# Operation Source attacks the Tirpitz (22 September 1943)

URL: https://allhistories.com/norway/timeline/1943-operation-source-attacks-the-tirpitz
Location: Kåfjord, Alta
Themes: Wars & Battles

On 22 September 1943 British X-class midget submarines attacked the German battleship Tirpitz at its anchorage in Kåfjord, an arm of the Altafjord in Finnmark. X6, commanded by Donald Cameron, and X7, under Godfrey Place, laid explosive charges under the battleship before being detected and abandoned; six crewmen were captured. The explosions badly damaged Tirpitz, which took on over 1,400 tons of water and was out of action for about six months. Six midget submarines were towed from Scotland by conventional submarines; three were assigned to Tirpitz, and X5 was lost with its crew. Nine British servicemen died and six were captured. Intelligence from the Norwegian resistance, notably the brothers Torbjørn and Einar Johansen, helped plan the attack. Cameron and Place received the Victoria Cross.

## Why it matters
The attack temporarily removed the main threat to Allied Arctic convoys and showed the value of Norwegian intelligence networks in the far north.

Ruler at the Time: [Haakon VII](https://allhistories.com/norway/rulers/haakon-vii)

Prime Minister of Norway (in exile in London): Johan Nygaardsvold (Labour Party)
Reichskommissar for Norway: Josef Terboven (Nazi Party)
Minister-President: Vidkun Quisling (National Unity)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Operation Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Source)
- [Wikipedia — German battleship Tirpitz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Tirpitz)
- [Store norske leksikon — X-Craft](https://snl.no/X-Craft)
- [Wikipedia — War & Occupation (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_occupation_of_Norway)