The admiral graf spee is finally in game as a tier 6 cruiser. With an alpha damage of 8,400 per shell and a 20 second reload time, the guns perform exceptionally well against lightlyarmored. The heavy cruiser hms exeter and two light cruisers. Admiral graf spee anchored off montevideo, uruguay, circa 16 dec 1939. Montevideo a 6ft bronze eagle from the admiral graf spee, the german battleship sunk off uruguay after the battle of the river plate, is to be auctioned after being salvaged from the wreck. On the other hand, hes sort of a war grave, because his captain, hans langsdorff, committed suicide because of the scuttling. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee topdrawings stefan. The treaty stipulated new warship designs with a displacement not to exceed 10,000 tons.
Not trace is visible september 2015 of the main hull or stern section and much of the debris field is no longer detectable except by mad. Hitler hoped that, following a swift and successful invasion of poland, he could convince the allies to make peace, and attacks on merchant shipping would jeopardize this. Graf spee secondaries general game discussion world of. Academy the admiral graf spee 1939 kriegsmarine pocket. Was it possible for the graf spee to break out of montevideo. The top drawing of the admiral graf spee by stefan draminski is a highly recommended book for the naval enthusiast and. Admiral graf spee is a premium tier vi german cruiser that straddles the line with battleships in several ways. For the british and germans however, montivideo is most famous for the battle of the river plate and the destruction of the great german pocket battleship, the graff spee, chased into montivideo by the british cruisers ajax, achilles and exeter. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee by stefan. Titleeighteight fleet japanese navy battleship book from japanitem conditionused but excellent bo. Great german raider expedition of the battleship graf spee. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee available for download and read online in other.
Its only a small museum, but it is packed full of other stuff about the uruguayan navy and it is all very well presented. Like her two other sister ships, the graf spee conducted several nonintervention patrols off the coast of spain during the spanish civil war 19361939. Pdf the german pocket battleship admiral graf spee. The ship had a design displacement of 14,890 t 14,650 long tons. The sinking of the graf spee campaign by konstam, angus, bryan, tony isbn. Most notably, her main battery is comprised of 283mm guns. Admiral graf spee views of the ships wreck part ii. Captain langsdorff decides to make for the neutral port of montevideo to carry out temporary repairs. Ansichtskarte postkarte duisburg im ruhrgebiet, rathaus mit kornerplatz, hindenburgpark, admiral graf spee brucke and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Admiral graf spee laid smoke and made a 150 turn which allowed a fan of torpedoes from exeters starboard tubes to pass harmlessly astern.
Battle of the river plate is the first naval engagement of the second world war and only episode of the war to take place in south america. Twenty three pages full of drawings in perspective to show almost all aspects of the ship superstructure and hull, but there is also orthogonal views, mostly in 1. This page features, and provides links to, all the views we have concerning the wreck of the german armored ship admiral graf spee. Scuttled by its captain in the river plate shortly after the battle, the graf spee has remained for decades in waters less than 25 feet 7. We are a local company who are in love with the city and we want to show you the best in the best way, walking.
It proved successful in this role and soon was hunted down by a british squadron. May 22, 2011 from the reincarnation album from 1989. Download pdf the german pocket battleship admiral graf spee book full free. Jun 19, 20 the text part of this book describes technical specifications of the ship and her operational history in detail. Outside the museum is a 150mm gun raised from the vessel and another small anchor around the side. Admiral graf spee was a deutschlandclass panzerschiff armored ship, nicknamed a. The graf spees captain scuttled the ship before committing suicide, and it has remained in waters less than 25 feet 7. The photos on were made by tabare perez, montevideo.
She was laid down on 1 october 1932, launched on 30 june 1934 and commissioned on 6 january 1936. The wreckage was penetrated even during the war by british divers in order to recover more valuable items and obtain information about german technology. The text part of this book describes technical specifications of the ship and her operational history in detail. The pocket battleship admiral graf spee, captained by hans langsdorff has been raiding british merchant shipping, but is intercepted by a force of three british vessels. Salvage crew raise key piece of sunken german battleship. She was laid down on 1 october 1932, launched on 30 june 1934 and commissioned on 6 the deutschlandclass ships were the first heavy vessels of the german navy after the first world war. The graf spee fought them off with devastatingly accurate gunfire, then fled to the harbor of montevideo, uruguay, at the mouth of the river plate. A skeleton crew smashed up the graf spee s ultramodern gunsight technology with hammers to stop the british finding it.
