, map reading became ‘impossible’, and below was ‘the most desolate country imaginable – lakes, forests and swamps’. Most failed to pick up Soviet signals because they had the wrong frequency or call sign. At 0800 GMT (1100 LT) on 12 September, only 13 operational Lancasters were at Yagodnik. Others had put down in scattered locations, seven of which would be written off. Thirty-one bombers eventually reached Yagodnik, though on the morning of 14 September five were still unserviceable. So twenty Tallboy Lancasters and six each carrying 12 JW mines were set to attack Tirpitz in Kaa Fjord from an easterly direction. The Mosquito reported unfavourable weather in the target area, which allowed the Lancaster piloted by American Lt H C Knilans USAAF to be repaired and join the force when it eventually set out the following morning, 15 September. As he prepared to board, Fg Off J A Sanders was ‘somewhat alarmed’ to be advised by a sergeant armourer not to bring back his JW mines, ‘they are set to self-destruct after fifteen hours’."