Operation Goodwood

22–29 August 1944, Kåfjord, Altafjord, northern Norway

German success; Tirpitz barely damaged, and two British ships torpedoed

The carriers' last attempt on Tirpitz. In four strikes over a week, Barracudas, Hellcats, Corsairs and Fireflies from Formidable, Indefatigable and Furious came in over the mountains, but the Germans now had smoke generators all round the fjord, and by the time the slow Barracudas arrived the ship was hidden. Two bombs hit on 24 August; one, a 1,600-lb armour-piercing bomb, went through eight decks and failed to explode. Several aircraft were shot down, and the destroyers in the fjord were strafed. Out at sea U-354 torpedoed the escort carrier Nabob, which got home but was never repaired, and sank the frigate Bickerton. The Admiralty handed the job to Bomber Command.