Operation Mascot

Operation Mascot
Part of World War II
Corsair fighters and Barracuda bombers ranged on the flight deck of HMS Formidable during operations off Norway in July 1944
Date 17 July 1944 Location Kåfjord, Norway Result German victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Henry Moore	Wolf Junge
Strength
44 dive bombers 40 fighters	One battleship Anti-aircraft batteries and ships
Casualties and losses
Three aircraft	One patrol craft 2 U-boats sunk

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. The attack was one of a series of strikes against the battleship launched from aircraft carriers between April and August 1944, and was initiated after Allied intelligence determined that the damage inflicted during the Operation Tungsten raid on 3 April had been repaired.

A force of 44 British dive bombers and 40 fighters took off from three aircraft carriers in the early hours of 17 July. German radar stations detected these aircraft while they were en route to Kaafjord, and Tirpitz was protected by a smoke screen by the time the strike force arrived. Few of the British airmen were able to spot the battleship, and their attacks did not inflict any significant damage. German losses were limited to a patrol craft, and three British aircraft were destroyed or damaged beyond repair by Kaafjord's defenders. A group of German submarines attempted to intercept the carrier force as it returned to base, without success. Two U-boats were sunk near the carriers by British patrol aircraft and several others were damaged.

In August 1944, the Royal Navy conducted Operation Goodwood, four more carrier raids against Tirpitz which also failed and the task of sinking the battleship was transferred to the Royal Air Force.