Target Tirpitz is gripping WW2 storytelling at its best and a return to the RAF territory of Patrick Bishop’s bestselling Bomber Boys and Fighter Boys.From best-selling author of Bomber Boys, an account of the epic hunt for Hitler’s most terrifying battleship – the legendary Tirpitz – and the brave men who risked their lives to attack and destroy this most potent symbol of the Nazi’s fearsome war machine. Like Operation Mincemeat, this is gripping WW2 storytelling at its best.Target Tirpitz is gripping WW2 storytelling at its best and a return to the RAF territory of Patrick Bishop’s bestselling Bomber Boys and Fighter Boys.The Tirpitz, Hitler’s greatest weapon, was reputed to be unsinkable and the battleship inflamed an Allied obsession: to destroy her at any cost.More than thirty daring operations were launched against the 52,000 ton monster. Royal Navy midget submarines carried out an attack of extraordinary skill and courage against her when she lay deep in a Norwegian fjord in an operation that won VCs for two participants.No permanent damage was done and the Fleet Air Arm was forced to launch full scale attacks through the summer of 1944 to try and finish her off. But still the Tirpitz remained a significant threat to Allied operations.It was not until November 1944 that a brilliant operation by RAF Lancaster Bombers, under the command of one of Britain's greatest but least-known war heroes finally killed off Hitler’s last battleship.Full of colour, insight and drama, Target Tirpitz is an unputdownable account of one of the great epics of the Second World War.From best-selling author of Bomber Boys, an account of the epic hunt for Hitler’s most terrifying battleship – the legendary Tirpitz – and the brave men who risked their lives to attack and destroy this most potent symbol of the Nazi’s fearsome war machine. Like Operation Mincemeat, this is gripping WW2 storytelling at its best.The Tirpitz was the pride of Hitler’s navy, the largest and most powerful battleship in Europe. To Churchill she was ‘the Beast,’ a menace to Britain’s supply lines and a threat to the convoys supplying Stalin’s armies. To those who sailed in her she seemed impregnable, an ‘Iron Castle’ that could withstand any bomb or torpedo.Tirpitz haunted the imaginations of the men directing Britain’s war. The prospect that she might set up base on the French Atlantic coast led to the raid on St Nazaire, one of the most dramatic actions of the war. Plan after plan was hatched to send her to the bottom. From the first days, she was subjected to air attack but it was soon clear the RAF did not have the bombs to sink her. Nor were the torpedoes of the Fleet Air Arm any more effective. The failures forced attention onto unorthodox weapons. In 1942 ‘human torpedo’ teams launched a high-risk operation that ended in gallant failure. The following year, midget submarines carried out a daring and costly attack that left Tirpitz crippled, but only temporarily.In the end it was Bomber Command, led by one of Britain’s most remarkable but least-known war heroes, who finished her off. In the autumn of 1944, Wing Commander James ‘Willie’ Tait, a man of outstanding courage and modesty, led Lancasters from the famous 617 ‘Dambusters’ squadron and 9 Squadron on a series of raids that stretched endurance, skill and bravery to the limit. It ended with the destruction of the battleship that had come to symbolise the hubris of Hitler’s Germany.For all those who love books by Ben MacIntyre or Antony Beevor, this new Patrick Bishop title is full of colour, insight and drama. A triumphant return to the RAF territory of Bomber Boys and Fighter Boys, Target Tirpitz is unputdownable, Second World War storytelling at its best‘This is a great wartime story, gung-ho in its praise of the men who finally sank Tirpitz, yet compassionate towards her courageous crew. Already a bestselling war historian with his books on the RAF, Target Tirpitz proves that Bishop has sea legs, and this book should add another fleet of fans to his existing army of admirers.’Sunday TelegraphPatrick Bishop is the author of the critically acclaimed and best-selling ‘Fighter Boys’, ‘Bomber Boys’, ‘3 Para’ and ‘Ground Truth’. Previously, he was a foreign correspondent for over twenty years, reporting from conflicts all over the world.24 col plates, (Likely to include 24pp colour & b&w plates, several maps)A TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO THE RAF TERRITORY OF BOMBER BOYS AND FIGHTER BOYS FOR SPRING 2012• A return to Patrick Bishop’s best-selling military history market with the very human stories of the heroes who filled the skies during the Second World War.Patrick Bishop has sold OVER HALF A MILLION COPIES SOLD IN THE UK. OVER £4.5 MILLION WORTH OF BOOKS THROUGH TCM• Targeted consumer marketing campaign and promotion through partner websites such as History.co.uk and History Direct and print history magazines.• Series of videos with Patrick Bishop seeded online and available for all online retailers.• Major UK serial deal in national newspaper.• Lead review and feature coverage• BBC National Radio interviewsALL SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERS.ALL EPIC ACCOUNTS OF BRITAIN AT WARCompetition: Antony Beevor, Max Hastings, Ben MacIntyre,
Publicat de: HarperCollins Publishers