The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee book depository. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee top drawings. Graf spee, german pocket battleship of 10,000 tons launched in 1936. The third and last vessel of this class was admiral graf spee. Admiral graf spee panzerschiff schwerer kreuzer 19361939 deutschland class ship info history operational history technical data photos 1. May 06, 2018 the german pocket battleship admiral graf spee top drawings this is a very new and interesting graphical book on the famous german pocket battleship admiral graf spee.
However the idea is to salvage as much of the wreck as possible. Graf spee german cruisers world of warships official forum. After sinking several merchant ships in the atlantic, the graf spee was sighted on dec. The deutschlandclass ships were the first heavy vessels of the german navy after the first world war. Uruguay is set to sell bronze eagle saved from nazi ship. My take on any attempt to break out of montevideo is that the graf spee would have been immediately attacked by two british cruisers while the third maneuvered around for a torpedo attack.
This was a deliberate ploy to avoid having to break out past the royal navy. This is accompanied by more than 100 color illustrations showing admiral graf spees appearance during the battle of river plate. Germany grapples with honoring graf spee captain dw. The nazis took them off from all the vessels just before the war began, and as the graf spee left europe on august 21, 1939, 12 days before the war broke out, she still had it. The gun battle that ensued went to the history as the battle of the river plate. Admiral graf spee armored ship, 19361939 views of the ships wreck. On the sunday, crew from the graf spee were seen leaving the ship and by midday an estimated 800 men had left. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers. These limited future german warships to 10,000 long tons. Entrance is free and it is open from 9am to 12pm, then 2pm to 6pm except thursdays.
Aug 17, 20 battle of the river plate is the first naval engagement of the second world war and only episode of the war to take place in south america. Spee entered the navy in 1878 and served in a variety of roles and locations, including on a colonial gunboat in german west africa. Admiral graf spee deliberately sunk by its crew in neutral waters and captain hans langsdorff committed suicide. On the one hand, i dont believe war graves should be disturbed, but on the other hand, graf spee isnt technically a war grave, because he was scuttled, and not under fire at the time. The graf spee engines were 6750 hp each the max speed was 475 rpm giving a total of approximatley 54000 hp there were 9 cylinders each engine double acting 2 stroke meaning fired on the top and bottom of each stroke like a. A deutschlandclass panzerschiffe armored ship, admiral graf spees design was intended to nominally conform to the naval restrictions set forth by the treaty of versailles which ended world war i. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee in flames. Historical account it may not be but it sticks very accurately to the facts of the battle of the river plate in which hms exeter, hms ajax and hmnzs achilles eventually wore down captain langsdorff in the german pocket batttleship graf spee. The graf spee was more heavily gunned than any cruiser and had a top speed of 25 knots and an endurance of 12,500 miles 20,000 km. Graf spee comes with 3 photoetch frets, 2 labeled graf spee b and the other labeled simply graf spee. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee top drawings this is a very new and interesting graphical book on the famous german pocket battleship admiral graf spee. After taking damage at the battle of the river plate on december, 1939, admiral graf spee sought refuge in the neutral port of montevideo, uruguay. Admiral graf spee current condition naval history forums. She was designed and built during a time when germany was still under the limitations of the treaty of versailles signed after world war 1.
She took 70 or so hits, all but two of which were superficial or bounced off of armor. Historian norman ohlers book on the issue has just been published in english. The german heavy cruiser admiral graf spee had cruised into the south atlantic a fortnight before the war began, and had been commerce raiding after receiving appropriate authorisation on 26 september 1939. In the background are the battleship hms resolution and the battlecruiser hms hood. Salvage team in threeyear plan to raise the graf spee. Both the exeter and her german enemy were damaged during the course of the engagement. At the beginning of world war ii, the vessel was sent to the south atlantic to serve as commerce raider. A closeup of the outburned fighting tower of admiral graf spee. Aug 06, 2017 uruguay is set to sell a bronze eagle grasping a nazi swastika recovered from the pocket battleship graf spee which was scuttled off montevideo in december 1939 to help fund its military. Uruguay is set to sell a bronze eagle grasping a nazi swastika recovered from the pocket battleship graf spee which was scuttled off montevideo in december 1939 to.
