148-525: Operation Cockpit was an Allied attack against the Japanese-held island of Sabang on 19 April 1944. It was conducted by aircraft flying from British and American aircraft carriers and targeted Japanese shipping and airfields. A small number of Japanese ships and aircraft were destroyed, and one American aircraft was lost. While the attack was successful tactically, it failed to divert Japanese forces from other areas as had been hoped. The attack on Sabang
296-426: A light cruiser and five destroyers . Force Two was commanded by Rear Admiral Arthur La Touche Bisset and comprised Furious , the four escort carriers, five destroyers and two tankers . It was planned that Force One would initially provide support for Convoy JW 58 and Force Two would sail separately and proceed directly to a point off Norway where it would be joined by Anson and Victorious on 3 April and conduct
444-551: A Second World War Royal Navy air raid that targeted the German battleship Tirpitz . The operation sought to damage or destroy Tirpitz at her base in Kaafjord in the far north of Norway before she could become fully operational again following a period of repairs. The British decision to strike Kaafjord was motivated by fears that the battleship, upon re-entering service, would attack strategically important convoys carrying supplies to
592-564: A battleship bombardment of the island. Allies of World War II The Allies , formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers . Its principal members by the end of 1941 were the " Big Four " – the United Kingdom , United States , Soviet Union , and China . Membership in
740-904: A common Anglo-American vision of the postwar world, as formalized by the Atlantic Charter . At the Second Inter-Allied Meeting in London in September 1941, the eight European governments in exile, together with the Soviet Union and representatives of the Free French Forces, unanimously adopted adherence to the common principles of policy set forth in the Atlantic Charter. In December, Japan attacked American and British territories in Asia and
888-677: A destroyer transported equipment and workmen to Kaafjord from Germany, and Tirpitz was able to steam under her own power by 2 June. She was capable of undertaking gunnery practice by the end of June, and all repairs were completed in mid-July. During this period the battleship's anti-aircraft armament was augmented by fitting her with additional 20-millimetre (0.79 in) cannons, modifying the 150 mm guns so they could be used to attack aircraft and supplying anti-aircraft shells for her 380-millimetre (15 in) main guns. The defences of Kaafjord were also improved during this period. Additional radar stations and observation posts were established, and
1036-608: A domination of the world completely different from any known in world history. The domination at which the Nazis aim is not limited to the displacement of the balance of power and the imposition of the supremacy of one nation. It seeks the systematic and total destruction of those conquered by Hitler and it does not treaty with the nations which it has subdued. He destroys them. He takes from them their whole political and economic existence and seeks even to deprive them of their history and culture. He wishes only to consider them as vital space and
1184-560: A formalized group upon the Declaration by United Nations on 1 January 1942, which was signed by 26 nations around the world; these ranged from governments in exile from the Axis occupation to small nations far removed from the war. The Declaration officially recognized the Big Three and China as the "Four Powers", acknowledging their central role in prosecuting the war; they were also referred to as
1332-535: A key role in achieving victory. A series of conferences between Allied leaders, diplomats, and military officials gradually shaped the makeup of the alliance, the direction of the war, and ultimately the postwar international order. Relations between the United Kingdom and the United States were especially close , with their bilateral Atlantic Charter forming the groundwork of their alliance. The Allies became
1480-571: A large repair ship; the captain of an armed trawler died and 13 other sailors on board these vessels suffered wounds. Torstein Raaby of the Allied Secret Intelligence Service group in Alta reported a few hours after the raid, that no civilian casualties had resulted from the attack, and that the local population was "... extremely impressed by the bombing." A further report six days after
1628-640: A massive air attack on Germany, but Stalin kept wanting more. Although the U.S. had a strained relationship with the USSR in the 1920s, relations were normalized in 1933. The original terms of the Lend-Lease loan were amended towards the Soviets, to be put in line with British terms. The United States would now expect interest with the repayment from the Soviets, following the initiation of the Operation Barbarossa , at
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#17328702056841776-494: A meeting on 12 April, the Eastern Fleet's senior officers decided to conduct a carrier raid on Sabang. The plans for the operation also included a surface ship bombardment of Sabang, but it was decided to omit this shortly before the fleet departed as it was believed that operating close to the shore would be unduly risky. The raid was considered to be a trial, to test the fleet's procedures ahead of more ambitious operations. During
1924-502: A point 20 miles (32 km) from the coast, and had reached 7,000 feet (2,100 m) by the time they made landfall at 5:08 am. The force approached the Altenfjord from the west, passing over the western end of the Langfjord before turning south, then looping to the north and attacking the battleship over the hills on the southern shore of Kaafjord shortly before 5:30 am. The arrival of
2072-578: A radio deception plan for the operation which proved successful. Despite the Allied intentions, the Japanese had little interest in engaging the Eastern Fleet. The IJN was aware that the fleet was too weak to pose a significant threat, and were preserving their forces, including the aircraft in southern Malaya, to contest the American advance through the central Pacific. The Combined Fleet was under orders to only engage
2220-452: A radio or radio direction finding station. The Barracudas executed their dive bombing attack at 6:36 am and struck Tirpitz with a 1,600-pound bomb and four 500-pound bombs within a minute. The German defences at Kaafjord received little warning of the incoming raid, and the smokescreen hid the British aircraft from sight. As a result, the gunners had to fire blindly and only shot down one of
2368-517: A rain squall in the afternoon of 20 April Renown mistook the Australian destroyer HMAS Nepal for a Japanese vessel and briefly engaged it with her secondary armament . The attack force returned to Ceylon on 21 April. The Allies were satisfied with the results of Operation Cockpit. While it did not inflict heavy casualties on the Japanese, the Royal Navy learned useful lessons. In particular,
2516-640: A separate colony. British Malaya covers the areas of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore , while British Borneo covers the area of Brunei , including Sabah and Sarawak of Malaysia. British Hong Kong consisted of Hong Kong Island , the Kowloon Peninsula , and the New Territories . Territories controlled by the Colonial Office , namely the Crown Colonies , were controlled politically by
2664-668: A serious threat and their forces in the area were being preserved for use against an expected major American offensive in the Central Pacific . Nevertheless, the Allies were pleased with the results of the attack. From mid-1942 until early 1944 the Allies did not undertake any offensive naval operations in the Indian Ocean. Their main naval force there, the British-led Eastern Fleet which was headed by Admiral James Somerville ,
2812-804: A single Consolidated PBY Catalina in March. The Spitfires flew regular sorties over Kaafjord and took very detailed photographs of Tirpitz and the nearby anti-aircraft batteries on 12 and 13 March; after being developed the Catalina flew these images to the UK. Although the German forces in northern Norway detected the Spitfire flights, the Kaafjord area's defences were not increased or placed on alert. On 16 March eight British, Dutch and Norwegian submarines were directed to take up positions off
