"As on Operation Paravane, No. 9 Squadron and No. 617 Squadron carried out the attack together, which resulted in only one near miss, partially the result of bad weather over the target. The underwater explosion damaged the port rudder and shaft and caused some flooding. ""Tirpitz""s 38 cm fragmentation shells proved ineffective in countering the high-level bombers; one aircraft was damaged by ground-based anti-aircraft guns. Following the attack, the ship's anchorage was significantly improved. A large sand bank was constructed under and around the ship to prevent her from capsizing, and anti-torpedo nets were installed. ""Tirpitz"" retained a one-degree list"
"Bardufoss also had the task of providing aerial support for naval operations in the area. When British Avro Lancasters began to bomb the battleship Tirpitz on 12 November 1944 in Operation Catechism at Håkøya near Tromsø, calls to Bardufoss failed to save the ship. The fighters failed to scramble in time and the Tirpitz was sunk in ten minutes. Two Tallboy bombs Luftwaffe ace Heinrich Ehrler was originally stripped of command and sentenced to 3 years in prison because of this. He later died in combat when he rammed an American B-17 Flying Fortress over Germany. The 339 Squadron was"
"were damaged. The Allies remained committed to sinking ""Tirpitz"" after the failure of Operation Obviate. The plans for the attack were reused for the next raid on the battleship, Operation Catechism, which took place on 12 November 1944. Weather conditions were favourable, and ""Tirpitz"" was sunk with heavy loss of life. From early 1942, ""Tirpitz"" posed a significant threat to the Allied convoys transporting supplies through the Norwegian Sea to the Soviet Union. Stationed in fjords on the Norwegian coast, the battleship was capable of overwhelming the close-escort forces assigned to the Arctic convoys or breaking out into the North"
"Known officially as Operation Catechism, 30 Lancasters attacked the ""Tirpitz"" at altitudes from . At least two bombs from 617 hit the Tirpitz, causing it to capsize in the fjord it was hiding in. Another celebrated attack was made during daylight on 14 June 1944 against the E-boat pens at Le Havre. One bomb penetrated the roof of the heavily guarded base, knocking it out of the war. As the war in Europe wound down, plans were made to start a strategic bombing campaign against Japan as Tiger Force. Requiring long range, Tiger Force planned on using the new Avro"
"successfully laid charges (under the German battleship ""Tirpitz""). Two had become disconnected while being towed to Norway, one suffered mechanical failure and was scuttled, and another sank after being attacked. Only X6 and X7, commanded by Lt Donal Cameron and Lt Godfrey Place, respectively, were successful. ""Tirpitz"" was badly damaged, crippled, and out of action until May 1944; it was destroyed on 12th November 1944 by Avro Lancaster bombers during Operation Catechism in Tromsø, Norway. For this action, the commanders of the two primary craft, Lieutenant Donald Cameron (""X6"") and Lieutenant Basil Place (""X7""), were awarded the Victoria Cross, whilst"
"Operation Chastise of May 1943 - immortalized in ""The Dambusters"" film - was planned. On the night of 16/17 May 1943 Air Marshall Arthur Harris, Barnes Wallis and other RAF high command were in St Vincents Hall when coded radio messages were received confirming that the raid had breached the Möhne and Eder dams. Air Marshall Harris is reputed to have said to Barnes Wallis: ""Wallis, I didn't believe a word you said about this damn bomb, but you could sell me a pink elephant now"". In 1944 the building became headquarters for the USAAF's Ninth Air Force's IX Troop"
"minor damage to the battleship. During the subsequent attack conducted on 12 November, Operation Catechism, ""Tirpitz"" was struck by several Tallboy bombs and capsized with heavy loss of life among her crew. Operation Paravane Operation Paravane was a British air raid of World War II that inflicted heavy damage on the German battleship ""Tirpitz"". The attack was conducted on 15 September 1944 by 21 Royal Air Force heavy bombers, which flew from an airfield in the north of the Soviet Union. The battleship was struck by one bomb, and further damaged by several near misses. This damage rendered ""Tirpitz"" unfit"
"January 1944. Their officers' mess was the Petwood Hotel at Woodhall Spa. 61 Squadron were stationed with Lancasters from February–April 1944. On 12 November, 61 Squadron aircraft equipped with Tallboy bombs sank the ""Tirpitz"" in Operation Catechism. 175 aircraft were lost during the war. Following the Second World War, it had the Mosquito-equipped 109 Sqn and 139 Sqn, then became part of 3 Group, with Boeing Washington aircraft from 1950. On 17 August 1953 52-year-old Air Vice-Marshal William Brook, the AOC of 3 Group, took off from the base in a Gloster Meteor, and crashed into a Dutch barn at"
