The German Battleship Tirpitz Was a Masterstroke of Psychological Warfare
Had London simply taken a step back and realized the Germans were disinterested in deploying the Tirpitz from its Norwegian redoubt, they probably could have avoided many mistakes.
A marvel of German engineering, the Bismarck-class battleship Tirpitz was designed to project power and challenge the British Royal Navy’s command of the High Seas. Displacing over 42,000 tons (standard), this battleship outlived its sister ship, the namesake of its class, the Bismarck. Although it saw relatively little action throughout the war, it performed a vital role for Germany’s Kriegsmarine throughout the Second World War: tying down the Allied navy.
The Tirpitz’ Specifications
Launched in 1939 and commissioned in 1941, the Tirpitz was one of the largest battleships ever built by Germany. Its main armament consisted of eight 15-inch guns mounted in four twin turrets, capable of delivering devastating salvos over long distances. Secondary batteries, anti-aircraft guns, and a top speed of 30 knots ensured that the Tirpitz served as a “fleet in being”—a strategic threat that tied up Allied resources and shaped naval warfare throughout the European Theater of World War II.
The Tirpitz had up to 320 mm of steel and reinforced decks to withstand aerial and naval bombardment. It was a true steel beast. Indeed, over the course of the war, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill would dub this menace of the North Atlantic as simply, “The Beast.”
The Battleship’s Changing Mission Set
The Tirpitz and the Bismarck were each meant to serve as commerce raiders, disrupting key Allied supply lines in the Atlantic and forcing the Royal Navy to divert significant resources to countering them.
But because of the relatively short lifespan of the Bismarck—which was lost after a pivotal sea battle in 1941—Berlin shifted the mission set of the Tirpitz in order to preserve it. Following the ship’s commissioning, it was deployed primarily to Norwegian waters, where it became a persistent menace to Allied convoys supplying the Soviet Union via the Arctic route.
Stationed in heavily defended fjords, such as those near Trondheim and later Altafjord, the Tirpitz posed a significant threat to Allied shipping without ever needing to fire its guns in a major engagement. Thus, the Tirpitz tied down significant Allied forces simply by existing and being stationed where it was.
The Tirpitz Was Germany’s Great Psych-Out
A great example of the indirect action that defined the Tirpitz’s war service was the destruction of Convoy PQ-17 in 1942. The mere threat that the battleship might deploy from its base in Norway prompted London to order the important supply convoy to disperse from its protective formation.
This, in turn, made the ships of the convoy vulnerable to the German U-Boats prowling the North Sea. Because of the mere fear of the Tirpitz, the Admiralty in London made the entire convoy vulnerable to the very real—and much more dangerous—threat of German submarines and warplanes. Ultimately, 24 of the 35 ships of Convoy PQ 17 were sent to the bottom of the drink, doing vast damage to the Allied war effort.
How the British Slew “The Beast”
The British obsessed over destroying the Tirpitz, but struggled to do so, given its hardened base and its varied layers of protection. After multiple attempts, the British were eventually able to use midget submarines in 1943 to place mines beneath the Tirpitz. This caused massive damage to the steel behemoth, putting it out of action for months.
As a testament to the incredible engineering of the Tirpitz, however, the great ship was merely damaged. Germany repaired the warship, and it once again terrorized the minds of Britain’s wartime leaders from its redoubt in Norway.
Finally, in 1944, as the war was decisively turning against Hitler’s Germany, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) penetrated Norwegian airspace in what became known as Operation Catechism. British Lancaster bombers, armed with “Tallboy” bombs—12,000-pound weapons designed to blast through thick armor—went hard after the Tirpitz.
Three of the Tallboys struck the Tirpitz near Tromsø, Norway. The bombs’ explosions were so massive that the German leviathan capsized—killing over 900 of its crew and permanently ending the perceived threat of the Tirpitz.
The Psychological Warfare Benefit of the Tirpitz
Germany’s Tirpitz is a testament of how nations in war can misinterpret the capabilities and intentions of their foes. Britain, despite possessing the world’s mightiest navy at the time, was constantly fearful of a true challenger arising to knock the Royal Navy off its pedestal.
This was a fear that transcended the Second World War. Every British leader—dating back to at least the 1780s—had a deep-seated fear that their maritime dominance would be ended by a rival state. In most cases, these fears were totally unfounded. In the case of Hitler’s Germany, the Kriegsmarine made life difficult for the Royal Navy, but the idea that this force would ever topple British sea power was ridiculous.
The Tirpitz was essentially a steel bluff meant to stymie British war plans by distracting the Admiralty. In that respect, the Tirpitz was possibly an even more effective strategic asset than its short-lived, more famous sister ship, the Bismarck.
That’s because the ship’s mere existence drove the superior Royal Navy crazy. Had London simply taken a step back and realized the Germans were disinterested in deploying the Tirpitz from its Norwegian redoubt, they probably could have avoided many mistakes—notably the loss of Convoy PQ-17. The battleship’s true value came in the psychological threat that it posed, rather than its somewhat more limited capabilities.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a contributor at Popular Mechanics, who consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
