Operation Goodwood (naval)

Operation Goodwood
Part of World War II
Barracuda bombers and Corsair fighters being armed on the flight deck of HMS Formidable during Operation Goodwood[1]
Date 22–29 August 1944 Location Kaafjord, Norway 69°56′07″N 23°02′43″E / 69.93528°N 23.04528°E / 69.93528; 23.04528 Result German victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Henry Moore	Wolf Junge[2]
Casualties and losses
17 aircraft 1 frigate sunk 1 escort carrier damaged beyond repair	12 aircraft 1 battleship lightly damaged 7 other ships damaged
Kaafjord class=notpageimage| Kåfjorden, a fjord in Alta Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway, which branches off Altafjorden

Operation Goodwood was a series of British carrier air raids conducted against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Kaafjord in occupied Norway during late August 1944. It was the last of several attacks made by the Home Fleet during 1944 which sought to damage or sink Tirpitz and thereby eliminate the threat it posed to Allied shipping. 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.