The German Battleship Tirpitz, launched in 1941, was thought to be unsinkable it was dubbed The Beast after ten attempts made by the British and Russian forces against it failed. It was one of the Nazis’ mightiest sea vessels and it posed an immense threat to convoys of ships that traveled from Scotland to Russia carrying weapons and supplies.
However, September 22, 1943 is marked as the start of the fall of this great German floating fortress, along with two other warships.
On this said day, six Royal Navy midget subs called X-craft were hauled to the Norwegian Coast from Loch Cairnbawn to launch an attack against Tirpitz. And they succeed!
Starting an explosive offense, the mini subs victoriously crippled the battleship leaving it susceptible to more attacks.
Finally, on November 12, 1944, the Royal Air Force finished the deed the subs initiated – 29 Lancasters rained bombs on the Tirpitz, the attack so precise that in no more than 10 minutes after the first bombs hit the warship, the vessel tipped over, a sure sign of defeat.
That fateful date in 1943 is recalled by a memorial at a estuary in Assynt, Sutherland. Community councils of Assynt and Scourie aided in organizing the said event, which is in honor of the X craft crews, near Kylesku Bridge.