Hunting Tirpitz: Naval Operations Against Bismarck's Sister Ship - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1841023108 ISBN 13: 9781841023106

Publisher: University of Plymouth Press, 2012

Synopsis

Originally published as a classified Battle Summary, Hunting Tirpitz is a unique record written by naval officers during World War II, and soon after 1945. Stamped 'restricted' as an officially secret text and held at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, South West England. These historical accounts also contain naval maps, plans and first-hand accounts. A substantial contemporary introduction by a naval historian and foreword written by Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, a naval veteran of the highest order, provides new insights. From 1942 to 1944, battleship Tirpitz was the single most powerful German ship afloat. In northern waters she became the principal target of the capital ships of the Royal Navy. Preventing her breakout into the Atlantic would see desperate and innovative operations by the Royal Navy, from daring raids on the coast of France to the use of midget submarines to place explosive charges underneath the battleship. In 1944, Tirpitz was the target for one of the largest bombing operations in the history of the Fleet Air Arm. The eventual destruction of Tirpitz, in late 1944, was secured by RAF Bomber Command. Hunting Tirpitz includes newly translated, first-hand accounts by German survivors, alongside personal photographs taken on the ship and Battle Summaries which detail: Operation Chariot - the raid on St. Nazaire, 1942 Operation Source - the midget submarine attack on Tirpitz, 1943 Operation Tungsten - the Fleet Air Arm attacks on Tirpitz, 1944.

About this title

About the Author

Foreword by Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff. As the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, Mark Stanhope is the Royal Navy s professional head and Chairman of the Navy Board. He is responsible to the Secretary of State for the fighting effectiveness, efficiency and morale of the Naval Service, and as a member of the Defence Council supports the Secretary of State in the management and direction of the Armed Forces through prerogative and statutory powers. As a member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and Armed Forces Committee, he advises CDS on maritime aspects of all operations and the underlying strategy and policy. He is also the Top Level Budget holder for the Naval Sector and advises the Permanent Under Secretary on resource allocation and budgetary planning in the light of defence policy and naval priorities. Joining the Royal Navy in 1970, Mark Stanhope s career has included command of submarines and surface ships as well as broad experience in Whitehall and the NATO Alliance. During the Cold War he commanded the conventional submarine HMS Orpheus (1981 1983) and the nuclear powered submarine HMS Splendid (1986 1989). His final sea command was the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. In between sea appointments he has worked in the Ministry of Defence for the Naval Staff and as a personal staff officer to the Chief of Defence staff (1994 1996), followed by a short secondment to the Cabinet Office. His initial NATO assignment was in the Regional Headquarters of Allied Forces North, in Holland. Following this he served as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet before returning to NATO, this time in Norfolk, Virginia, as the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. His most recent appointment as Commander-in-Chief Fleet combined both his operational and alliance experience exercising full command over all deployable Fleet units, including the Royal Marines, while also holding the post of Allied Maritime Component Commander at Northwood. Awarded the OBE in 1990, he was knighted in 2004 and further honoured in 2010 with a GCB and is a recipient of the US Legion of Merit (Officer).

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Plymouth Press
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1841023108
• ISBN 13: 9781841023106
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304
• Editor: Bennett G. H.