Avro Lancaster BIII ED763 ‘KC-Z’ RAF ‘Operation Catechism’ 1:72

Operation Catechism on 12th November 1944 would see another concerted effort by the Royal Air Force to destroy the mighty warship Tirpitz, with 18 Lancasters from No.617 Squadron and a further 13 from No.IX Squadron taking off from their temporary bases at Lossiemouth and Milltown in northern Scotland heading for Tromso Fjord. All the aircraft carried more than a maximum fuel load for a Lancaster and were again loaded with Tallboy bombs, but this time, their flightpath would skirt Swedish airspace, attacking Tirpitz from the opposite direction, hoping to catch the German defenders by surprise. As the Lancasters began their attack run, they could clearly see Tirpitz from as far as 20 miles away and significantly, could see no Luftwaffe fighters.