Battleship Tirpitz

Naval art prints of the German Battleship Tirpitz by naval artist Randall Wilson, Robert Taylor and Ivan Berryman.

German surface raider Tirpitz, sister ship to the Bismarck, built at Wilhelmshaven navy yard and launched 1st May 1939 and commissioned into the German navy 27th February 1942. The Tirpitz played a major role during the Norwegian campaigns until being crippled by mines laid by British midget submarines X6 and X7, and later hit by tallboy bombs and capsizing in 1944 with the loss of 1204 crew.

Commanders of the Tirpitz. From February 1941 to February 1943, Kapitan zur See Karl Topp. From February 1943 to may 1944, Kapitan zur see Hans Meyer. From May 1944 to November 1944 Kapitan zur see Wolf Junge. From November 1944 Kapitan zur see Robert Weber

Floating Fortress by Randall Wilson.
7 editions.
2 of the 7 editions feature an additional signature.
£2.20 - £400.00

Time to Move by Randall Wilson.
6 editions.
One edition features an additional signature.
£2.20 - £500.00

Attack on the Tirpitz by Stan Stokes.
One edition.
£35.00

Eismeer Patrol by Anthony Saunders.
4 editions.
All 4 editions feature up to 2 additional signature(s).
£90.00 - £300.00

Knight's Move by Robert Taylor
3 of 6 editions available.
3 of 5 editions featuring up to 10 additional signatures are available.
£250.00 - £395.00

The Hunters by Randall Wilson.
9 of 10 editions available.
All 4 editions featuring an additional signature are available.
£2.20 - £3400.00

Tirpitz by Randall Wilson.
6 editions.
£2.20 - £2900.00

Tirpitz in Kaafjord by Ivan Berryman.
7 of 8 editions available.
All 2 editions featuring an additional signature are available.
£40.00 - £500.00

Tirpitz Passing Through Kiel Canal by Ivan Berryman
8 editions.
One edition features an additional signature.
£2.20 - £4800.00

The Sinking of The Tirpitz by Gerald Coulson.
This single edition is sold out.

Text for the above items :

Floating Fortress by Randall Wilson.

The Tirpitz showing her last paint scheme, she sailed from Kaafjord to Hakoy island, Tromso Fjord it was to be her final resting place. Hit by tallboy bombs she capsized and sank.

Time to Move by Randall Wilson.

Battleship Tirpitz weighs anchor and ups steam to move out of Alta Fjord 1944.

Attack on the Tirpitz by Stan Stokes.

On November 2, 1936 the keel was laid for a new German 35,000 ton-class battleship. On April 1, 1939 the new ship was christened the Tirpitz, and by February of 1941 the giant ship had entered service. The hull of the Tirpitz was 90% welded, and the battleship was very heavily armored, rendering it almost unsinkable in the minds of German naval strategists. In service the Tirpitz actually displaced closer to 53,000 tons. With a crew slightly in excess of 2,000 the ship was capable of making 29 knots. With a range of more than 9,000 miles at a speed of 16 knots, the Tirpitz was certain to take a heavy toll on Allied shipping in the North Atlantic. The Royal Navy and RAF determined that the Tirpitz must never be allowed to become an effective convoy buster, and a multi-year campaign of harassment of the huge German warship was undertaken. In July of 1940, while the ship was still being outfitted, an air attack was launched with little significant damage. After completing its sea trials the Tirpitz was based at the Faettenfjord in Norway. The Tirpitz unsuccessfully attacked two convoys in March of 1942, and itself was attacked by a flight of 12 Albacore torpedo bombers. Three more bombing attacks by Halifax and Lancaster bombers took place in March and April with only marginal success. In July the Tirpitz was moved to Altafjord, and in that month it again attacked a convoy with no success. In October the great ship was sent back to Faeteenfjord for servicing. In 1943 several midget submarine attacks were launched at the battleship, but again with no meaningful impact. No air attacks took place in 1943. In early 1944 the Tirpitz was the target for Soviet bombers, but once again the ship pulled through unscathed. In April of 1944 the Brits once again joined the attack and the Royal Navy sent a large group of 40 Barracudas with about 40 escort fighters to attack the battleship at Kaalfjord. This attack resulted in fifteen hits, generated 400 casualties, and did some serious damage to the upper deck. Follow-up air attacks were called off by bad weather, and it was not until August that three more raids took place. None of these had much impact. In September the Brits changed strategies and commenced attacks on the Tirpitz using 11,000-pound Tallboy bombs. A flight of 32 Lancasters delivered 29 Tallboys to the target in November of 1944. Two direct hits and one near miss were recorded. The great battleships armored deck was pierced by the huge bombs, its magazine exploded, and the ship capsized and sunk with more than 1200 killed. In Stan Stokes painting the attack of April 3, 1944 that was code-named Operation Tungsten is depicted. The Fairey Barracuda despite an ungainly appearance was produced in large numbers (2,500) for use as Royal Navy dive and torpedo bombers. With a crew of 3 and a top speed of only 238-MPH the Barracuda required fighter support during most of its missions to prevent it from becoming an easy target for Axis fighters.

