Tirpitz was the second Bismarck class battleship of the German Kriegsmarine, sister ship of Bismarck, named after Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz. She was the largest battleship ever built in Europe, with dimensions slightly exceeding those of her sister ship. In contrast to Bismarck's short but active career in the Atlantic, Tirpitz spent most of World War II in various bases in German-occupied Norway, where her mere presence was a threat to the Allies, tying up significant naval forces. Due to her role deployment, she was dubbed the "Lonely Queen of the North" ("Den ensomme Nordens Dronning") by the Norwegians and much less poetic "The Beast" by Winston Churchill. Tirpitz never fired at an enemy ship, and participated in one combat operation which was the only time she fired against enemy ground targets. From 1943 onwards, she was the target of numerous Allied raids and attacks. On November 12th, 1944, Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster heavy bombers bombed and sank Tirpitz at her moorings.

This battleship was launched on April 1st, 1939, with the intention that she be deployed in a manner similar to the Bismarck, as a commerce raider to be sent against Allied merchant shipping in the North Atlantic. However, the loss of the Bismarck and other commerce raiders led to Adolf Hitler's losing faith in his surface navy, and instead she was ordered to be used for limited sorties.

Following the inception of the Arctic convoys and the Commando raid on Vgsy, the Tirpitz was sent to northern Norwegian waters in early 1942, where she spent most of World War II in the fjords, mostly in Kfjord a branch of the Altafjord. She acted mainly as a fleet in being, tying up Royal Navy and U.S. Navy resources. She made three offensive sorties during her stay in Norway, two in 1942, and one in 1943. Despite Tirpitz's very limited offensive use, the British armed forces had a significant fear of the potential for destruction that the Tirpitz represented to Allied shipping, and they decided to sink her while she was in port. Many operations were launched with this objective in mind, but none of these were completely successful in sinking her until she was bombed by Royal Air Force heavy Lancaster bombers and capsized on November 12th, 1944.

Shown here is a 1:1250 scale replica of the famed German battleship Tirpitz. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 9-inches

Release Date: May 2020