2960-511: A small number of fighters stationed at bases near Kaafjord, and their operations were constrained by a lack of fuel. British intelligence believed that the German fighter force in the area could be rapidly expanded in the event of an emergency. The Luftwaffe typically conducted three reconnaissance flights into the Arctic Sea each day. Force One departed the Home Fleet's base at Scapa Flow in
3108-499: A squadron operating 18 Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers, as well as a single Hellcat allocated to the Air Group Leader. The commander of Saratoga ' s air group, Commander Joseph C. Clifton , led both carriers' air wings during Operation Cockpit. After an uneventful journey, and without being detected by the Japanese, the Allied force arrived at the carriers' flying off point 100 miles (160 km) south-west of Sabang in
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#17328702056843256-599: A vacant territory over which he has every right. The human beings who constitute these nations are for him only cattle. He orders their massacre or migration. He compels them to make room for their conquerors. He does not even take the trouble to impose any war tribute on them. He just takes all their wealth and, to prevent any revolt, he scientifically seeks the physical and moral degradation of those whose independence he has taken away. France experienced several major phases of action during World War II: In Africa these included: French West Africa , French Equatorial Africa ,
3404-558: The Admiralty that due to recent Soviet advances on the Eastern Front, the Germans were placing a strong emphasis on disrupting the flow of supplies to the Soviet Union and could dispatch Tirpitz to attack any convoys not escorted by capital ships. In response, Fraser was directed to provide battleship protection for the next Arctic Convoy. The final decision to undertake Operation Tungsten
3552-535: The British West Indies , British Honduras , British Guiana and the Falkland Islands . The Dominion of Newfoundland was directly ruled as a royal colony from 1933 to 1949, run by a governor appointed by London who made the decisions regarding Newfoundland. British India included the areas and peoples covered by later India , Bangladesh , Pakistan and (until 1937) Burma/Myanmar , which later became
3700-510: The Cairo Conference held during November 1943, the Allied leadership agreed that "the main effort against Japan should be made in the Pacific", and that the Indian Ocean would be a subsidiary theatre. It was also decided that any offensive operations, including carrier raids, in the theatre would have the goals of "maintaining pressure on the enemy, forcing dispersion of his forces, and attaining
3848-593: The Eastern Fleet so that Victorious could be retained in the North Sea. The plans for the raid were centred on two dive-bombing attacks by Fleet Air Arm Fairey Barracuda aircraft. Led by Strike Leader Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner . Each of the attacks was to involve 21 Barracudas escorted by 40 fighters; Vought F4U Corsairs flying from Victorious would provide protection against German aircraft while Grumman F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcats operating from Furious and
3996-606: The Royal Air Force and Soviet Air Forces attempted to strike Tirpitz in her anchorages without success. On 23 September 1943 two British X-class midget submarines succeeded in penetrating the defences around the battleship at her main anchorage at Kaafjord in northern Norway during Operation Source , and placed explosive charges in the water beneath her. This attack caused extensive damage to Tirpitz , putting her out of service for six months. Repairs to Tirpitz were carried out using improvised facilities at Kaafjord as it
4144-510: The " trusteeship of the powerful", and later as the " Four Policemen " of the United Nations. Many more countries joined through to the final days of the war, including colonies and former Axis nations. After the war ended, the Allies, and the Declaration that bound them, would become the basis of the modern United Nations ; one enduring legacy of the alliance is the permanent membership of
4292-436: The 15 bombs that struck the battleship penetrated her main deck armour belt. As a result, her guns, magazines, and machinery did not suffer serious damage. Most of the damage to the battleship was inflicted on her superstructure and between her armoured decks. The starboard aircraft catapult and crane were destroyed, as were both Tirpitz ' s Arado floatplanes. The number two starboard 150-millimetre (5.9 in) gun turret
4440-496: The 1920s, culminating in the invasion of Manchuria in 1931. The League of Nations strongly condemned the attack as an act of aggression against China; Japan responded by leaving the League in 1933. The second Sino-Japanese War erupted in 1937 with Japan's full-scale invasion of China. The League of Nations condemned Japan's actions and initiated sanctions; the United States, which had attempted to peacefully negotiate for peace in Asia,
4588-400: The Allied aircraft after the attack had commenced, and no Japanese fighters were encountered in the air. A Hellcat was shot down, and its pilot was rescued by Tactician while under fire from coastal artillery . Clifton led a group of fighter aircraft which drove off a Japanese torpedo boat that was threatening the submarine during the rescue. Eleven other American aircraft were damaged. As
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4736-475: The Allied fleet withdrew, it was approached by three Japanese Mitsubishi G4M torpedo bombers. All were shot down by Hellcats about 50 miles (80 km) to the north-east of the ships. Allied warships fired on Japanese aircraft twice during the night of 19/20 April. Some of the destroyers also fired at what turned out to be an Allied Douglas DC-3 transport aircraft that was flying from Cocos Islands with its identification friend or foe system turned off. During
4884-495: The Allies varied during the course of the war. When the conflict broke out on 1 September 1939, the Allied coalition consisted of the United Kingdom, France , and Poland , as well as their respective dependencies , such as British India . They were joined by the independent dominions of the British Commonwealth : Canada , Australia , New Zealand and South Africa . Consequently, the initial alliance resembled that of
5032-652: The American Harry Hopkins . It is also often called the "Strange Alliance", because it united the leaders of the world's greatest capitalist state (the United States), the greatest socialist state (the Soviet Union) and the greatest colonial power (the United Kingdom). Relations between them resulted in the major decisions that shaped the war effort and planned for the postwar world. Cooperation between
5180-630: The Arctic convoys. German submarines operating in the Norwegian Sea were rarely able to evade the convoy escorts, and few merchant vessels suffered damage from enemy attack. The British Government and Royal Navy were concerned about the threat Tirpitz posed once she re-entered service. Allied intelligence tracked the progress of work on the battleship using decrypted German radio signals, photo reconnaissance flights and eyewitness reports from agents in Norway. It
5328-639: The Barracudas; all three airmen died. The second wave landed on the carriers between 7:20 and 7:58 am. A damaged Hellcat had to ditch near the Canadian destroyer HMCS Algonquin and one of the Corsairs suffered heavy damage as a result of a landing accident; both pilots survived. During the period in which the air strikes were conducted, a force of 25 Wildcat and Supermarine Seafire fighters from 801 , 842 and 880 Naval Air Squadrons provided air defence for
5476-458: The Big Three leaders, although they were not enough to break the alliance during wartime. In 1942 Roosevelt proposed becoming, with China, the Four Policemen of world peace. Although the 'Four Powers' were reflected in the wording of the Declaration by United Nations , Roosevelt's proposal was not initially supported by Churchill or Stalin. Division emerged over the length of time taken by
