Allied order of battle for Operation Mascot

Operation Mascot was an unsuccessful British carrier air raid conducted against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Kaafjord, Norway, on 17 July 1944. Few of the British airmen were able to spot the battleship, and their attacks did not inflict any significant damage. Tirpitz was eventually disabled and then sunk by Royal Air Force heavy bombers later in the year.

Home Fleet forces dispatched

Tirpitz during trials, September 1940

Fairey Swordfish

Destroyer Bulldog

The attack force comprised the following ships and Fleet Air Arm units:^[1][2][3][4]

Flagship of Admiral Henry R. Moore

1 King George V-class battleship (10 × 14-inch main btty, 28 kn): HMS Duke of York

First Cruiser Squadron

HMS Formidable

1841 Naval Air Squadron (18 Vought F4U Corsairs)

No. 8 Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance Wing

827 Naval Air Squadron (12 Fairey Barracudas)

830 Naval Air Squadron (12 Barracudas)

HMS Furious

880 Naval Air Squadron (12 Supermarine Seafires)

1840 Naval Air Squadron (20 Grumman F6F Hellcats)

842 Flight (3 Fairey Swordfish)

HMS Indefatigable

894 Naval Air Squadron (16 Seafires)

1770 Naval Air Squadron (12 Fairey Fireflys)

No. 9 Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance Wing

820 Naval Air Squadron (12 Barracudas)

826 Naval Air Squadron (12 Barracudas)

2 County-class heavy cruisers (8 × 8-inch main btty, 31.5 kn): HMS Devonshire, HMS Kent

1 Dido-class light cruiser (8 × 5.25-inch main btty, 32.25 kn): HMS Bellona

1 Fiji-class light cruiser (12 × 6-inch main btty, 31.25 kn): HMS Jamaica

Third Destroyer Flotilla

6 V-class: HMS Verulam, HMS Vigilant, HMS Virago, HMS Volage, HMCS Algonquin, HMCS Sioux

4 M-class: HMS Milne (flagship), HMS Marne, HMS Matchless, HMS Musketeer

1 S-class: HMS Scourge

1 Tribal-class: HMS Nubian (F36)

20th Escort Group

3 Captain-class frigates:^[a] HMS Burges (flagship), HMS Hoste, HMS Inman

1 B-class destroyer: HMS Bulldog

Strike force

The strike force launched in the early hours of 17 July comprised the following units:^[5]

• No. 8 Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance Wing (21 Barracudas)
• No. 9 Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance Wing (23 Barracudas)
• 1770 Naval Air Squadron (12 Fireflys)
• 1840 Naval Air Squadron (20 Hellcats)
• 1841 Naval Air Squadron (18 Corsairs)

Notes

1. Ex-US Evarts-class destroyer escorts

References

Citations

1. Roskill (1961), p. 156
2. Brown (1968), p. 40
3. Brown (1977), p. 36
4. "Admiralty War Diaries of World War 2: Home Fleet - July to August 1944". naval-history.net. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
5. Brown (1977), p. 37

Works consulted

• Brown, J.D. (1968). Carrier Operations in World War II : Volume One - The Royal Navy. London: Ian Allan.
• Brown, David (1977). Tirpitz: The Floating Fortress. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0853683417.
• Roskill, S.W. (1961). The War at Sea 1939–1945. Volume III: The Offensive Part II. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. OCLC 59005418.
• Tactical, Torpedo and Staff Duties Division (Historical Section) (2012) [1944]. "Naval Aircraft Attack on the Tirpitz (Operation 'Tungsten') 3 April 1944". In Bennett, G.H. (ed.). Hunting Tirpitz: Naval Operations Against Bismarck's Sister Ship. Plymouth, United Kingdom: University of Plymouth Press. pp. 133–177. ISBN 9781841023106.