June 14, 1936 - Battleship "Tirpitz" is ordered
November 2, 1936 - Wilhelmshaven, Germany - "Tirpitz" is laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven
April 1, 1939 - Wilhelmshaven - "Tirpitz" is launched and christened, with Adolf Hitler in attendance
February 3, 1941 - Wilhelmshaven - "Tirpitz" is commissioned, with Käpitan zur See Karl Topp in command =(START)
March 9, 1941 - Wilhelmshaven - Departs Wilhelmshaven for Kiel
March 10, 1941 - Brunsbüttel - Anchors at Brunsbüttel, to enter the Kiel Canal on the next day
March 13, 1941 - Kiel - Departs Kiel for Gotenhafen
March 14, 1941 - Gotenhafen - Arrives in Gotenhafen
March 20, 1941 - Off Gotenhafen - Sea trials
May 5, 1941 - Gotenhafen - Hitler and Wilhelm Keitel visit the "Bismarck" and the "Tirpitz" in Gotenhafen
May 22, 1941 - Kiel - Returns to Kiel to complete her outfitting
May 27, 1941 - While in Kiel - Sister-ship "Bismarck" is sunk in the North Atlantic Ocean
July 21, 1941 - Kiel - Drydocked at Deutsche Werke Kiel
August 2, 1941 - Kiel - Undocked
September 27, 1941 - Gotenhafen - Returns to Gotenhafen
November 1, 1941 - Kiel - Drydocked at Deutsche Werke Kiel
November 30, 1941 - Kiel - Undocked
December 21, 1941 - Gotenhafen - Returns to Gotenhafen
January 11, 1942 - Kiel - Returns to Kiel
January 12, 1942 - Kiel - Departs Kiel for Wilhelmshaven
January 14, 1942 - Wilhelmshaven - Arrives in Wilhelmshaven. Departs Wilhelmshaven for Norway at night for "Operation Polarnacht", escorted by 4 destroyers
January 16, 1942 - Trondheim, Norway - Arrives in Trondheim, Norway
January 30, 1942 - Trondheim - Seven British Stirlings and nine Halifaxes attempt to attack the "Tirpitz" in Fættenfjord but fail to locate the battleship
February 24, 1942 - Trondheim - Vizeadmiral Otto Ciliax and his staff embarks "Tirpitz"
March 6, 1942 - Trondheim - Departs Trondheim to intercept British convoys QP8 and PQ12 in the Arctic
March 8(?), 1942 - Off Narvik(?) - The convoys are warned and the ships scatter. Ciliax cancels "Operation Polarnacht" and returns to Trondheim
March 9, 1942 - Bogen Bay, near Narvik, Norway - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 12 Albacore torpedo biplanes from aircraft carrier "Victorious". The german battleship avoids all torpedoes and shoots down two albacores before anchoring in Bogen Bay, near Narvik
March 13, 1942 - Trondheim, Norway - Returns to Trondheim
March 30, 1942 - Trondheim - 33 RAF Halifax bombers attempt to attack "Tirpitz" in Fættenfjord without success. Six bombers are lost in the attack
April 27, 1942 - Trondheim - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 29 RAF Halifax and 11 Lancaster bombers in Fættenfjord without success. Five bombers are lost in the attack
April 28, 1942 - Trondheim - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 23 RAF Halifax and 11 Lancaster bombers in Fættenfjord without success. Two bombers are lost in the attack.
May 31, 1942 - Trondheim - Grand Admiral Erich Raeder visits the battleship and spends the night aboard
July 2, 1942 - Trondheim - Departs Trondheim under command of Admiral Otto Schniewind to attack the convoy PQ17, together with "Admiral Hipper", 4 destroyers and 2 torpedo boats
July 4, 1942 - Kåfjord, near Alta, Norway - The group joins "Admiral Scheer" in Kåfjord
July 5, 1942 - Off North Cape, Norway - Battleship "Tirpitz", Heavy cruisers "Admiral Scheer", "Admiral Hipper", the destroyers "Friedrich Ihn", "Richard Beitzen", Z24, Z27, Z28, Z29, Z30, and the torpedo boats T7 and T15 depart Kåfjord. Later, the Soviet submarine "K-21" attacks "Tirpitz" with torpedoes but obtains no hits. Schniewind cancels their mission and returns home with the battle group. Although the battle group does not engage the enemy, the Luftwaffe and the U-boats manage to sink 22 merchantmen carrying 430 tanks, 210 planes, 3,350 vehicles and over 99,000 tons of material.