5624-662: The British Government during the Second World War and made part of the British Army structure. It was mostly Greek Cypriot volunteers and Turkish Cypriot inhabitants of Cyprus but also included other Commonwealth nationalities. On a brief visit to Cyprus in 1943, Winston Churchill praised the "soldiers of the Cyprus Regiment who have served honourably on many fields from Libya to Dunkirk". About 30,000 Cypriots served in
5772-451: The British force caught Tirpitz by surprise. While the aircraft had first been picked up by a German radar station shortly after they crossed the Norwegian coastline, the battleship was not immediately warned. At the time of the attack Tirpitz was preparing to sail for her high-speed trials, and her crew were busy unmooring the vessel. Her five protective destroyers had already departed for
5920-498: The British were impressed with the more efficient ways Saratoga ' s crew managed flying operations. Clifton was made an honorary companion of the Distinguished Service Order for his role in the operation. The attack had no effect on Japan's military strategy or deployments. The aircraft in southern Malaya remained there, and no changes were made to the plans to resist the Allied landings at Hollandia. Shortly after
6068-637: The Cyprus Regiment. The regiment was involved in action from the very start and served at Dunkirk , in the Greek Campaign (about 600 soldiers were captured in Kalamata in 1941), North Africa ( Operation Compass ), France, the Middle East and Italy. Many soldiers were taken prisoner especially at the beginning of the war and were interned in various PoW camps ( Stalag ) including Lamsdorf ( Stalag VIII-B ), Stalag IVC at Wistritz bei Teplitz and Stalag 4b near Most in
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6216-529: The Czech Republic. The soldiers captured in Kalamata were transported by train to prisoner of war camps. After Germany invaded Poland, France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. In January 1940, French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier made a major speech denouncing the actions of Germany: At the end of five months of war, one thing has become more and more clear. It is that Germany seeks to establish
6364-406: The Declaration was signed by Iraq, Iran, Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia. A Tripartite Treaty of Alliance with Britain and the USSR formalised Iran's assistance to the Allies. In Rio de Janeiro , Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas was considered near to fascist ideas, but realistically joined the United Nations after their evident successes. In 1944, Liberia and France signed. The French situation
6512-402: The Eastern Fleet if it mounted a large scale attack. Land based naval bombers were assigned to counter Allied naval forces in the Indian Ocean. The attack force sailed from the Eastern Fleet's main base at Trincomalee on 16 April, and was led personally by Somerville from Queen Elizabeth . It comprised 27 warships from six navies; the historian H.P. Willmott has observed that Operation Cockpit
6660-594: The Eastern Fleet; this was done so that the British did not have to free up reinforcements for the Eastern Fleet by cancelling the planned Operation Tungsten carrier raid on the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway. Sabang island lies off the northern end of Sumatra . The island was used as a base by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies . Its location at
6808-714: The First World War . As Axis forces began invading northern Europe and the Balkans , the Allies added the Netherlands , Belgium , Norway , Greece , and Yugoslavia . The Soviet Union, which initially had a nonaggression pact with Germany and participated in its invasion of Poland , joined the Allies after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. The United States, while providing some materiel support to European Allies since September 1940, remained formally neutral until
6956-601: The German war machine. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland ; two days later Britain and France declared war on Germany. Roughly two weeks after Germany's attack, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east. Britain and France established the Anglo-French Supreme War Council to coordinate military decisions. A Polish government-in-exile was set up in London, joined by hundreds of thousands of Polish soldiers, which would remain an Allied nation until
7104-399: The Home Fleet. Nine Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers, which were also operated by 842 Naval Air Squadron, conducted anti-submarine patrols. No threat to the fleet developed, and Corsairs took over air defence duties at the conclusion of the two attacks. During the early afternoon of 3 April, Moore considered conducting a further raid on Kaafjord the next day. He decided against doing so as
7252-476: The Indian Ocean. The Allies were concerned about the Combined Fleet's intentions, and Somerville believed that his force would be unable to counter the fleet if it entered the Indian Ocean. As a result, additional Allied air units were dispatched to protect Ceylon. The United States Navy also agreed to temporarily transfer the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga and three destroyers from the Pacific to augment
7400-531: The Indian Ocean. The main goals of what was designated Operation Diplomat were to search for Japanese ships following an unsuccessful cruiser raid and link up with Saratoga . The operation also provided an opportunity to practice operating the ships together and refuelling at sea ahead of the fleet commencing offensive operations. The British ships departed Ceylon on 21 March, refuelled from tankers between 24 and 26 March and rendezvoused with Saratoga on 27 March. The carriers' aircraft exercised together during
7548-538: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, after which it declared war and officially joined the Allies. China had already been at war with Japan since 1937 , and formally joined the Allies in December 1941. The Allies were led by the so-called "Big Three"—the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States—which were the principal contributors of manpower, resources, and strategy, each playing
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#17328702056847696-435: The Japanese having a radar station and an airfield there. Somerville decided against further reconnaissance flights over the island due to the risk that they would alert the Japanese. Intelligence gained from breaking German and Japanese codes contributed to the planning for Operation Cockpit by allowing the Allies to track the locations of enemy warships and air units in the region. The Far East Combined Bureau also developed
7844-401: The League of Nations mandates of French Cameroun and French Togoland , French Madagascar , French Somaliland , and the protectorates of French Tunisia and French Morocco . French Algeria was then not a colony or dependency but a fully-fledged part of metropolitan France . Operation Tungsten 1942 1943 1944 1945 Associated articles Operation Tungsten was
7992-429: The Norwegian coast after decrypted German radio messages indicated that Tirpitz may have been preparing to depart Kaafjord for Germany to complete her repairs. A further eight British and Dutch submarines were dispatched on 18 March, but two days later it was concluded that Tirpitz was not about to put to sea and the submarines were diverted to other tasks or ordered back to port. On 21 March British intelligence warned
8140-466: The Orkney Islands on 30 March, three days after JW 58 had sailed from Loch Ewe in Scotland. Force Two departed separately later that day. The convoy comprised 49 merchant ships escorted by a powerful force of 33 warships, including two escort carriers. German reconnaissance aircraft located JW 58 on 30 March, and all of the U-boats in the Norwegian Sea were directed to intercept it. The German aircraft did not conduct wider-ranging sorties in search of
8288-410: The Pacific, resulting in the U.S. formally entering the war as an Allied power. Still reeling from Japanese aggression, China declared war on all the Axis powers shortly thereafter. By the end of 1941, the main lines of World War II had formed. Churchill referred to the "Grand Alliance" of the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union, which together played the largest role in prosecuting
