Hitler promised his people that the thousand-year-old Reich would take away the crown of the mistress of the seas from Great Britain, and German sailors would receive the best fleet in the world. As a result, the strongest ships of their time, Bismarck, and its sistership, the battleship Tirpitz, were created. The fate of the latter will be discussed here.
German battleship concept
Being delighted with the successful raids of German ships on the vast trade communications of England during the First World War, the German admirals saw the new fleet as "raider". They believed that a ship with a high speed of movement, a large power reserve and weapons capable of withstanding an entire squadron of the enemy would be a real "horror" for the enemy's trade routes. And the fleet of such ships will be able to completely block the enemy’s sea communication. Based on this concept, the Tirpitz battleship was designed, which, in fact, was an "overgrown cruiser", but with weapons from a battleship. Eight 380-mm Tirpitz guns were able to send 800-kilogram shells over the horizon (35.5 km), and in speed (30.8 knots) andcruising range (in 9000 nautical miles), he had no equal among ships of this class.
Comparison with other ships
As already mentioned, the battleship Tirpitz was built according to the concept of a cruiser, and its outstanding running and speed performance was paid for by armor and the general survivability of the ship. "Tirpitz" and "Bismarck" are now called almost the most powerful ships in the history of mankind, and meanwhile, many of their contemporaries surpassed the "Germans" both in armor and in armament, not to mention such a necessary quality as mine protection. Richelieu, South Dakota, Italian Littorio and Japanese Yamato were clearly more powerful battleships. Glory to the German ships was given by fascist propaganda and justifications of the English fleet, which lost its flagship in the battle with the Bismarck, and then, almost in full force, chased the Tirpitz throughout the war. In the image below you can see the battleship "Tirpitz" - the photo was taken at the parking lot in Norway.
Combat service
The plans of the Kriegsmarine were not destined to come true. An attempt to break through on enemy communications ended in the death of the battleship Bismarck, and the Germans did not make more such attempts. In addition, submarines and naval aviation did an excellent job of destroying convoys. The battleship "Tirpitz" by and large participated in only one, almost inconclusive, combat operation - a campaign to Svalbard in 1942. After that, he was hidden throughout the war in the Norwegian fjords, and the British fleet, aviation and forcesspecial purpose tried to get to him. For the British government, the destruction of the battleship became a fixed idea, Churchill even called it a "beast". His mere presence off the coast of Norway gave the British a reason to refuse sea convoys to Murmansk. So you can say that the battleship "Tirpitz" did a lot - without doing anything.
The death of the battleship
In November 1944, the British finally got to the battleship. On November 12, catching the anti-aircraft defense by surprise, 32 Lancasters dropped their 4500-kilogram bombs on the ship. Four super-heavy bombs fell on her deck, their explosions detonated the battleship's ammunition, she capsized and sank.
