Operation Details

Hermelin (i)

'Hermelin' (i) was the German transfer of the heavy cruiser (ex-pocket battleship) Lützow from Norwegian waters to the Baltic Sea (23 September/1 October 1943).

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Escorted by the destroyers Erich Steinbrinck, Paul Jacobi, Friedrich Ihn, Z 27 and, off south-western Norway, Z 38, Lützow was sighted by British reconnaissance aircraft on 26 and 27 September, but Bristol Beaufighter attack fighters and Grumman Avenger torpedo-bombers of the Fleet Air Arm’s No. 832 Squadron, flying from a base in the Shetland islands group, passed to the south of the German ships, and Lützow reached Gotenhafen on 1 October without coming under attack.

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In need of a major overhaul, Lützow remained in dockyard hands at Kiel until January 1944, after which she remained in the Baltic Sea to conduct training cruises for new naval personnel.

Basic Overview

Theater

Nations Involved

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