Operation Sportpalast

Operation Sportpalast
Part of World War II
Fairey Albacore aircraft taking off from HMS Victorious to attack Tirpitz on the morning of 9 March 1942
Date 6–13 March 1942 Location Norwegian Sea Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
Germany	United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Otto Ciliax	John Tovey
Strength
1 battleship 3 destroyers 8 submarines	2 battleships 1 battlecruiser 1 aircraft carrier 1 cruiser 12 destroyers
Casualties and losses
1 aircraft	2 aircraft 1 merchant ship 1 armed whaler

Operation Sportpalast (German: Sports Palace), also known as Operation Nordmeer (German: Northern Sea), was a German naval raid between 6 and 13 March 1942 against two of the Allied Arctic convoys of World War II as they passed through the Norwegian Sea. It was conducted by the battleship Tirpitz, three destroyers and eight submarines. The German ships were unable to locate either of the convoys but sank a merchant vessel that was sailing independently. The Allies attempted to intercept the German force, also without success.

The operation was the first major German attack on the convoys that were travelling to and from the Soviet Union and used warships that had been transferred to occupied Norway in early 1942. Tirpitz and her escorts sailed on 6 March. The Allies learned of this from decoded German radio signals, and the British Home Fleet attempted to locate and destroy the German force. This intelligence was also used to re-route the convoys to evade Tirpitz. The British located the German battleship on the morning of 9 March, by which time she was returning to Norway. An attack against Tirpitz by torpedo bombers flying from the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious failed and two British aircraft were shot down. The German ships returned to their base on 13 March.

The British were disappointed with their failure to damage or sink Tirpitz. This was attributed to shortcomings with the aircraft and tactics used. They believed that the battleship posed a significant threat to the convoys, leading to strong escorts being assigned to them. The German Navy was chastened by how close Tirpitz came to disaster and decided to be more cautious. The battleship was only dispatched against one other convoy, PQ 17 in June 1942 and was recalled before attacking it. She was subjected to many attacks at her anchorages in Norway and finally sunk in November 1944.