Operation Tungsten was a Second World War air raid conducted by the Royal Navy that targeted the German battleship Tirpitz at her base in Kaafjord in the far north of Norway on 3 April 1944.
The damage inflicted during the attack was not sufficient to sink or disable the ship, but she suffered considerable damage to her superstructure and unarmored areas, with 122 members of her crew killed and 316 were wounded. Tirpitz was eventually disabled and then sunk by Royal Air Force heavy bombers later in the year.
The Home Fleet had responsibility for conducting the attack. The ships involved sailed from the Home Fleet's base at Scapa Flow in two groups on 30 March 1944.
Vice-Admiral Bruce Fraser[1] [2]
827 Naval Air Squadron (12 Fairey Barracudas)
829 Naval Air Squadron (9 Barracudas)
1834 Naval Air Squadron (14 Vought F4U Corsairs)
1836 Naval Air Squadron (14 Corsairs)
2 King George V-class battleships (10 × 14-inch main btty, 28 kn)
(flagship of Admiral Bruce Fraser)
(flagship of Vice-Admiral Henry Moore)
1 Town-class light cruiser (12 × 6-inch main btty, 32 kn)
6 destroyers
4 M-class:,,,
2 U-class:,
Rear-Admiral Arthur William La Touche Bisset
801 Naval Air Squadron (9 Supermarine Seafires)
880 Naval Air Squadron (9 Seafires)
830 Naval Air Squadron (9 Barracudas)
831 Naval Air Squadron (12 Barracudas)
800 Naval Air Squadron (10 Grumman F6F Hellcats)
804 Naval Air Squadron (10 Hellcats)
842 Naval Air Squadron (12 Fairey Swordfish and 8 Grumman F4F Wildcats)
881 Naval Air Squadron (10 Wildcats)
896 Naval Air Squadron (10 Wildcats)
882 Naval Air Squadron (10 Wildcats)
898 Naval Air Squadron (10 Wildcats)
3 light cruisers
1 Dido-class (8 × 5.25-inch main btty, 32.25 kn): (flagship of Rear-Adm. Bisset)
1 Fiji-class (12 × 6-inch main btty, 31.25 kn):
1 Southampton-class (12 × 6-inch main btty, 32 kn):
9 destroyers
5 V-class:,,,,
1 W-class:
1 S-class:
1 O-class:
1 J-class:
2 fleet support tankers
RFA Blue Ranger, RFA Brown Ranger
On 1 April Admiral Fraser decided to conduct the strike on 3 April rather than 4 April as originally planned. This led to the following organisational changes:[3]
The attack on Tirpitz and the anti-aircraft batteries and ships located near her mooring at Kaafjord on 3 April involved two strike forces:[4] [5] [6]
1st strike
2nd strike