 The Barracudas were targeted by heavy , but inaccurate , anti @-@ aircraft gunfire as they arrived over Kaafjord . Aside from the two aircraft whose pilots sighted Tirpitz , the 35 other dive bombers attempting to attack the ship were forced to aim at her gun flashes . These bombing attacks took 25 minutes to complete ; seven near misses were achieved but no damage was inflicted on Tirpitz . One of the other Barracudas attacked an anti @-@ aircraft battery , another attempted to bomb a destroyer and a third scored a near miss on the tanker Nordmark . Three of the remaining four Barracudas did not find any targets and jettisoned their bombs into the sea ; the fourth was unable to drop its bombs due to a faulty release mechanism . 
