Michael Tamelander > Quotes

“The slow German reaction on this momentous day was partly the consequence of numerous false alarms.”
― Michael Tamelander, Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship

“Captain Edward Fegen, decided to accept battle with the Admiral Scheer, hoping that the convoy could scatter and as many merchant ships as possible disappear in darkness before the German ship got too close. Fegen’s decision doomed his ship.”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“Topp ordered a sharp turn to port, but at this stage Vice Admiral Ciliax almost made a grave mistake. “No!” he shouted. “Steer hard-a-starboard.” The helmsman—who was well aware that Topp, not Ciliax, should give such orders—hesitated and stared at Topp. “I command this ship, Admiral—not you!” Topp”
― Michael Tamelander, Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship

“The admiral immediately came up with a solution. “What you need is a reindeer to pull the carriage,” he suggested with a grin. When the Trident was about to depart, a sack from the admiral was handed over as a surprise gift to Sladen. He presumed that it contained some extra food, took it into the submarine and weighed anchor. When at sea, the sack was opened and the astonished seamen found a tightly-lashed reindeer calf.”
― Michael Tamelander, Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship

“The Germans stayed to help save British seamen, and this rescue work was in full swing”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“Hitler thanked Lütjens in the name of Germany.”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“Admiral Ciliax returned to the bridge. He was impressed by Topp’s maneuvers, and was probably slightly ashamed of his impulse ten minutes earlier. Loudly, he praised the captain before all present at the bridge. “You maneuvered meritoriously, Topp,” he said. “Lucky ship!”67”
― Michael Tamelander, Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship

“One of the loaders bellowed at his comrades to help him—he was so confused and shocked that he could not understand that the men he shouted at were already dead.”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“he said calmly with his usual, kind voice. ‘I will forward the order. You may go now.’ It was the last time anybody saw Lehmann.”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“Schuldt ran across the officer in command of his station, sitting with his back against a wall. Both his legs had been shot off at the knees. He looked up at Schuldt and implored: ‘Do you have a cigarette?”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“The operation—which was called “Planet”—was cancelled. On 15 May, another attempt called “Brawn” was cancelled due to bad weather, after the Barracudas had already started from the carriers. Certainly, the harsh northern weather was turning out to be the Tirpitz’s first line of defense. Barely ten days after the second attempt to repeat Tungsten, a third attempt called Operation Tiger Claw was cancelled”
― Michael Tamelander, Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship

“30 April, Lieutenant Max-Martin Teichert maneuvered his U-456 into firing position and released a salvo against the British cruiser Edinburgh, which was hit by two torpedoes. Her cargo included four and a half tons of gold, payment for the British aid to the Soviet Union.”
― Michael Tamelander, Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship

“attack was launched in the evening, and at 23.04 the air-raid warning sounded on the Tirpitz. The Flak defenses opened fire as the British airmen strived hard to hit the target, but the results were indeed meagre. Only the remains of a flare actually hit the battleship”
― Michael Tamelander, Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship

“All of Germany is with you. What can be done will be done. Your devotion to duty will strengthen our nation in its struggle for its existence. Adolf Hitler.”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“Right height, right range, right cloud cover, right speed, and the wrong f–––ng ship!”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“Murmansk. At last, the British cruiser reached Murmansk, where an inspection of the damage suggested that she had been hit by a British torpedo whose steering gear had probably malfunctioned in the severe cold.”
― Michael Tamelander, Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship

“The plane hadn’t suffered any significant damage. It was just that suddenly you could see the sea between your feet.’331”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“he mistakenly identified the shadow as the Rodney and sent a recognition signal, but immediately afterwards realized his mistake. The Germans did not bother sending any recognition signal. Instead, the Bismarck’s main guns flashed”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“The men had to wear masks to breathe. Gerlach did not realize that most of the men around him had already fled, as they had understood what was soon was to happen. Only when the photo of his fiancée fell to the floor and the glass was broken did he look around and see that only one other man remained in the room,”
― Michael Tamelander, Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship

“Considering the affection most commanders develop for their ship, it is laudable that Meyer did not vent any wrath on the prisoners. Rather, he ensured that they did not suffer the fate that befell the unfortunate Evans after Operation Title. “They will not tell us anything,” he said on the same day as these men had seriously damaged his ship. “Further interrogations are pointless. Give them food and then allow them to sleep. They have deserved it.”
― Michael Tamelander, Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship

“Raeder had a troublesome meeting with Hitler. The loss of the Bismarck had made the Führer dejected and irritatable. The loss of the battleship was a major blow to German prestige, according to him,”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“A British battleship would be surrounded by escorting destroyers.”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“It took less than 5ms for the shells to travel through the barrels, but in this brief period of time the guns developed more than 60 million Hpw.”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“It was almost a quarter to ten on the beautiful Sunday of 12 November 1944—the morning that witnessed the destruction of the battleship Tirpitz. Tirpitz during sea trials in the Baltic Sea, summer 1941.”
― Michael Tamelander, Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship

“In December 1941, six Italian divers had sneaked through the defenses of the port of Alexandria and seriously damaged the British battleships Valiant and Queen Elizabeth.”
― Michael Tamelander, Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship

“When the corvette Poppy passed along the American ship Bellingham, the commander of the warship asked if the merchant ship wanted to be escorted. He received the reply: “Go to hell!”
― Michael Tamelander, Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship

“In 1931 she was involved in a mutiny at Invergordon, when her crew refused to work after being told that their wages would be cut.”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“last words to parents, friends, wives or fiancées and wanted these greetings to be taken home surrounded them. With a mixture of relief and disgrace for leaving all the other men to their fate, the airmen put the papers in their pockets and entered the aircraft. But the aircraft could not be launched. After a while, it was discovered that a splinter originating from a shell fired by the Prince of Wales had punctured the container with the compressed air that propelled the catapult. It could not be repaired”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“If Congress finds out,’ Roosevelt told the Navy airmen, ‘I will be impeached.”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship

“Everybody must leave the ship!’ Oels shouted. ‘She will be sunk. You can not go ahead. It is all burning!’ These were his last words. A direct hit sent splinters raining through the compartment. Within a fraction of a second, the crammed room was turned into a slaughter house. More than a hundred men were mutilated or killed.”
― Michael Tamelander, Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship