Operation Mascot was an unsuccessful British air raid on the German battleship Tirpitz which took place during the early hours of 17 July 1944. One of a series of aircraft carrier strikes between April and August 1944 against the battleship at anchor in Kaafjord, Norway, the raid was conducted by 44 British dive bombers and 40 fighters from three carriers. They were detected en route by German radar stations, and Tirpitz was protected by a smoke screen by the time they arrived. Few of the British airmen were able to spot the battleship, and their attacks did not inflict any significant damage. German losses were limited to a patrol craft damaged beyond repair; three British aircraft were destroyed or damaged beyond repair by Kaafjord's defenders. Two U-boats from a group attempting to intercept the carrier force were sunk by British patrol aircraft, and several others were damaged. Despite the failure of Operation Mascot, the Royal Navy attempted four further carrier raids against Tirpitz during August 1944. These attacks were also unsuccessful, and the task of sinking the battleship was transferred to the Royal Air Force.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mascot
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1791:
French Revolution: Members of the National Guard fired into a large crowd that was gathered at the Champ de Mars, Paris to sign a petition demanding the removal of King Louis XVI. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champ_de_Mars_Massacre
1863:
The New Zealand Wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the Waikato. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Waikato
1918:
RMS Carpathia, which had rescued the survivors of the RMS Titanic sinking, was itself sunk by a German U-boat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Carpathia
1936:
Nationalist rebels attempted a coup d'état against the Second Spanish Republic, sparking the Spanish Civil War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_coup_of_July_1936
1996:
TWA Flight 800 exploded in mid-air (wreckage pictured) and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_800
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
unused: 1. (not comparable) Not used. 2. Not accustomed (to), unfamiliar with. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unused
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The real damage from terrorist attacks doesn't come from the explosion. The real damage is done after the explosion, by the victims, who repeatedly and determinedly attack themselves, giving over reason in favor of terror. Every London cop who stops someone from taking a picture of a public building, every TSA agent who takes away your kid's toothpaste, every NSA spook who wiretaps your email, does the terrorist's job for him. Terrorism is about magnifying one mediagenic act of violence into one hundred billion acts of terrorized authoritarian idiocy. --Cory Doctorow https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cory_Doctorow