Description
Tirpitz mission
At sunrise 12 November 1944, led by Wing Commander James Tait, Lancasters of 617 Squadron RAF prepare to make their bombing run on the German battleship Tirpitz, lying in the Norwegian fjord at Tromsø.
After several unsuccessful attempts to sink the German battleship Tirpitz, on 12 November 1944, the Royal Air Force set about finishing the job. Flying the outward leg of the mission circuitously and at low level to avoid radar detection, Lancasters of 9 and 617 Squadrons effected complete surprise, approaching the Norwegian fjord at Tromsø from the east. Climbing to 12,000 feet as they assembled for the target run, each Lancaster was armed with a single 12,000lb “Tallboy” bomb, the most powerful armour piercing ordnance of World War Two. Flying through a heavy barrage of anti-aircraft fire, one by one each Lancaster released its deadly cargo, the bomber stream taking just 3 minutes to thunder through the target area. It was all over; a direct hit left Tirpitz a sinking wreck, her side ripped open by the devastating blast. Eleven minutes later she capsized and slid into the icy waters of Tromsø fjord.
With the golden sun a few seconds old above the dawn horizon, Robert Taylor’s evocative new painting shows Lancasters of 617 Squadron converging on the lead aircraft, as Wing Commander James Tait steers 270 degrees towards their target moored some 100 miles to the west. Surprise is complete. The fate of the Tirpitz is already sealed.
Overall Print Size: 30” wide x 24 1/4” high
T H E S I G N AT U R E S:
THE LIMITED EDITION
Joining the artist Robert Taylor, each print of his evocative colour painting ‘Target Bearing 270°’, is signed by FOUR 617 Squadron aircrew who attacked the German battleship Tirpitz.
Flying Officer C B R FISH (Navigator)
Squadron Leader T IVESON DFC AE (Pilot)
Squadron Leader B KNIGHTS DSO DFC (Pilot)
Squadron Leader E A WASS AE (Air Gunner)
