Why attack the Tirpitz?

[63tb]

Folks,

I was looking through the info at the "Allied and Luftwaffe wrecksites in Norway" thread Grinch posted. I noticed all the RAF aircraft lost attacking the Tirpitz. Why was the RAF so keen to sink her (and take those losses)? She wasn't going anywhere was she? And the RAF kept such close watch on her, she couldn't have raised steam without setting off alarms. Seems like a waste of lives going after her.

63tb

[Bruv119]

protection of the home fleet? 

Morale / propaganda?   we couldn't invade france so might as well sink a stinking great battleship? 

One over Hitler?   

I think being rid of a potential threat makes sense.  How many naval crews / merchant ships lives were saved?

re-supply of russia?  uncle Joe needed them spitfires!!

[Ack-Ack]

Her mere presence was enough to be a threat to the Allies and tying up significan naval forces.


ack-ack

[63tb]

Yeah, but isn't that pre Pearl Harbor and Force- Z thinking? How big of a threat was she? I could see sending in a big strike force if she showed signs of going to sea, but it seems like a lot of RAF crews were lost for "just in case".

63tb

[Lusche]

Yeah, but isn't that pre Pearl Harbor and Force- Z thinking? How big of a threat was she? I could see sending in a big strike force if she showed signs of going to sea,

And that's exactly the point. Just be it's very existence the Tirpitz tied up a lot of forces having to be ready to intercept her. And what if the Tirpizt had just slipped out of it's base unnoticed?

[Bruv119]

maybe the RAF thought if we sink the bloody dam thing we won't have to keep doing these blasted recon flights in the freakin cold crappy weather?

[Anaxogoras]

See Rule #4

[macleod01]

And the RAF kept such close watch on her, she couldn't have raised steam without setting off alarms. Seems like a waste of lives going after her.

63tb

Forgive me if I'm wrong here, but didn't the Bismark sneak out unnoticed, despite all of the recons over her. I think they needed her sunk to be certain. While she was still on the surface, she was a threat. If she managed to sneak out, she could have caused serious damage to the Atlantic and Arctic convoys. How do you prevent that happening? Make darn sure she can't. So you sink her.

[Simba]

See Rule #4

 

Tirpitz was one of the most powerful battleships in the world; if she got out and attacked a convoy, she would have caused havoc. To blockade her in harbour took up a number of ships that would have better employed elsewhere. Hitler and the Kriegsmarine were well aware of this and kept her safe for just this purpose. The one time she threatened to come out and take on a convoy, that convoy was ordered to scatter and all its ships proceed independently. Consequently, PQ17 went down in history as the most costly in terms of lost ships and lives ever to be sent to Russia. Hence the repeated RAF and Fleet Air Arm attacks on the mighty warship.

The departure of Bismarck on her one and only combat sortie was discovered by a magnificent recce carried out on the pilot's own initiative in a Martin Maryland normally used for target-towing. He and his observer flew at low level on instruments through fog which cleared just in time for them to avoid the cliffs on the enemy coast and see that the ship and her consort Prinz Eugen had sailed; the harbour was empty. He transmitted this information in the clear on the target-tug frequency pre-set on the radio and thus the hunt was on well before the Kriegsmarine anticipated it would be.

Honour the brave.

 


  

[lyric1]

Folks,

I was looking through the info at the "Allied and Luftwaffe wrecksites in Norway" thread Grinch posted. I noticed all the RAF aircraft lost attacking the Tirpitz. Why was the RAF so keen to sink her (and take those losses)? She wasn't going anywhere was she? And the RAF kept such close watch on her, she couldn't have raised steam without setting off alarms. Seems like a waste of lives going after her.

63tb

Like asking a mountain climber why they do it & the answer you get is because it was there.

[E25280]

Yeah, but isn't that pre Pearl Harbor and Force- Z thinking? How big of a threat was she? I could see sending in a big strike force if she showed signs of going to sea, but it seems like a lot of RAF crews were lost for "just in case".

63tb

Just to address this, we aren't talking about the Central Pacific where you know you will have 12 hours of flight operations each day.  The Brits could have kept all their carriers in the area, but they would have been useless for about 6 months of the year due to the total darkness of the Arctic winter.  So, no, it wasn't easily countered by "post Pearl CV thinking."

[Bodhi]

See Rule #4

[Cthulhu]

And that's exactly the point. Just be it's very existence the Tirpitz tied up a lot of forces having to be ready to intercept her. And what if the Tirpizt had just slipped out of it's base unnoticed?

Exactly   

Remember just how close Bismark and Prince Eugen came to making it into the open waters of the North Atlantic undetected. Tirpitz could have done the same, especially during the winter with a little friendly (atrocious) weather. Those considerable forces Lusche mentioned could have done one of three things:

1) They could be held at the ready in case the Tirpitz sailed (essentially negated by her very existence)

2) They could engage her after she sailed (and run the very real risk of being negated by her for real; along with a lot of merchant ships)

3) Or, knowing exactly where she was, they could just preemptively sink her and be rid of the problem.

Besides, it gave the RAF a great opportunity to play with Wallis' nasty bombs.


Considering what the loss of HMS Hood meant to the RN, and to all Brits in general, it's also probably safe to say that the mere existence of Tirpitz was an affront to British moral, so she had to go. Regardless of military significance.

[Anaxogoras]

See Rule #4

[Angus]

Forgive me if I'm wrong here, but didn't the Bismark sneak out unnoticed, despite all of the recons over her. I think they needed her sunk to be certain. While she was still on the surface, she was a threat. If she managed to sneak out, she could have caused serious damage to the Atlantic and Arctic convoys. How do you prevent that happening? Make darn sure she can't. So you sink her.

Bismarck's departure was noticed, but she was lost for some time. Tirpitz once sneaked out and then returned to base. The sneak-out was detected, and she had a short window to hide (very long daylight in July 1942 that northerly), but sneak away she did. The results were impressive, since a convoy was dispersed because of it, and losses were incredibly high because of the U-boats in the area.
(Anti U-boat tactics is the convoy form while the convoy form makes the best target for a Battleship).
So, her mere presence did tie up significant naval forces. Getting rid of her as well as the other big German wagons would make a completely different plan for the RN.
Wasn't she the last one to go?