8436-436: The Second World War. She was commissioned in February 1941 and completed her crew training late that year. At about the same time the German high command decided to station the battleship in Norway; this deployment was intended to deter a feared Allied invasion of Norway and threaten the convoys which regularly sailed through the Arctic Sea to the Soviet Union. These convoys carried large quantities of war material from ports in
8584-399: The Soviet Union, were accepted as members of the United Nations as a way to provide greater influence to Stalin, who had only Yugoslavia as a communist partner in the alliance. British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain delivered his Ultimatum Speech on 3 September 1939 which declared war on Germany , a few hours before France. As the Statute of Westminster 1931 was not yet ratified by
8732-441: The Soviet Union. Removing the threat posed by Tirpitz would also allow the Allies to redeploy the capital ships which had to be held in the North Sea to counter her. After four months of training and preparations, the British Home Fleet sailed on 30 March 1944 and aircraft launched from five aircraft carriers struck Kaafjord on 3 April. The raid achieved surprise, and the British aircraft met little opposition. Fifteen bombs hit
8880-517: The Treaty of Versailles and made claims over German-populated Austria and the German-populated territories of Czechoslovakia. The likelihood of war was high, but none of the major powers had the appetite for another conflict; many governments sought to ease tensions through nonmilitary strategies such as appeasement . Japan, which was a principal allied power in the First World War, had since become increasingly militaristic and imperialistic; parallel to Germany, nationalist sentiment increased throughout
9028-431: The U.N. Security Council , which is made up exclusively of the principal Allied powers that won the war. The victorious Allies of World War I —which included what would become the Allied powers of the Second World War—had imposed harsh terms on the opposing Central Powers in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919–1920 . Germany resented signing the Treaty of Versailles , which required that it take full responsibility for
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#17328702056849176-429: The UK and Iceland, and were frequently attacked by the German air and naval units stationed in Norway. Tirpitz arrived in Norway in January 1942 and operated from anchorages located in fjords. While she was operational the Allies had to keep a powerful force of warships with the British Home Fleet to guard against the possibility of a sortie against the Arctic convoys, and capital ships accompanied most convoys part of
9324-468: The UK and therefore also entered hostilities with Britain's declaration of war. At the outbreak of World War II, the British Indian Army numbered 205,000 men. Later during World War II, the British Indian Army became the largest all-volunteer force in history, rising to over 2.5 million men in size. Indian soldiers earned 30 Victoria Crosses during the Second World War. It suffered 87,000 military casualties (more than any Crown colony but fewer than
9472-485: The United Kingdom and the United States had cooperated in a number of ways, notably through the destroyers-for-bases deal in September 1940 and the American Lend-Lease program, which provided Britain and the Soviet Union with war materiel beginning in October 1941. The British Commonwealth and, to a lesser extent, the Soviet Union reciprocated with a smaller Reverse Lend-Lease program. The First Inter-Allied Meeting took place in London in early June 1941 between
9620-453: The United Kingdom and the United States was especially close and included forming a Combined Chiefs of Staff . There were numerous high-level conferences ; in total Churchill attended 14 meetings, Roosevelt 12, and Stalin 5. Most visible were the three summit conferences that brought together the three top leaders. The Allied policy toward Germany and Japan evolved and developed at these three conferences. There were many tensions among
9768-404: The United Kingdom). The UK suffered 382,000 military casualties. Kuwait was a protectorate of the United Kingdom formally established in 1899. The Trucial States were British protectorates in the Persian Gulf. Palestine was a mandate dependency created in the peace agreements after World War I from the former territory of the Ottoman Empire , Iraq . The Cyprus Regiment was formed by
9916-420: The United Kingdom, the four co-belligerent British Dominions (Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa), the eight governments in exile ( Belgium , Czechoslovakia , Greece , Luxembourg , the Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Yugoslavia ) and Free France . The meeting culminated with the Declaration of St James's Palace , which set out a first vision for the postwar world. In June 1941, Hitler broke
10064-536: The Western Allies to establish a second front in Europe. Stalin and the Soviets used the potential employment of the second front as an 'acid test' for their relations with the Anglo-American powers. The Soviets were forced to use as much manpower as possible in the fight against the Germans, whereas the United States had the luxury of flexing industrial power, but with the "minimum possible expenditure of American lives". Roosevelt and Churchill opened ground fronts in North Africa in 1942 and in Italy in 1943, and launched
10212-423: The aircraft of the first wave were dispatched successfully, and the force completed forming up at 4:37 am. Flying conditions remained perfect, and German forces had not detected the British fleet during its approach. The first wave headed for Norway at low altitude, flying just 50 feet (15 m) above the sea to avoid detection by German radar. The aircraft began to climb to a higher altitude when they reached
10360-456: The airmen of the 2nd Wing 829 NAS and 831 NAS were inexperienced, and the captain of Victorious estimated that 85 per cent of the aircrew embarked on his ship had not previously operated at sea. The training programme was centred on Loch Eriboll in northern Scotland which, like Kaafjord, was surrounded by steep hills. Flying from RNAS Hatston in the Orkney Islands, aircrew practiced manoeuvring around this terrain to familiarise themselves with
10508-498: The airmen were woken shortly after midnight, and attended a final briefing by Strike Leader Baker-Falkner from 1:15 am. The aircraft to be used in the strike were armed at this time, with all of the bombs being marked with messages for Tirpitz in chalk. The aircrew began boarding their aircraft at 4:00 am and flying-off operations started 15 minutes later; at this time the warships were 120 miles (190 km) from Kaafjord. Ten Corsairs drawn from 1834 and 1836 Naval Air Squadrons were
10656-584: The attack force reached Ceylon, Saratoga received orders to return to the United States for a refit . On Admiral King's suggestion, she and most of the other ships involved in Operation Cockpit conducted an attack on Soerabaya on her return journey. This raid, Operation Transom , was undertaken on 17 May. The Eastern Fleet made several other carrier raids during 1944, including a second attack on Sabang on 25 July designated Operation Crimson . This operation involved two British aircraft carriers, and included
10804-429: The attacking units included 28 New Zealanders, three Canadians, two Australians, and one South African; the remainder were British. The large number of warships assigned to the operation were initially split into two groups. Force One was personally commanded by Fraser on board the battleship HMS Duke of York , and also included Victorious , the battleship HMS Anson (with Moore and his staff on board),
10952-475: The battleship during the first attack. Most of these bombs did not penetrate the ship's armoured deck as they had been dropped from too low an altitude. Hundreds of members of the ship's crew died or were wounded; her commanding officer, Captain Hans Meyer , was among the wounded and intelligence officer Hugo Heydal assumed command. The battleship also drifted into the western shore of Kaafjord and ran aground, but