"doors in order to accommodate their special payloads and additional fuel tanks to provide the necessary endurance. A total of three attacks, individually codenamed Operation Paravane, Operation Obviate and Operation Catechism, were conducted against ""Tirpitz"", which was anchored in a fjord in Occupied Norway. The first of these attacks disabled the vessel while the third mission was responsible for sinking the ship. As a result of actions such as Operation Chastise and the sinking of ""Tirpitz"", No. 617 Sqn was perhaps the most famous of all Lancaster squadrons. During early 1945, a total of 33 Lancaster B Is were modified"
"battleship Tirpitz in Kaa Fjord, North Norway. In October 1944 the squadron operated from HMS Implacable. The squadron embarked again on HMS Indefatigable in November for the Far East, and took part in the attack on the oil refineries at Palembang, Sumatra in January 1945. It subsequently was involved in strikes on the Sakashima Gunto islands. June 1945 was spent at Schofields, the squadron re-embarking on HMS Indefatigable in July and was involved in strikes around Tokyo just before VJ-Day, with 887 squadron Seafire NN212 coded ""112/S"" flown by Sub Lt GJ Murphy shooting down 2 Japanese A6M in flames,"
"and Sorpe. The plan was given the codename Operation Chastise and carried out on 17 May 1943. The squadron had to develop the tactics to deploy Barnes Wallis's ""Bouncing bomb"", and undertook some of its training over the dams of the Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire, as the towers on the dam walls were similar to those to be found on some of the target dams in Germany. The squadron's badge, approved by King George VI, depicts the bursting of a dam in commemoration of ""Chastise"". The squadron's chosen motto was """"Après moi le déluge"""" (""After me, the flood""), a"
"at RNAS Lee-on-Solent as a torpedo bomber/reconnaissance squadron. They were assigned to in June 1944 and saw action as part of Operation Mascot on 17 July and Operations Goodwood in August, the attempts to sink the in Kaa Fjord, Alta, Norway. The operations failed to cause significant damage to ""Tirpitz"". The squadron was re-equipped with 21 Grumman Avengers in September 1944 and sailed with ""Indefatigable"" to the Far East in November. They sailed to Ceylon where 820 squadron joined No 2 Strike Wing, which also consisted of 849 Squadron. The Wing attacked the oil refineries at Palembang, Sumatra in January"
"on 12 November 1944, Tirpitz was sunk by RAF Lancasters carrying Tallboy bombs, in Operation Catechism. The unit was then selected for carrier-borne operations in the Pacific, but again, not used in warfare. These Mosquitos were transported to Australia on board the carriers and , arriving on 23 December 1944. In order to keep up aircrew proficiency and safeguard the modified Mosquitos, 12 disassembled FB Mk VIs were also sent, arriving in Sydney in February 1945. These were reassembled at de Havilland Australia's Mascot factory. The unit was disbanded at RAAF Narromine in July 1946. The use of the Mosquito"
"to port from earlier damage, and this was not corrected by counter-flooding to retain as much reserve buoyancy as possible. The ship was also prepared for her role as a floating artillery platform: fuel was limited to only what was necessary to power the turbo-generators, and the crew was reduced to 1,600 officers and enlisted men. Operation Catechism, the final British attack on ""Tirpitz"", took place on 12 November 1944. The ship again used her 38 cm guns against the bombers, which approached the battleship at 09:35; ""Tirpitz""s main guns forced the bombers to disperse temporarily, but could not break"
"American who piloted one of the 31 Lancasters. Leavitt's aircraft dropped one of the bombs that hit ""Tirpitz"" dead centre. Despite both squadrons claiming that it was their bombs that actually sank the Tirpitz, it was the Tallboy bomb, dropped from a No. 9 Sqn Lancaster WS-Y (LM220) piloted by Flying Officer Dougie Tweddle that is attributed to the sinking of the warship. F/O Tweddle was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in the operations against ""Tirpitz"". During the Second World War the Squadron carried out 1,599 operational sorties with the loss of 32 aircraft. The Second World"
"Lt Donal Cameron and Lt Godfrey Place, respectively, were successful. ""Tirpitz"" was badly damaged, crippled, and out of action until May 1944; it was destroyed on 12th November 1944 by Avro Lancaster bombers, during Operation Catechism in Tromsø, Norway. The Tirpitz Museum in the village is devoted to the ""Tirpitz"". Notable people that were born or lived in Kåfjord include: Kåfjord, Alta Kåfjord is a village in Alta Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located along the Kåfjorden, about west of the town of Alta along the European route E6 highway. The village of Kvenvik lies about to"
"in French North Africa. They remained in Gibraltar until November 1943 when they carried out raids on the islands of Tremiti and Pianosa. During the Allied invasion of Italy, as part of the 2nd Special Service Brigade the men were involved in Operation ""Partridge"" in December 1943 in the area of the Garigliano River. This was followed by Operation ""Shingle"", the Anzio landings and fighting at Monte Ornito before being withdrawn to Naples in March 1943. In 1944, No. 9 Commando were involved in Operation ""Darlington 11"" in May and Operation ""Gradient"" in August. They then operated in Greece before"
