Waspie
SMF Supporter
Added to that were the waiting surface ships in the North Sea just waiting for her to sail. In addition to the X Craft, there was a submarine on permanent station waiting for the big boys to try and run for it. There was a report I read donkeys years ago when in the RN about one occasion one of the pocket battleships attempted to leave, destroyer escort, Q ship etc. The duty on station submarine sank the Q Ship with a six salvo of torpedoes and the 'fleet' returned to the Fjord and never moved again!!'Fraid not Tim. In September 1943, she was also attacked by midget submarines. The attack severely damaged the ship....
Ron, very many thanks for that. I did wonder. Many years ago I did a NATO exercise in the Norwegian Fjords with smaller FAC's. One of the sorties we conducted was called a CAMEX or camouflage exercise! The vessels would hide using whatever they could to disguise their presence. Natural foliage, Cam Nets etc. Very very effective. We would then fly in the Fjords and attempt to locate them. Not so easy as it sounds in reality. The one thing that we discovered they had problems disguising were the fore and aft mooring ropes/hawsers.Thanks Doug. and Tim.
Doug. Thanks for the question.
Tirpitz had many colour schemes.
She spent most of her short life in the Norwegian Fjords. 'A Fleet in being', She had to be constantly watched by the Allies in case she broke out in to the Atlantic and attacked convoys.
Because she was mostly at anchor, she had to be painted to match the shoreline which she hugged. Hence the changing colours to match the seasons.
I spotted these patterns on the internet. Take a look at WW2 German Battleship Camouflage. Some weird painting. At one time Tirpitz was painted like a row of houses! Now there's a challenge!
Cheers chaps.
Ron
I could see it being very difficult for the larger vessels to apply netting and foliage system. Your reply answers that nicely. I thank you.
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