Tirpitz
| Type | Battleship |
|---|---|
| Class | Bismarck |
| War | Second World War |
| Main guns | 8 × 15″ guns in 4 twin turrets |
Bismarck's sister. She spent the war in Norwegian fjords, where the threat of her alone tied down the Home Fleet and led to the scattering of convoy PQ 17 in 1942. Crippled by British midget submarines in 1943 and hit by carrier aircraft in 1944, she was capsized at Tromsø on 12 November 1944 by RAF Lancasters with 12,000-lb Tallboy bombs; about 950 of her crew were killed.
Armament and specifications
Armament
As built
- 8 × 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 (4 × 2)
- 12 × 15 cm (5.9 in) L/55 (6 × 2)
- 16 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/33 (8 × 2)
- 16 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 (8 × 2)
- 12 × 2 cm (0.79 in) FlaK 30 (12 × 1)
Modifications
- 58 × 2 cm FlaK 30
- 8 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes
Armour
- Belt: 320 mm (13 in)
- Turrets: 360 mm (14 in)
- Main deck: 100 to 120 mm (3.9 to 4.7 in)
- Upper deck: 50 mm (2 in)
| Builder | Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven |
|---|---|
| Laid down | 2 November 1936 |
| Launched | 1 April 1939 |
| Commissioned | 25 February 1941 |
| Displacement | 42,900 t (42,200 long tons) standard 52,600 t (51,800 long tons) full load |
| Length | 241.60 m (792 ft 8 in) waterline 251 m (823 ft 6 in) overall |
| Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Complement | 103 officers 1,962 enlisted men |
As built, from the ship's Wikipedia article. Figures there may cover later refits too.
Career
Launched
1 April 1939
9 March 1942
Evaded every torpedo; three men wounded
8 September 1943
Fired her main guns in action for the only time
20–22 September 1943
Out of action for six months
3 April 1944
Fifteen hits; more than 120 killed
22–29 August 1944
Two hits; one bomb did not explode
15 September 1944
Bow wrecked by one Tallboy; never seaworthy again
12 November 1944
Capsized; about 950 killed