Battleplans
The operation was planned by Air Vice Marshal Ralph Cochrane of No. 5 Group RAF, and led by "Willie" Tait of No. 617 Squadron RAF. By this time the "Dambusters" squadron were an elite precision bombing force using Avro Lancasters equipped with the Stabilizing Automatic Bomb Sight and Tallboy bombs. Also taking part in the raid were the Lancasters of 9 Squadron, two B-24 Liberator transports carrying ground crews and spares, and a Mosquito for weather reconnaissance.
The Tirpitz was out of range for Lancasters based in Britain, so they had to fly from their bases in Lincolnshire to Lossiemouth, refuel and then fly to the Russian airfield at Yagodnik, 600 miles from Kåfjord.
The defence of the Tirpitz relied on the protection of the narrow fjord, coupled with a highly effective smoke screen system. A pipeline surrounded the fjord, allowing smoke to be generated with the turn of a tap; coupled with nearly 100 smoke pots the entire fjord could be filled with smoke in eight minutes. There were also flak batteries to augment the ship's own anti-aircraft guns.
Read more about this topic: Operation Paravane