Eismeer Patrol by Anthony Saunders.

On the morning of 11th March 1943, Fw190s from IV./JG5 took off from their base to escort the mighty battleship Tirpitz and a screening fleet of escort destroyers and torpedo boats, at the start of a voyage north to Bogen Bay during Operation Rostock. Designed to escape the increasingly frequent British bombing raids, Tirpitz would leave southern Norway to join an impressive German naval battle fleet gathering near Narvik, one of the largest German naval bases in Norway. Together with the Scharnhorst, the heavy cruiser Lutzow, and the light cruiser Nurnberg, they would pose a grave threat to the Arctic convoys. After repeated attempts to sink her, Tirpitz was eventually destroyed by the RAF at her anchorage in Altenfjord, 12th November 1944.

Knight's Move by Robert Taylor

The awesome battleship Tirpitz under the command of Admiral Schniewind, in company with battleships Scheer and Hipper, setting sail during Operation Rosselsprung, destined for the open sea and the North Atlantic convoy traffic. Messerschmitt Me109s of JG5, based at Petsamo, provide overhead cover while flotilla escort vessels make up the fearsome armada. The magnificent Norwegian mountains provide a spectacular backdrop this comprehensively realistic and stirring World War Two image.

The Hunters by Randall Wilson.

The mighty German battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz operated together for only 6 hours on the 18th May 1941.

Tirpitz by Randall Wilson.

Flanked by destroyers, Tirpitz departs Altafjord, July 1942. Passing her port bow is a Focke-Wulf FW200 Condor C3, outbound for Recon duties. Fighter escort was performed by Me110s.

Tirpitz in Kaafjord by Ivan Berryman.

The mighty Tirpitz demonstrates the effectiveness of her splinter camouflage, surrounded by her net defences at Kaafjord in the Winter of 1943-44.

Tirpitz Passing Through Kiel Canal by Ivan Berryman

The mighty Kriegsmarine battleship Tirpitz passes under the iconic Levensau High Bridge over the Kiel Canal.

The Sinking of The Tirpitz by Gerald Coulson.

One secondary market remarque print available, numbered 398 / 500.

Tirpitz. German surface raider Tirpitz, sister ship to the Bismarck, built at Wilhelmshaven navy yard and launched 1st May 1939 and commissioned into the German navy 27th February 1942. The Tirpitz played a major role during the Norwegian campaigns until being crippled by mines laid by British midget submarines X6 and X7, and later hit by tallboy bombs and capsizing in 1944 with the loss of 1204 crew.

The German battleship Tirpitz had a main armament of eight 15-inch guns and 12 6-inch guns with a secondary armament of 16 4-inch guns and 16 1.5inch AA guns. Her top speed was 32 knots, with a compliment of 2400.