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Sinking the Tirpitz by Nicolas Trudgian.
Throughout four long years of war Allied air and naval forces endeavoured to
sink the German battleship Tirpitz. The mighty warship was a constant threat to
Allied shipping, even while lying at anchor in her lair among the fjords of
Norway. Her very presence demanded constant attention and hampered all naval
decision making till she was sunk at the end of 1944. Without so much as
weighing anchor, Tirpitz could disrupt the north Atlantic convoys by tying up
urgently needed escort vessels in readiness in case she made a run for the open
sea. Churchill was exasperated and called upon RAF Bomber Command to make a
decisive bid to finish her off once and for all. On November 12, 1944 Lancasters
of Number 9 and 617 Squadrons set forth towards the Norwegian fjord of Tromso
where Tirpitz lay at anchor surrounded by a web of protective submarine nets.
Armed with the 12,000lb Tallboy bomb devised by Barnes Wallis, the Lancaster
crews arrived in clear skies overhead the fjord to see the great battleship
sharply contrasted against the still deep waters some 10,000ft below. As flak
from the ships heavy armament burst all around them, one by one the 31
Lancasters rolled in for the attack. In a matter of three minutes the
devastating aerial bombardment was completed, and eleven minutes later, her port
side ripped open, the Tirpitz capsized and sank. The Coup de Grace was complete. |
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Sinking the Tirpitz by Nicolas Trudgian.
Throughout four long years of war Allied air and naval forces endeavoured to sink the German battleship Tirpitz. The mighty warship was a constant threat to Allied shipping, even while lying at anchor in her lair among the fjords of Norway. Her very presence demanded constant attention and hampered all naval decision making till she was sunk at the end of 1944. Without so much as weighing anchor, Tirpitz could disrupt the north Atlantic convoys by tying up urgently needed escort vessels in readiness in case she made a run for the open sea. Churchill was exasperated and called upon RAF Bomber Command to make a decisive bid to finish her off once and for all. On November 12, 1944 Lancasters of Number 9 and 617 Squadrons set forth towards the Norwegian fjord of Tromso where Tirpitz lay at anchor surrounded by a web of protective submarine nets. Armed with the 12,000lb Tallboy bomb devised by Barnes Wallis, the Lancaster crews arrived in clear skies overhead the fjord to see the great battleship sharply contrasted against the still deep waters some 10,000ft below. As flak from the ships heavy armament burst all around them, one by one the 31 Lancasters rolled in for the attack. In a matter of three minutes the devastating aerial bombardment was completed, and eleven minutes later, her port side ripped open, the Tirpitz capsized and sank. The Coup de Grace was complete.
Signed limited edition of 550 prints. Paper size 28 inches x 19 inches (72cm x 48cm). Price £140.00 Signed by Group Captain J B Tait (deceased), Squadron Leader Tony Iveson and Leutnant Zur See Willibald Volsing, in addition ot the artist.
Limited edition of artist proofs. Paper size 28 inches x 19 inches (72cm x 48cm). Price £240.00 Signed by Group Captain J B Tait (deceased), Squadron Leader Tony Iveson and Leutnant Zur See Willibald Volsing, in addition ot the artist.
Limited edition of 50 publishers proofs. Paper size 28 inches x 19 inches (72cm x 48cm). Price £210.00 Signed by Group Captain J B Tait, Squadron Leader Tony Iveson and Leutnant Zur See Willibald Volsing, in addition ot the artist.
** (Ex Display) Signed limited edition of 550 prints. (Two copies reduced to clear) Paper size 28 inches x 19 inches (72cm x 48cm). Price £100.00 Signed by Group Captain J B Tait DSO*** DFC* ADC (deceased), Squadron Leader Tony Iveson and Leutnant Zur See Willibald Volsing, in addition ot the artist.
ITEM CODE DHM2031
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Sinking th Tirpitz by Nicolas Trudgian
- The Signatures
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 | Group Captain J B Tait DSO*** DFC* ADC (deceased)
One of Bomber Commands most outstanding leaders, James Willie Tait was one of only two RAF officers who had the distinction of being awarded three Bars to his DSO, as well as a DFC and Bar. On the night before D-Day Tait was the 5 Group Master Bomber directing from the air the massed attack by Lancasters on the German defences in the Cherbourg peninsula. By then Tait had already flown more than 100 bomber sorties with 51, 35, 10 and 78 Squadrons. A Cranwell-trained regular officer, he was very much in the Cheshire mould: quiet, bordering on the introspective. He was to go on to command the legendary 617 Dambusters Squadron and lead it on one of its most famous raids which finally destroyed the German battleship Tirpitz. In July 1944 when Leonard Cheshire was replaced by Wing Commander J B Willie Tait, 617 Squadron discovered that it had acquired a Commanding Officer very much in the Cheshire mould. Quiet, bordering on introspection, Tait, who was a Cranwell-trained regular officer, had already flown over 100 bombing operations with 51, 35, 10 and 78 Squadrons before joining 617. Tait had also received a DSO and bar and the DFC. He was 26. In the best traditions of 617 Squadron, Tait wasted no time in adapting to the Mustang and Mosquito for low level marking. He appointed two new Flight Commanders including Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC. Although involved in many of 617 Squadrons spectacular operations, Taits name is always associated with the destruction of the Tirpitz. An earlier attack on the ship by the squadron on 15th September 1944 had caused severe damage but Tirpitz was still afloat. On 29th October the Squadron was frustrated on the second attack by cloud over the target. The final attack was launched in daylight on 12th November 1944. Leading a mixed force of 617 and 9 Squadron Lancasters, Tait achieved complete surprise and had the satisfaction of seeing the Tirpitz destroyed at last. He had led all three attacks. On 28th December 1944 Tait received a third bar to his DSO, becoming one of only two RAF men to achieve this distinction. It coincided with his leaving 617 Squadron. Tait served in the post-war RAF, retiring as a Group Captain in 1966. He died 31st May 2007.
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 | Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC
Tony Iveson fought in the Battle of Britain with RAF Fighter Command, as a Sergeant pilot, joining 616 Squadron at Kenley flying Spitfires on 2 September 1940. On the 16th of September, he was forced to ditch into the sea after running out of fuel following a pursuit of a Ju88 bomber. His Spitfire L1036 ditched 20 miles off Cromer in Norfolk, and he was picked up by an MTB. He joined No.92 Sqn the following month. Commissioned in 1942, Tony undertook his second tour transferring to RAF Bomber Command, where he was selected to join the famous 617 Squadron, flying Lancasters. He took part in most of 617 Squadron's high precision operations, including all three sorties against the German battleship Tirpitz, and went on to become one of the most respected pilots in the squadron.
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 | Leutnant Zur See Willibald Volsing
Joining the Kriegsmarine in 1942, Willi Völsing was Senior Controller in the Gunnery Fire Control Section on Tirpitz, one of the most important gunnery positions on the ship, passing vital information between the ship's guns and the ship's commanders. After the Tirpitz capsized, he was one of the few fortunate survivors to be released from deep inside the ship by rescuers cutting into the upturned hull.
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