Episode 839
Operation Goodwood (naval)
Thu, 2019-Aug-22 02:03 UTC
Length - 2:40
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.
The featured article for Thursday, 22 August 2019 is Operation Goodwood (naval).
Operation Goodwood was a series of British carrier air raids conducted against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Kaafjord, Norway, during late August 1944. It was the last of the attacks on Tirpitz made by the Home Fleet during 1944, to eliminate the threat Tirpitz posed to Allied shipping by badly damaging or sinking the warship. Previous raids on Kaafjord conducted by Fleet Air Arm aircraft had involved only one air attack; in Operation Goodwood several attacks were made in a single week. The Royal Navy hoped that these raids would wear down the formidable German defences.
The British fleet departed its base on 18 August and launched the first raid against Kaafjord on the morning of 22 August. The attack failed and a small raid that evening inflicted little damage. Attacks were conducted on 24 and 29 August and were also failures. Tirpitz had been hit by two bombs during the raid on 24 August but neither caused significant damage. British losses during Operation Goodwood were 17 aircraft to all causes, a frigate sunk by a submarine and an escort carrier badly damaged. German forces suffered the loss of 12 aircraft and damage to 7 ships.
In late August 1944, responsibility for attacking Tirpitz was transferred to the Royal Air Force. In three heavy bomber raids conducted during September and October 1944, the battleship was first crippled and then sunk. Historians regard Operation Goodwood as a significant failure for the Fleet Air Arm and attribute its results to the shortcomings of the force's aircraft and their armament.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 02:03 UTC on Thursday, 22 August 2019.
For the full current version of the article, see Operation Goodwood (naval) on Wikipedia.
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This has been Emma. Thank you for listening to featured Wiki of the Day.
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