July 8, 1942 - Bogen Bay, near Narvik, Norway - The group anchors in Bogen Bay, near Narvik
October 23, 1942 - Bogen Bay - Departs Bogen and sails to Trondheim
October 24, 1942 - Trondheim - Begins a refit in Trondheim
February 24, 1943 - Trondheim - Kapitän zur See Hans Meyer takes command of the ship
March 22, 1943 - Bogen Bay - Steams to Altafjord with "Scharnhorst" and "Lützow", escorted by 3 destroyers and 4 torpedo boats
March 24, 1943 - Kåfjord, near Alta, Norway - "Tirpitz", "Scharnhorst" and "Lützow" are transfered to Kåfjord, near Alta. Trials until July
April 1(?), 1943 - Bear Island, Arctic Ocean - Scharnhorst, Tirpitz and 9 destroyers conduct a training mission to Bear Island
April 12(?), 1943 - Kåfjord - Returns to Kåfjord. Fuel shortages prevent major operations for the next months
September 6, 1943 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz", "Scharnhorst" and 9 destroyers depart Altafjord to attack the allied installation on the Island of Spitzbergen
September 8, 1943 - Off Spitzbergen - The group bombards Spitzbergen and destroys the port
September 9, 1943 - Kåfjord - Returns to Altafjord
September 22, 1943 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz" is attacked by the British midget submarines X-5, X-6, and X-7 in Kåfjord. After passing through the protective torpedo nets, X-6 places two mines of two tons each under the battleship's keel, and X-7 another one. The three midget submarines are sunk but the damage sustained is important and the battleship is out of action for the next six months.
November 1(?), 1943 - Kåfjord - Repairs begin in the "Tirpitz" (until February 1944)
February 12, 1944 - Kåfjord - Attacked by 4 soviet bombers without success
April 3, 1944 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 40 bombers from the carriers "Victorious", "Furious", "Emperor", "Searcher", "Fencer", and "Pursuer". The ship is hit by 10 bombs of 225 kg and 4 of 775 kg. The damage is heavy and casualties amount to 122 dead and 316 wounded. Later, a second wave has no success.
May 1, 1944 - Kåfjord - Kapitän zur See Wolf Junge takes command of the ship
July 1, 1944 - Kåfjord - Begins trials with escorting destroyers
July 17, 1944 - Kåfjord - 44 Barracudas lift off from the British aircraft carriers Formidable, Indefatigable and Furious, however, the Germans are alerted and establish shore-based smoke screen, thwarting the attack
August 1, 1944 - Kåfjord - Finishes trials
August 22, 1944 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 32 Barracudas from british carriers "Indefatigable", "Furious", "Formidable", "Nabob", and "Trumpeter", with no success.
August 24, 1944 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 33 Barracudas from british carriers "Indefatigable", "Furious", and "Formidable". Two bombs hit the ship, causing 8 dead and 13 wounded.
August 29, 1944 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 26 british Barracudas, with no success.
September 15, 1944 - Kåfjord - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 27 british Lancasters from Yagodnik near Archangel. The battleship is hit on the forecastle by a 5.4-ton "Tallboy" bomb. The damage is severe and the battleship requires extensive repairs
October 29, 1944 - South of Håkøya Island - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 32 british Lancasters of the famous 617th Dam Buster Squadron, without success.
November 4, 1944 - South of Håkøya Island, W. of Tromsø - Kapitän zur See Robert Weber takes command of the ship
November 12, 1944 - South of Håkøya Island, W. of Tromsø, Norway - "Tirpitz" is attacked by 32 british Lancaster bombers. The battleship is hit by two "Tallboy" bombs on the port side amidship and capsizes, causing 971 dead =(END)