"September 1944. The 9th Armored Division was one of several real U.S. Army divisions that participated in Operation Fortitude, the deception operation mounted by the Allies to deceive the Germans about the real landing site for Operation Neptune, the amphibious invasion of Northern France. The 9th was assigned to a camp on the British coastline opposite of the German defenses in Pas-de-Calais, ostensibly as part of the ""First US Army Group"" (FUSAG) under Major General John W. Leonard. Activated: 15 July 1942. Overseas: 26 August 1944. Campaigns: Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe. Days of Combat: 91. Distinguished Unit Citations: 11. Awards:"
"Operation Chastise. In July 1946, the squadron re-equipped with the Avro Lincoln, and remained operational until disbanding at Hemswell on 1 January 1956. The squadron was reformed - as 97(SM) Sqn. - on 1 December 1959 as one of 20 Strategic Missile (SM) squadrons associated with Project Emily. The squadron was equipped with three Thor Intermediate range ballistic missiles. and based at RAF Hemswell. In October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the squadron was kept at full readiness, with the missiles aimed at strategic targets in the USSR. The squadron was disbanded on 24 May 1963 when the Thor"
"of 22/23 November 1941 on the French coast at Houlgate. The raid was a success; the men landed and evacuated without any loss. After this raid the command of the commando was taken over by Lieutenant Colonel Ronnie Tod. The next operation that men from No. 9 were involved in was the St. Nazaire Raid in March 1942, the main landing force was provided by No. 2 Commando but most of the other commando units supplied demolition parties to assist in demolishing the port facilities. The men were then used to reinforce the Gibraltar garrison during Operation ""Torch"", the landings"
"Operation Sunstar Operation Sunstar was a Second World War raid on Houlgate in Normandy, France over the night of 22/23 November 1941. British Commandos of No. 9 Commando took part in the raid their objective was the Batterie de Tournebride on the ""Butte de Houlgate"". Ninety men of No.9 Commando travelled across the English Channel on HMS ""Prince Leopold"" and landed at the bottom of the Vaches Noires. The ship also transported four Assault Landing Craft which were used for the landing, four Motor Gun Boats were used to provide cover. The operation encountered difficulties and did not succeed in"
"was disbanded on 1 April 1920 after being renumbered, becoming No. 60 Squadron. The squadron was reformed on 16 September 1935 at RAF Catfoss, and later became one of the Pathfinder squadrons in April 1943. Commonly known as the Dambusters, No. 617 Squadron was the squadron that took part in Operation Chastise in May 1943, destroying Nazi factories, mines, and hydro-electric power stations. 617 Squadron was based at RAF Scampton, but often made use of RAF Woodhall Spa during exercises and missions. No. 619 Squadron was a Heavy bomber squadron, initially formed at RAF Woodhall Spa on the 18th April"
"from 31 July 1944 to 6 May 1945, including a weeklong attachment to the 8th Infantry Division from 23 October 1944 to 30 October 1944. The 9th Division was one of several real US Army divisions that participated in Operation Fortitude, the deception operation mounted by the US-British to deceive the Germans about the real landing site for Operation Neptune, the amphibious invasion of Northern France. The 9th was assigned to a camp on the British coastline opposite of the German defenses in Pas-de-Calais, ostensibly as part of the ""First US Army Group"" (FUSAG) under General Patton. While its members"
"James Brian Tait Group Captain James Brian ""Willie"" Tait, (9 December 1916 – 31 August 2007) was an officer in the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War. He conducted 101 bombing missions during the war, including the one that finally sank the German battleship ""Tirpitz"" in 1944. He succeeded Leonard Cheshire as commander of the famous 617 Squadron and, with six gallantry decorations to his name, remains one of the most distinguished airmen in the history of the nations of the British Commonwealth. Tait was born in Manchester and educated at Wellingborough School. After visiting a"
"consisted of 32 Lancaster bombers. Only a near miss was achieved, though it caused ""Tirpitz"" to take in more water. The last attack, Operation Catechism, took place on 12 November. Thirty-two Lancasters attacked the ship and scored a pair of direct hits and a near miss. The bombs detonated one of ""Tirpitz""s ammunition magazines and caused the ship to capsize. Casualties were high: 1,204 men were killed in the attack. Another 806 men managed to escape the sinking ship, and a further 82 were rescued from the capsized hulk. The wreck was gradually broken up for scrap between 1948 and"