11100-492: The battleship was hidden by a smokescreen. A further four carrier raids were conducted against Kaafjord between 22 and 29 August during Operation Goodwood , but these caused only light damage to the battleship. In late August it was decided that further Fleet Air Arm attacks should not be attempted as the Germans were now able to cover Tirpitz in smoke before Barracudas could reach the battleship, and these aircraft could not carry bombs large enough to inflict heavy damage. As it
11248-426: The battleship was still capable of steaming within Kaafjord. Tirpitz ' s crew suffered heavy casualties in the attack. Overall, 122 sailors died and 316 were wounded; these casualties represented 15 per cent of the battleship's crew. Many of the casualties were anti-aircraft gunners who were killed or wounded by machine-gun fire from the British fighters. The British fighters also damaged four patrol craft and
11396-469: The battleship was unable to put to sea for crew training due to the threat of Allied attack and fuel shortages. These shortages also meant the Germans were unable to move the battleship between anchorages to make her more difficult to locate and attack. The options for attacking Tirpitz at Kaafjord were limited. Another submarine-borne raid was considered impractical as intelligence gathered from intercepted radio transmissions and field agents indicated that
11544-523: The battleship's underwater defences had been improved and more aerial reconnaissance patrols of the region were being flown. The commander of the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command , Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris , also refused to attempt a heavy bomber raid on Tirpitz on the grounds that the Kaafjord area was beyond the effective range of these aircraft and the battleship's guns would cause heavy casualties. After these two options were ruled out,
11692-439: The battleship, and strafing by fighter aircraft inflicted heavy casualties on her gun crews. Four British aircraft and nine airmen were lost during the operation. The damage inflicted during the attack was not sufficient to sink or disable Tirpitz , but she suffered considerable damage to her superstructure and unarmored areas, with 122 members of her crew killed and 316 were wounded. The German Kriegsmarine decided to repair
11840-422: The battleship, and works were completed by mid-July. The British conducted further carrier raids against Tirpitz between April and August 1944 in the hope of prolonging the period she was out of service, but none was successful. Tirpitz was eventually disabled and then sunk by Royal Air Force heavy bombers in late 1944. The threat posed by Tirpitz had an important influence on British naval strategy during
11988-420: The convoy's battleship covering force or other Allied ships. A total of 17 U-boats attacked JW 58 between 1 and 3 April without success; none of the Allied ships suffered any damage, and the escorts sank four U-boats and shot down six German aircraft during the convoy's voyage from Scotland to the Soviet Union. JW 58 reached its destination at Kola Bay on 6 April. While several Allied aircraft were lost during
12136-608: The declaration; the Big Four were listed first: The United Nations began growing immediately after its formation. In 1942, Mexico, the Philippines and Ethiopia adhered to the declaration. Ethiopia had been restored to independence by British forces after the Italian defeat in 1941. The Philippines, still owned by Washington but granted international diplomatic recognition, was allowed to join on 10 June despite its occupation by Japan. In 1943,
12284-407: The dive bombing of Tirpitz as it was hoped that these weapons would knock out at least some of the battleship's anti-aircraft guns before the main attack commenced. The Fleet Air Arm units selected for Operation Tungsten conducted intensive training from February 1944 under Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner with his very experienced 827 Naval Air Squadron and 830 Naval Air Squadron . A high proportion of
12432-469: The early hours of 19 April. The strike force began to be launched at 5:30 am; Illustrious dispatched 17 Barracudas and 13 Corsairs and Saratoga 24 Hellcats, 18 Dauntlesses and 11 Avengers. Of the Hellcats, 16 were to escort the strike force and 8 attack Lho Nga airfield in northern Sumatra. Clifton led the strike force while it was in the air. A combat air patrol comprising four Corsairs and eight Hellcats
12580-739: The end of the war—the United States were not looking to support any "postwar Soviet reconstruction efforts", which eventually manifested into the Molotov Plan . At the Tehran conference , Stalin judged Roosevelt to be a "lightweight compared to the more formidable Churchill". During the meetings from 1943 to 1945, there were disputes over the growing list of demands from the USSR. Tensions increased further when Roosevelt died and his successor Harry Truman rejected demands put forth by Stalin. Roosevelt wanted to play down these ideological tensions. Roosevelt felt he "understood Stalin's psychology", stating "Stalin
12728-648: The end. After a quiet winter, Germany began its invasion of Western Europe in April 1940, quickly defeating Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. All the occupied nations subsequently established a government-in-exile in London, with each contributing a contingent of escaped troops. Nevertheless, by roughly one year since Germany's violation of the Munich Agreement, Britain and its Empire stood alone against Hitler and Mussolini. Before they were formally allied,
12876-432: The escort carriers HMS Emperor , Pursuer and Searcher were to strafe anti-aircraft batteries near Tirpitz , as well as the battleship herself. Further aircraft flying from Furious and the escort carrier HMS Fencer would protect the fleet against attack by German aircraft or submarines. While carrier aircraft had previously lacked a bomb capable of penetrating a battleship's thick deck armour, it
13024-461: The first aircraft to be launched and were followed by the 21 Barracudas of 8 Wing; 827 Squadron was launched from Victorious and 830 Squadron departed from Furious . Seven of the Barracudas were armed with a 1,600-pound bomb, and the remainder carried multiple 500 or 600-pound weapons. Once the Barracudas were airborne the remaining escort fighters – 30 Wildcats and Hellcats from 800 , 881 and 882 Naval Air Squadrons – were launched. All
13172-408: The first two weeks of April, the Eastern Fleet finalised its plans for the attack and rehearsed the operation. This was to be the first aircraft carrier raid attempted by the Eastern Fleet. The Allies had little intelligence on the Japanese forces at Sabang, with holdings being limited to small numbers of aerial reconnaissance photographs. It was believed that the island was strongly defended, with
13320-572: The fleet's ability to conduct offensive operations until April, however, as priority needed to be given to escorting convoys. Also in early 1944, the Japanese military transferred its main naval striking force, the Combined Fleet , to Singapore . This was done to evacuate the fleet's bases in the central Pacific, which were now vulnerable to American attacks, and concentrate it at a location with good naval repair facilities and ready access to fuel. The Japanese did not intend any large-scale attacks into
13468-457: The fleet, but both Churchill and Cunningham were concerned that Tirpitz could be returned to service. Cunningham also regretted Moore's decision not to launch a further strike on 4 April. The two attacks on Tirpitz largely went to plan. The airmen found the defences and geography at Kaafjord to be very similar to the Loch Eriboll training range, and one of the post-attack reports stated that
13616-435: The force had an uneventful flight to the Kaafjord area. While the German defences were now alert, the artificial smoke screen being generated around Kaafjord was not yet sufficient to hide Tirpitz from view. The second attack on Tirpitz was similar to the first. It began with Hellcat fighters strafing the anti-aircraft batteries while Wildcats attacked the battleship. The fighters also attacked German ships in Kaafjord and
13764-426: The harbour installations were badly damaged. Few ships were in the area, though a merchant vessel was sunk and another driven aground . The fighter pilots claimed to have destroyed 21 Japanese aircraft at Sabang airfield and another three at Lho Nga. The British pilots failed to engage a number of worthwhile targets of opportunity . The Japanese at Sabang were taken by surprise. Anti-aircraft batteries began firing on
