in preparation for operation tungsten, an attack on the , "furious" and "victorious" exchanged barracuda squadrons, 827 for 831 squadron, so that the squadrons that trained together could fly together. "furious" also embarked 880 squadron with eight seafire l.iic fighters to reinforce the six seafire ibs of 801 squadron. on the morning of 3 april 1944, 21 barracudas of 827 and 830 squadrons made the first attack just as the "tirpitz" was getting under way for sea trials. the germans were caught entirely by surprise and the "tirpitz"s smokescreen was only just beginning to form. the british aircraft enjoyed a clear view of their target and hit the german battleship six times. an hour later, the second wave of 19 barracudas from 829 and 831 squadrons arrived and scored eight more hits. only one barracuda was shot down from each wave and another crashed on take-off. 801 and 880 squadrons were retained for fleet air defence during the operation. "tirpitz"s superstructure and upper hull was moderately damaged by the bombs, but her machinery was intact because the barracuda pilots pressed home their attack below the altitude necessary to give their armour-piercing bombs enough velocity to penetrate "tirpitz"s main armoured deck. nonetheless "tirpitz" was under repair for three months.