"remained in Norwegian fjords to threaten Allied shipping until she was destroyed by the RAF in Operation Catechism on 12 November 1944. St Nazaire was one of the 38 battle honours presented to the Commandos after the war. The raid has since been called ""The Greatest Raid of All"". The survivors formed their own association, the St Nazaire Society, which is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. A memorial to the raid erected in Falmouth bears the following inscription: A new , a Type 22 Frigate, was launched on 7 October 1987. She carried the ship's bell from the"
"next 12 months. The British further developed their ability to sink battleships in harbour with minisubs and very heavy bombs dropped by strategic bombers. The last active German battleship, , lurked until late into the war in Norwegian fjords protected by anti-submarine weapons and shore based anti-aircraft guns. She was severely damaged in September 1943 during Operation Source, a daring covert attack by British mini-subs. After several air strikes, including Operation Tungsten, which was made with carrier aircraft, ""Tirpitz"" was finally sunk in harbour by RAF heavy bombers carrying massive Tallboy bombs. During that action, codenamed Operation Catechism, two of"
"German advance from Trøndelag. The Germans eventually captured all of Norway, after allied support had been withdrawn, although they encountered fierce resistance from the Finnmark-based Alta Battalion at Narvik. Tromsø escaped the war unscathed, although the German battleship ""Tirpitz"" was sunk by RAF Avro Lancaster bombers during Operation Catechism off the Tromsøy island on 12 November 1944, killing close to 1,000 German sailors. At the end of the war, the city received thousands of refugees from Finnmark county and the North Troms area - which had been devastated by German forces using scorched earth tactics in expectation of the Red"
"destroying the battery or taking any prisoners but they did obtain documents and other information. Operation Sunstar Operation Sunstar was a Second World War raid on Houlgate in Normandy, France over the night of 22/23 November 1941. British Commandos of No. 9 Commando took part in the raid their objective was the Batterie de Tournebride on the ""Butte de Houlgate"". Ninety men of No.9 Commando travelled across the English Channel on HMS ""Prince Leopold"" and landed at the bottom of the Vaches Noires. The ship also transported four Assault Landing Craft which were used for the landing, four Motor Gun"
"of 1945, Ninth Air Force troop carrier units flew airborne parachute and glider units again during Operation Varsity, the Allied assault over the Rhine River on 24 March 1945. Operation Varsity was the single largest airborne drop in history. The operation saw the first use of the Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando transport in Europe, operating with the reliable C-47 Skytrain of previous airborne operations, an experiment which ended with the catastrophic loss of 28% of the C-46s participating. Ninth Air Force tactical air support operations were flown over western Germany until the end of hostilities on 7 May. However, once the"
"originally referred to as ""Squadron X"", was formed at Scampton in order to carry out the proposed raid, codenamed Operation Chastise. More commonly referred to as the ""Dambusters Raid"", the raid would go down as the most famous and widely remembered in the history of the Royal Air Force. On the night of 16–17 May 1943, 617 Sqn despatched 19 Lancasters from Scampton. Led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the main bulk of the squadron attacked the Sorpe, Eder and Möhne dams with an additional aircraft tasked to perform an attack on the Schwelm Dam. Both the Eder and Möhne"
"purposes was another role of 463 Squadron. At least three Lancasters from 463 Sqn were fitted with Eyemo 35 mm cinecameras in by the RAF Film Production Unit. In this capacity, some of the squadron's Lancasters were involved in attacks on the German pocket battleship ""Tirpitz"", in Norway. One crew set an endurance record, flying a 14½ hour mission to film Operation Catechism: the final attack on ""Tirpitz"", in Tromsø Fjord, on 12 November 1944. During 1945, the squadron's aircraft continued to fly operations against targets in Germany, and also in support of ground troops as the Allies advanced towards"
"12 May 1943 she picked up 40 survivors from the Norwegian merchant ""Brand"" that was torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic by . ""Morden"" was assigned to the Royal Navys escort group EG 9 in July 1943. While patrolling with EG 9 south of the Isles of Scilly, the group was ordered to reinforce Convoys ONS 18/ON 202 which was hard pressed by a U-boat wolfpack attack. During this battle the convoy lost six merchants and three escorts. On 23 September 1943 the and ""Morden"" picked up survivors from the American merchant ""Steel Voyager"" that was torpedoed and sunk"