THEY are a testament to a long career of courage, sacrifice and sheer accomplishment.

    These are the medals won by Sir Michael Fell, one of the British Royal Navy’s most distinguished pilots, a man who shot down a string of enemy aircraft and even tackled Hitler’s last battleship, the mighty Tirpitz.

    For his role in the attack on the Tirpitz — deliberately drawing the fire of the anti-aircaft gunners so his comrades could drop their bombs — he won the Distinguished Service Order.

    But now the DSO and the other medals awarded to the Fleet Air Arm ace are to be sold off by his family. They are expected to fetch around £20,000 (US$29,344).

    Sir Michael fought dogfights with the Luftwaffe and Italian air force over the North Sea, the Mediterranean and Egypt’s western desert.

    He led air operations for Allied landings at Sicily and Salerno in Italy and in the South of France, and provided cover for the relief of Greece.

    After the war he served in the Korean conflict and remained in the Royal Navy into the 1970s, rising to the rank of Vice Admiral. But perhaps his most daring exploit was the attack on the Tirpitz, Operation Tungsten on March 30, 1944.

    The battleship, fast and well-armed, lurked in the fjords of Northern Norway, waiting to attack British supply convoys to northern Russia and tying down a large number of allied warships.

    More than 120 aircraft took off from Royal Navy carriers to take part in the raid over Kaafjord and Sir Michael led a wing of Hellcat and Wildcat fighter-bombers.

    He and his aircraft strafed the battleship, deliberately drawing the fire of the gunners on the ship and around it, allowing other aircraft to deliver their bombs, before flying in low beneath the German smoke screen to drop his own bomb. The raid knocked the Tirpitz out of the war for three months and killed or wounded some 400 of her crew.

    Sir Michael went on to be twice awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery.

    He died soon after retiring in 1976 aged 58. His 13 medals are now being auctioned by his family following the death of his widow, Lady Joan Fell, last year.(SD-Agencies)