Tirpitz - The First Voyage (Images Of War - Rare Photographs From Wartime Archives)

The KMS Tirpitz was the second of two Bismarck Class Schlachtschiff constructed for use by the Kriegsmarine, and to this day she remains the heaviest warship of any capital or Battleship class to be ever constructed by any European Naval Power. Named in honour of the German Naval hero Alfred von Tirpitz, she was laid down on 2 November 1936 at the Kriegsmarinewerft Naval Dockyards in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Successfully launched and christened on 1 April 1939 by the daughter of her namesake, she entered service and was commissioned by the Kriegsmarine on 25 February 1941. By the time of her entry into service, she had undergone extensive modifications including the fitting of additional FLAK and secondary armaments as well as sea and air search radar, and was when commissioned an even more potent threat then her sister ship KMS Bismarck. Her main weapons were her battery of eight 15 in guns in four twin turrets, supported by 44 secondary gun mounts and 70 FLAK Mounts. Additionally she carried 8 above water torpedo tubes and an aircraft catapult, hangers and 4 seaplanes, her maximum sea speed was a healthy 30 knots and her operational range was 8870 Nautical Miles. The combined Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine crew that manned her was 103 Officers and 1962 Ratings. This photographic examination of her early years of service life and her crew by long term writing duo Jonathan Sutherland and Diane Canwell is based upon a unique and never before published Kriegsmarine Officers personal photo album, which chronicles his experiences from 1930 to 1947. Wilhelm Rosenbaum (born 1919) served on board the warship as part of the seaplane detachment as a Naval Observer (Aircrew) from April 1942 through to March 1944, and his invaluable album of images provides a photographic record of life on board KMS Tirpitz as well as of her Aircrew and Aircraft operations. After surviving the war he was held as a POW by France, before being finally released in 1947. This WWII military history presents stunning, never-before-published photographs from life aboard the infamous German Battleship Tirpitz . The photos in this book are taken from an unpublished album that belonged to a Tirpitz crewmember. It is a little-known fact that before the start of World War Two, the ship went on a shakedown voyage into the Atlantic, traveling north into Arctic waters and south into the more tropical climbs of the Caribbean. There are superb photos of the officers and crew both above and below decks, including some unique shots of the crew during their stint on a magnificent sail training vessel. Other stunning images show the vessels mighty weapons engaged in gunnery practice during her sea trials. This unique collection gives a close-up view of one of the most powerful ships of World War Two, a ship that proved to be a persistent thorn in the side of the Royal Navy until it was sunk in Norway towards the end of the war. The photos in this book are taken from an unpublished album belonged to a member of the crew of famous German Battleship Tirpitz. It is a little known fact that before the start of World War Two the ship went on a shakedown voyage into the Atlantic, traveling north into Arctic waters and south into the more tropical climbs of the Caribbean. There are superb photos of the officers and crew both above and below decks, including some unique shots of the crew during their stint on a magnificent sail training vessel. Other stunning shots show the vessels mighty weapons during gunnery practice during her sea trials. This unique collection gives a close up view of one of the most powerful ships of World War Two, a ship that proved to be a persistent thorn in the side of the Royal Navy until sunk in Norway towards the end of the war. [Elib].

The photos in this book are taken from an unpublished album belonged to a member of the crew of famous German Battleship Tirpitz. It is a little known fact that before the start of World War Two the ship went on a shakedown voyage into the Atlantic, traveling north into Arctic waters and south into the more tropical climbs of the Caribbean. There are superb photos of the officers and crew both above and below decks, including some unique shots of the crew during their stint on a magnificent sail training vessel. Other stunning shots show the vessels mighty weapons during gunnery practice during her sea trials. This unique collection gives a close up view of one of the most powerful ships of World War Two, a ship that proved to be a persistent thorn in the side of the Royal Navy until sunk in Norway towards the end of the war.