Tirpitz was the second of two Bismarck-class battleships built for Nazi
Germany during World War II. The ship was laid down in November 1936 and
commissioned in February 1941. Tirpitz was armed with a main battery of
eight 38-centimetre (15 in) guns in four twin turrets. She was the
heaviest battleship ever built by a European navy. In early 1942, the
ship sailed to Norway to act as a fleet in being, forcing the British
navy to retain significant forces in the area. In September 1943,
Tirpitz, along with the battleship Scharnhorst, bombarded Allied
positions on Spitzbergen, the only time the ship's main battery was used
offensively. On 12 November 1944, British Lancaster bombers equipped
with 12,000-pound (5,400 kg) "Tallboys" bombed the ship, causing her to
capsize. A deck fire spread to an ammunition magazine causing a large
explosion. Between 1948 and 1957, the wreck was broken up in a salvage
operation. (This article is part of a featured topic: Battleships of
Germany.).
Read more:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Battleships_of_Germany>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1871:
The Duke of Buckingham formally opened the Brill Tramway
(locomotive pictured), a short railway line to transport goods between
his lands and the national rail network.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brill_Tramway>
1918:
The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force was founded, towards the
end of the First World War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force>
1970:
U.S. president Richard Nixon signed the Public Health Cigarette
Smoking Act into law, requiring that a prominent warning by the surgeon
general be placed on cigarette packages.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Health_Cigarette_Smoking_Act>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
couth:
1. (obsolete) Familiar, known; well-known, renowned.
2. (Scotland) Variant of couthie.
3. Agreeable, friendly, pleasant.
4. Comfortable; cosy, snug. […]
5. Marked by or possessing a high degree of sophistication; cultured,
refined.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/couth>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
When bad fortune occurs, the unresourceful, unimaginative man
looks about him to attach the blame to someone else; the resolute
accepts misfortune and endeavors to survive, mature, and improve because
of it.
--Anne McCaffrey
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anne_McCaffrey>