13912-403: The lightly protected upper decks of the ship if dropped from above 2,000 feet (610 m). The remaining ten aircraft would be armed with 500- and 600-pound general-purpose bombs and with anti-submarine bombs intended to inflict casualties among the battleship's crew and cause underwater damage if they exploded in the water near her hull. The aircraft carrying high-explosive bombs were to initiate
14060-419: The loch and repeatedly bombed. While these preparations were under way, the Allies continued to monitor Tirpitz . In late February the escort carrier HMS Chaser transported photo analysts and the ground crews for a Royal Air Force photo reconnaissance detachment to Vaenga airfield in northern Russia. These personnel were joined by three Supermarine Spitfires fitted for photo reconnaissance work and
14208-535: The main advocates of appeasement, decided that Hitler had no intention to uphold diplomatic agreements and responded by preparing for war. On 31 March 1939, Britain formed the Anglo-Polish military alliance in an effort to avert an imminent German attack on Poland; the French likewise had a long-standing alliance with Poland since 1921 . The Soviet Union , which had been diplomatically and economically isolated by much of
14356-643: The maximum attrition of his air and naval forces and shipping". In January 1944 the Admiralty , the British Government institution responsible for administering the Royal Navy , decided to substantially reinforce the Eastern Fleet. This had been made possible by the surrender of the Italian Navy in 1943, which removed one of the Royal Navy's main opponents and gave the Allies control over the Mediterranean Sea . The reinforcements which were scheduled to arrive over
14504-478: The next four months comprised 146 warships, and included three battleships, two aircraft carriers, fourteen cruisers and large numbers of destroyers and other escort vessels. The first substantial group of reinforcements reached the Eastern Fleet's base at Ceylon on 27 January; these included the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious , battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and Valiant and battlecruiser HMS Renown . Shortages of destroyers hindered
14652-637: The non-aggression agreement with Stalin and Axis forces invaded the Soviet Union , which consequently declared war on Germany and its allies. Britain agreed to an alliance with the Soviet Union in July, with both nations committing to assisting one another by any means, and to never negotiate a separate peace. The following August saw the Atlantic Conference between American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill , which defined
14800-472: The northern entrance of the Strait of Malacca made it strategically important. The IJN's 9th Base Force was the main unit stationed at Sabang, and was commanded by Rear Admiral Hirose Sueto from February 1944. The British believed that the island's garrison comprised 9,000 personnel. In late March the main body of the Eastern Fleet, including Illustrious , Renown , Queen Elizabeth and Valiant , sortied into
14948-430: The number of smoke generators located around Tirpitz was increased. Following Operation Tungsten, British intelligence assessed that Tirpitz would be repaired within six months. Accordingly, Cunningham directed Fraser on 13 April to launch another attack on the battleship. While Cunningham did not believe that Barracudas could carry weapons capable of sinking Tirpitz , he hoped that further air strikes would increase
15096-451: The operation by First Sea Lord Sir Andrew Cunningham . Fraser gave his second in command, Vice Admiral Sir Henry Moore , responsibility for planning and leading the raid in collaboration with Fleet Air Arm Wing Leader Lieutenant Commander Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner . The operation was initially designated "Operational Thrustful", but was later renamed "Operation Tungsten". The attack was originally scheduled for mid-March 1944, shortly before
15244-415: The operation had been "almost an exercise which they [the aircrew] had frequently carried out before". The official historian of the Royal Navy's role in the Second World War, Stephen Roskill , also judged that the strikes were "beautifully co-ordinated and fearlessly executed". The most important discrepancy between the plans for the operation and its execution was that many pilots dropped their bombs below
15392-570: The operation relayed that the Germans estimated that it would take months to repair the damage inflicted on Tirpitz . The commander of the Kriegsmarine , Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz , directed that the damage caused to Tirpitz during Operation Tungsten be repaired. Although the battleship was no longer capable of operating against Allied convoys for lack of air support, it was considered desirable to retain her in service in order to tie down Allied naval resources. Repair work began in early May after
15540-432: The parliaments of Australia and New Zealand, the British declaration of war on Germany also applied to those dominions . The other dominions and members of the British Commonwealth declared war from 3 September 1939, all within one week of each other; they were Canada , British India and South Africa . During the war, Churchill attended seventeen Allied conferences at which key decisions and agreements were made. He
15688-477: The period the battleship was out of service and harm her crew's morale. Fraser initially resisted Cunningham's order, arguing that the prospects for a successful raid were poor as the Germans would have reinforced the defences around Tirpitz and weather conditions were likely to be worse than those encountered during Operation Tungsten. He eventually relented, and Moore sailed from Scapa Flow on 21 April to attack Kaafjord again. This raid, designated Operation Planet,
15836-574: The period the ship was under repair, Scharnhorst , the only remaining operational German battleship, was sunk on 26 December during the Battle of the North Cape . Following this engagement the Royal Navy stopped deploying battleships to cover convoys travelling to and from the Soviet Union. By this stage of the war the Allies also had large numbers of anti-submarine and anti-aircraft escort ships available, and were able to assign strong forces to protect all of
15984-436: The preliminary assessment of photos taken during the attack had concluded that Tirpitz was badly damaged. Moore was also aware that his aircrew were fatigued, and was reluctant to expose them to what would now be alert defences. Accordingly, he ordered that the fleet return to base, and it arrived at Scapa Flow in the afternoon of 6 April. King George VI and Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent congratulatory messages to
16132-616: The raid the next day. Tirpitz 's anchorage at Kaafjord was protected by anti-aircraft batteries and fighter aircraft. At the time of Operation Tungsten, four batteries of heavy anti-aircraft guns and seven batteries of light guns were located on the shore near the battleship. Several anti-aircraft vessels and destroyers were also usually moored near Tirpitz . The battleship herself was fitted with 68 anti-aircraft guns. Equipment capable of generating an artificial smokescreen to hide Tirpitz from aircraft had also been installed around Kaafjord. The German Air Force ( Luftwaffe ) had only
16280-561: The return voyage, and the fleet arrived back at Ceylon on 2 April. The decision to attack Sabang was made in response to a request from the head of the US Navy, Admiral Ernest King . King asked that the Eastern Fleet undertake a raid in mid-April to prevent the Japanese from dispatching naval aircraft stationed in southern Malaya to attack the large Allied naval forces allocated to an amphibious landing at Hollandia in New Guinea on 22 April. At
16428-526: The severity of the economic crisis on the Treaty of Versailles. The far-right Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler , which had formed shortly after the peace treaty, exploited growing popular resentment and desperation to become the dominant political movement in Germany. By 1933, they gained power and rapidly established a totalitarian regime known as Nazi Germany . The Nazi regime demanded the immediate cancellation of
