Sinking the Beast

The RAF 1944 Lancaster Raids Against Tirpitz

Jan Forsgren

$55

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Fonthill Media Ltd
01 April 2014

History; Second World War; Air forces & warfare; Battles & campaigns; Military & naval ships

During the autumn of 1944, three RAF raids

-

using Avro Lancaster heavy bombers

-

finally sank the German battleship Tirpitz. Many previous attempts, including the use of midget submarines and raids by carrier-based aircraft, had damaged Tirpitz at her Norwegian hideout. Throughout the war, Tirpitz had become a much feared asset of the Third Reich war machine, almost gaining mythical status. In mid-1944, No. 5 Group of RAF Bomber Command was assigned the job of finally sinking Tirpitz. The first raid, codenamed Operation Paravane, saw Tirpitz damaged by Russian-based Lancasters where the great ship was heavily damaged. Subsequently, the battleship was transferred further southwest to Tromso for repairs, which meant that it came within the range of UK-based bombers.

The last raid proved successful. Each Lancaster carried a 12,000 lbs 'Tallboy' bomb packed with high explosive. The Tallboy, engineered by Barnes Wallis who was responsible for the Dambusters' bouncing bomb, proved highly effective.

Despite heavy flak and tracer fire, the Tirpitz was rocked by violent explosions of an apocalyptic magnitude: windows were broken and houses were rocked off their foundations some three miles away. A stray Tallboy hit the island and silenced all AAA batteries. The job was done: near misses and a direct hit pulverised the mighty battleship. The Tirpitz capsized and sank, taking her doomed crew with her.

By: Jan Forsgren
Imprint: Fonthill Media Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 21mm
ISBN: 9781781553183
ISBN 10: 1781553181
Pages: 160
Publication Date: 01 April 2014
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jan Forsgren has an MA in History and is the author of five books including two in English. He has written hundreds of aviation-related articles for various aviation magazines, including 'Aeroplane', 'The Aviation Historian' and 'FlyPast'. He has also written articles on the Air Forces in Southeast Asia that are available on www.aeroflight.co.uk. For Fonthill he has written 'Sink the Beast: the 1944 RAF Lancaster Raids', a work on the demise of the battleship Tirpitz.