in the chilling embrace of the Arctic Circle, near the secluded fjords of Tromsø in northern Norway, a squadron of thirty British Lancaster bombers sliced through the sky. The pilots, among the most skilled and courageous of Britain’s airmen, were on a mission that could tip the balance of the war. Their target was none other than the German battleship Tirpitz—a massive fortress of steel and firepower that represented the pride and terror of the Nazi regime.
Known across Europe as a symbol of maritime might, the Tirpitz was celebrated by Hitler himself as "the Pride of the German Navy." To the Allies, however, this was no mere vessel. Winston Churchill referred to it as “the Beast,” a supreme menace lurking in the icy waters—a direct threat to the lifeline of the Allied war effort.