{"id":2493,"date":"2019-12-16T13:57:50","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T13:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nordnorge.com\/en\/?post_type=artikler&p=2493"},"modified":"2025-09-01T11:21:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T11:21:58","slug":"tirpitz-played-a-major-role-in-the-war-drama-in-northern-norway","status":"publish","type":"artikler","link":"https:\/\/nordnorge.com\/en\/artikkel\/tirpitz-played-a-major-role-in-the-war-drama-in-northern-norway\/","title":{"rendered":"Tirpitz played a major role in the war drama in Northern Norway"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t One of the great dramas of World War II was played out in Northern Norway; the gigantic German battleship Tirpitz kept huge Allied forces tied down for three years, before it was sunk in November 1944. Here you can find out what happened.\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n

Tirpitz was an enormous battleship in every way. With a length of 251 metres (823 ft), Tirpitz weighed over 50,000 tons when fully loaded. The steel in the hull was 30 cm (12\u201d) thick. Tirpitz had eight 38 cm (15\u201d) guns, some of the biggest naval guns ever built. The vessel had a crew of more than 2,600, including 100 officers. With a speed of 30 knots, Tirpitz was twice as fast as the Hurtigruten coastal express ships, which were faster than any of the Allied warships. All in all, Tirpitz was a formidable weapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Murmansk Convoys<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Why would the Third Reich have wanted to send its largest warship to a remote spot like Northern Norway? The answer was the Arctic convoys, the cargo ships full of tanks, ammunition and another war materiel that had been manufactured in Britain and the USA and sent to Murmansk to strengthen the Soviet Union\u2019s war effort. Hitler, of course, wanted to stop these convoys. The idea was also to keep the Allied naval forces occupied and prevent an Allied attack on Nazi-occupied Norway.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\t\tFrequently asked questions\n\t\t\t<\/h3>
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