16576-444: The shore; this attack inflicted heavy casualties on the battleship's gunners, disabled her main anti-aircraft control centre and damaged several guns. The fighters also strafed several anti-aircraft ships in Kaafjord. The 21 Barracudas began their attack shortly afterwards, and hit Tirpitz with a general-purpose bomb, three 500-pound semi-armour-piercing bombs and three 1,600-pound bombs within 60 seconds. Overall, ten bombs struck
16724-443: The specified minimum altitude of 3,000 feet (910 m) in an attempt to improve their chances of hitting Tirpitz . The shorter than optimum flight times may have meant that some of the bombs which struck the battleship lacked the necessary velocity to penetrate her deck armour. Nine Royal Navy airmen died during the raid. While two bombs that exploded in the water near Tirpitz opened holes in her hull and caused flooding, none of
16872-408: The tactics needed to avoid German anti-aircraft guns and successfully attack Tirpitz . The Royal Navy drew on intelligence on the defences of Kaafjord to make the exercise range as similar to the conditions around Tirpitz as was possible, and the aircrew were extensively briefed on the locations of German positions. An area the size of the battleship was also marked out on an island in the centre of
17020-399: The task was assigned to the Home Fleet's aircraft carriers. At this time the large fleet carriers HMS Furious and Victorious and four smaller escort carriers were ready. Planning for the raid on Kaafjord began in December 1943. Vice Admiral Bruce Fraser , the commander of the Home Fleet, was not optimistic about the prospects for success, and had to be persuaded to undertake
17168-558: The time Allied intelligence believed Tirpitz would become operational. However, it was delayed by two weeks while Victorious was fitted with new radars. The British considered cancelling Operation Tungsten in February as Victorious was also needed in the Indian Ocean to counter a build-up of Japanese warships at Singapore. To enable the attack to proceed, the United States Navy agreed to temporarily transfer USS Saratoga to
17316-563: The trials area in Stjern Sound . The warning from the radar station arrived shortly before the British aircraft appeared over Kaafjord, and the battleship's crew were still in the process of moving to their battle stations when the attack commenced; at this time not all of the watertight doors were closed and some damage-control stations were not fully manned. As planned, the British raid began with Hellcat and Wildcat fighters strafing Tirpitz ' s anti-aircraft guns and batteries located on
17464-477: The unchallenged Japanese expansion in the East, particularly considering their defeat in previous wars with Japan; the Soviets also recognized, as the U.S. and Britain had suggested, the advantages of a two-front war . Franklin D. Roosevelt , Winston Churchill , and Joseph Stalin were The Big Three leaders. They were in frequent contact through ambassadors, top generals, foreign ministers and special emissaries such as
17612-474: The voyage, mostly to flying accidents, all of the ships arrived unscathed. Owing to a combination of favourable factors, Fraser decided on 1 April to bring the raid on Kaafjord forward by 24 hours. Decrypted German signals indicated that Tirpitz ' s trials had been delayed until 3 April, and Fraser hoped that an attack on this date would catch the battleship away from her usual well-protected mooring. Moreover, as JW 58's escorts were performing well and there
17760-606: The war, Britain could remain the sole great power in Europe facing the Communist threat, as it was in 1940 and 1941 against Nazism. During the early part of 1945, Peru, Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela, Uruguay, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria (these latter two French colonies had been declared independent states by British occupation troops, despite protests by Pétain and later De Gaulle) and Ecuador became signatories. Ukraine and Belarus , which were not independent states but parts of
17908-488: The war, lose a significant portion of territory, and pay costly reparations, among other penalties. The Weimar Republic , which formed at the end of the war and subsequently negotiated the treaty, saw its legitimacy shaken, particularly as it struggled to govern a greatly weakened economy and humiliated populace. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , and the ensuing Great Depression , led to political unrest across Europe, especially in Germany, where revanchist nationalists blamed
18056-417: The war. Each carrier had an air group made up of units from their parent navies. Illustrious embarked two squadrons equipped with 14 Vought F4U Corsair fighters each and two squadrons operating a total of 21 Fairey Barracuda torpedo and dive bombers . Saratoga ' s air group comprised a squadron with 26 Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters, a squadron with 24 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers and
18204-483: The war. The alliance was largely one of convenience for each member: the U.K. realized that the Axis powers threatened not only its colonies in North Africa and Asia but also the homeland . The United States felt that the Japanese and German expansion should be contained, but ruled out force until Japan's attack. The Soviet Union, having been betrayed by the Axis attack in 1941, greatly despised German belligerence and
18352-531: The warships were supporting the convoy. As part of the final preparations for the attack a full-scale rehearsal was conducted using the training range at Loch Eriboll on 28 March. From 1 April onwards, the Admiralty received hourly weather reports from a group of Norwegian Secret Intelligence Service agents in Alta , near Kåfjord . The Royal Navy assembled a powerful force for Operation Tungsten. The main striking force
18500-421: The way to the Soviet Union. The British attacked Tirpitz several times during 1942 and 1943 . When the battleship sortied to intercept Convoy PQ 12 on 6 March 1942 HMS Victorious , which formed part of the convoy's escort, attempted to attack her using torpedo bombers . These aircraft launched twenty torpedoes at the battleship but all missed. On several occasions during 1942 and 1943 bombers from
18648-513: The world, had sought an alliance with the western powers, but Hitler preempted a potential war with Stalin by signing the Nazi–Soviet non-aggression pact in August 1939. In addition to preventing a two-front war that had battered its forces in the last world war, the agreement secretly divided the independent states of Central and Eastern Europe between the two powers and assured adequate oil supplies for
18796-588: Was "perhaps the most cosmopolitan naval operation of the war". The Royal Navy contributed Illustrious , two battleships, one battlecruiser, four cruisers and seven destroyers. The American contingent comprised Saratoga and three destroyers. Other elements of the force included the recently-arrived French battleship Richelieu , Dutch cruiser HNLMS Tromp and a Dutch destroyer, the New Zealand cruiser HMNZS Gambia and four Australian destroyers. The Allied ships were organised into two task forces; Task Force 69
18944-543: Was "the most important of the Allied leaders during the first half of World War II". British West Africa and the British colonies in East and Southern Africa participated, mainly in the North African, East African and Middle-Eastern theatres. Two West African and one East African division served in the Burma Campaign . Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing colony, having received responsible government in 1923. It
19092-419: Was a battleship covering force comprising the three battleships, two cruisers and nine destroyers. Task Force 70 comprised the aircraft carriers, Renown , two cruisers and six destroyers. The submarine HMS Tactician was also stationed near Sabang to rescue any airmen who were forced down during the attack. This was the largest force the Eastern Fleet had been able to send into combat up to that point in
