Operation Goodwood (naval)

Operation Goodwood
Part of World War II
Barracuda bombers and Corsair fighters being armed on the flight deck of HMS Formidable during Operation Goodwood
Date 22–29 August 1944 Location Kaafjord, Norway Result German victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Henry Moore	Wolf Junge
Casualties and losses
17 aircraft 1 frigate sunk 1 escort carrier badly damaged	12 aircraft 1 battleship lightly damaged 7 other ships damaged

Operation Goodwood was a series of unsuccessful British carrier air raids conducted against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Kaafjord, Norway, during late August 1944. It formed the last of several major attacks made by the Home Fleet during 1944 which sought to eliminate the potential threat Tirpitz posed to Allied shipping by badly damaging or sinking the warship. While each of the previous raids on Kaafjord conducted by Fleet Air Arm aircraft had involved only a single air strike, Operation Goodwood involved repeated attacks over a week. The Royal Navy hoped that these raids would wear down the formidable German defences.

The British fleet departed its base on 18 August, and launched the first raid against Kaafjord on the morning of the 22nd. This major attack was unsuccessful, and a small raid that evening inflicted little damage. Two further major strikes were conducted on 24 and 29 August, but without success. Tirpitz was struck by two bombs during the raid on 24 August, but neither caused significant damage. British losses during Operation Goodwood were 17 aircraft to all causes, and a frigate sunk by a submarine. An escort carrier was also badly damaged. German forces suffered the loss of 12 aircraft and damage to 7 ships.

Following Operation Goodwood, responsibility for attacking Tirpitz was transferred to the Royal Air Force in late August 1944. In three heavy bomber raids conducted during September and October 1944, the battleship was first crippled and then sunk. Historians regard Operation Goodwood as a significant failure for the Fleet Air Arm, and attribute its results to shortcomings with the force's aircraft and their armament.

From early 1942, Tirpitz posed a significant threat to the Allied convoys transporting supplies through the Norwegian Sea to the Soviet Union. Stationed in fjords on the Norwegian coast, the battleship was capable of overwhelming the close-escort forces assigned to the Arctic convoys or breaking out into the North Atlantic. To counter this threat, the Allies needed to keep a powerful force of warships with the British Home Fleet, and capital ships accompanied most convoys part of the way to the Soviet Union.

...
Wikipedia