19240-427: Was achieved at 4:20 pm on 2 April. After the two forces met Duke of York , with Fraser on board, and two destroyers sailed to the north-west and took up a position where they would be able to intercept Tirpitz in the event that she had sailed from Kaafjord without being detected. The remainder of the Home Fleet proceeded to the strike's launching point. The attack was launched during the early hours of 3 April. All
19388-488: Was called off on 24 April due to bad weather over the target area. Two other attacks, Operation Brawn and Operation Tiger Claw, also had to be cancelled on 15 and 28 May respectively because of adverse weather. Further carrier raids were attempted in July and August after Allied intelligence determined that the repairs to Tirpitz were nearing completion. During Operation Mascot a force of 42 Barracudas and 40 fighters attacked Tirpitz on 17 July, but did not score any hits as
19536-414: Was considered too risky to attempt to move the damaged warship to Germany. Instead, equipment and work crews were shipped to the fjord from German ports. On the night of 10/11 February 1944, 15 Soviet aircraft attacked the battleship, but did not cause any damage. By 17 March, the repairs to Tirpitz ' s armament, machinery and hull were complete, but several minor repair tasks were outstanding. During
19684-516: Was especially angered by the invasion and sought to support China. In March 1939, Germany took over Czechoslovakia , just six months after signing the Munich Agreement , which sought to appease Hitler by ceding the mainly ethnic German Czechoslovak borderlands; while most of Europe had celebrated the agreement as a major victory for peace, the open flaunting of its terms demonstrated the failure of appeasement. Britain and France, which had been
19832-444: Was feared the battleship could sortie and attack convoys in the Norwegian Sea or Atlantic Ocean after the repairs were completed. The need to guard against this possibility would also occupy warships needed to support the planned invasion of France . As a result, it was decided in late 1943 to make further attempts to sink the battleship. Despite Allied concerns, Tirpitz posed only a limited danger to Allied shipping. From late 1943
19980-494: Was hoped that the recently developed 1,600-pound (730 kg) armour-piercing bomb would be able to pierce at least the first layer of Tirpitz ' s armour if they were dropped from an altitude of 3,500 feet (1,100 m) or higher. The damage caused by such hits was expected to put the battleship out of service. Nine of the Barracudas were to be armed with 1,600-pound bombs and a further 22 would each carry three 500-pound semi-armour-piercing bombs that were capable of penetrating
20128-443: Was knocked out, and the number three port 150 mm turret incurred significant damage. The officers' mess and several galleys were wrecked, and the ship was filled with smoke. Tirpitz ' s funnel was also struck by bomb fragments that badly damaged all of the boiler intakes. While the starboard turbine was knocked out by shock damage and two of the boilers were disabled after being contaminated by salt water used for firefighting,
20276-402: Was made in mid-March on the basis of a decrypted radio message that indicated that Tirpitz was almost ready for combat and would conduct high-speed trials on 1 April. As a result of the delays to the operation, the sailing of the attack force coincided with the departure of Convoy JW 58 for the Soviet Union. It was hoped that if German forces spotted the British fleet it would be assumed that
20424-406: Was made up of two wings of Barracudas: 8 Wing comprising 827 and 830 Naval Air Squadrons , and 52 Wing with 829 and 831 Naval Air Squadrons . While 8 Wing was normally based on board Furious and 52 Wing on Victorious , Moore chose to station a squadron from each of the wings on each carrier so they could launch simultaneously and go into battle as formed units. The 163 Fleet Air Arm airmen in
20572-426: Was maintained over the fleet. The attack on Sabang began at 7 a.m. Saratoga ' s aircraft arrived over the island at that time, and Illustrious ' began their attack from a different direction a minute later. The Allied bombers mainly attacked oil storage tanks, shipping and harbour installations. The fighters struck Sabang's airfield and Lho Nga airfield. Three of Sabang's four oil tanks were set on fire and
20720-596: Was no indication that Tirpitz would sortie into the open sea, Fraser judged that Force One no longer needed to provide support for the transports. Weather conditions were also unusually good for the Norwegian Sea in early Spring and were well suited to flying operations. After the decision to attack was made both tankers and two escorting destroyers detached from Force Two and proceeded to a point 300 miles (480 km) north-west of Kaafjord where they remained to supply any destroyers that ran low on fuel. The rest of Force Two altered course to rendezvous with Force One, and this
20868-457: Was not a sovereign dominion. It governed itself internally and controlled its own armed forces, but had no diplomatic autonomy, and, therefore, was officially at war as soon as Britain was at war. The Southern Rhodesian colonial government issued a symbolic declaration of war nevertheless on 3 September 1939, which made no difference diplomatically but preceded the declarations of war made by all other British dominions and colonies. These included:
21016-419: Was not launched due to engine problems. Only two of the Barracudas in this wave were armed with 1,600-pound bombs. As with the first strike, 40 fighters accompanied the torpedo bombers; these comprised 10 Corsairs from 1834 and 1836 Naval Air Squadrons, all of the 20 Wildcats assigned to 896 and 898 Naval Air Squadrons and 10 Hellcats from 804 Naval Air Squadron . All aircraft were launched by 5:37 am, and
21164-469: Was quickly refloated. One of 830 Squadron's Barracudas crashed following the attack with the loss of all three members of its crew. The surviving aircraft of the first wave began landing on the carriers at 6:19 am, and all were recovered by 6:42. The first aircraft of the second wave took to the air at 5:25 am. One of 829 Squadron's Barracudas crashed shortly after take-off, resulting in the deaths of its crew of three, and another aircraft from this squadron
21312-456: Was still seen as desirable to destroy Tirpitz , the task was assigned to Bomber Command. On 15 September a force of heavy bombers attacked Kaafjord after refuelling at bases in northern Russia and inflicted irreparable damage on the battleship. Following this, Tirpitz sailed to an anchorage near Tromsø to be used as an immobile coastal defence battery. Operation Obviate , another heavy bomber attack on 29 October caused only minor damage, and
21460-404: Was the first of several carrier raids conducted by the British-led Eastern Fleet during 1944 and 1945. It sought to prevent the Japanese from transferring forces in the area to contest a planned American landing in New Guinea . Sabang's defenders were taken by surprise, and the attackers encountered little opposition. The Japanese did not react to the operation as the Eastern Fleet was not seen as
21608-416: Was too anxious to prove a point ... he suffered from an inferiority complex." During December 1941, Roosevelt devised the name "United Nations" for the Allies and Churchill agreed. He referred to the Big Three and China as the " Four Policemen " repeatedly from 1942. The alliance was formalised in the Declaration by United Nations signed on 1 January 1942. There were the 26 original signatories of
21756-462: Was very confused. Free French forces were recognized only by Britain, while the United States considered Vichy France to be the legal government of the country until Operation Overlord , while also preparing U.S. occupation francs . Winston Churchill urged Roosevelt to restore France to its status of a major power after the liberation of Paris in August 1944; the Prime Minister feared that after
21904-470: Was weak. From January 1943 the fleet did not include any aircraft carriers and its three elderly battleships were transferred later in the year. The remaining force was capable only of protecting Allied shipping. Fortunately for the Allies, the Japanese did not attempt any large-scale operations in the Indian Ocean. This allowed the Eastern Fleet to focus on countering German and Japanese submarines and using its own submarines to raid Japanese shipping. At
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