Jan 22, 2004 salvage team in threeyear plan to raise the graf spee. There is a small etched part next to the eagle to simulate the presence of a swastika in the eagles talons. The third and final panzerschiff of the deutschland class, the admiral graf spee, was commissioned in january 1936, and after the appropriate trial period, served as flagship of the german fleet. Though the vessels of deutschlandclass exceeded this displacement, the german designers devised numerous. We are the first free walking tour of uruguay and we want to invite you to be part of our fun and informative tour of montevideo. The hull broke in two pieces just in front of barbette b. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee topdrawings. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee in flames after being scuttled off montevideo, uruguay, after the battle of the river plate, 17 december 1939. There is a small etched part next to the eagle to simulate the presence of a. May 18, 2015 on the sunday, crew from the graf spee were seen leaving the ship and by midday an estimated 800 men had left. Graf spee would have proven herself against the british once again, causing heavy damage to cumberland i estimate cumberland since i believe she was the.
I understand from uruguay navy sources the wreck of the admiral graf spee is now almost totally 9095% sunk into the mud. Admiral graf spee survived the battle of the river. In 2004, a project started to raise the wreck of the admiral graf spee. In the postwar years many single parts of the ship were recovered.
It was a refuge from which there would be no escape. In the evening a large explosion was seen on board the graf spee. Admiral graf spee german armored ship, 1936 view of the after part of the ships superstructure, port side, taken while she was in montevideo harbor, uruguay in middecember 1939, following the battle of the river plate. The graf spee, on the other hand, is hit by 2 x 8inch and 18 x 6inch projectiles which cause considerable damage upperworks although the ships main guns and propulsion plant remain intact. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee 22 by stefan draminski 2015, paperback at the best online prices at ebay. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee by stefan draminski, 9788364596308, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. The wreckage was penetrated even during the war by british divers in order to recover more valuable items and obtain. Graf spee museum in august 1939, the german warship graf spee, a heavy, stateoftheart cruiser with battleshipsized guns known as a pocket battleship, passed north of scotland before turning and sailing due south between iceland and the british isles, across the equator and into the south atlantic. The hunt for the german pocket battleship graf spree. The americans met the german crewmen, who were still in montevideo. Admiral graf spee wreck salvage photos german navy. For the admiral graf spee fan this booklet is a must.
The 2 b frets are railings, while the other fret is a relief etched eagle crest for the stern. The most famous of these raiders was the pocket battleship the admiral graf spee, commanded by captain hans langsdorff. Admiral graf spees 15 cm medium guns had concentrated on the two smaller vessels since the beginning of the battle, but had managed only nearmisses. Graf spee hit her 7 times and knocked out every turret she had and killed almost everyone on the bridge. The battle of the river plate was the first naval battle in the second world war and the first one of the battle of the atlantic in south american waters. Nazi eagle from german warship wreck must be sold, court rules. After the ship was scuttled it started to sink deeper and deeper into the mud until it finaly disappeared below the water surface. This pocket battleship, as termed by the british, sports 11 inch battleship guns and the repair party consumable.
Apr 24, 2015 the german pocket battleship admiral graf spee by stefan draminski, 9788364596308, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Admiral graf spee was a deutschlandclass heavy cruiser originally termed panzerschiff or armoured ship, sometimes referred to as pocket battleship which served with the kriegsmarine of nazi germany during world war ii. Admiral graf spee survived the battle of the river plate. Graf spee has an inner 40mm layer that could safe you butt from time to time. Here is graf spee in montevideo harbor immediately after the battle note the hole between the bow and the a turret. The admiral graf spee preyed on merchant ships in the south. Life and death of the german heavy cruiser admiral. Kms admiral graf spee pocket battleship armored cruiser. Montevideo a 6ft bronze eagle from the admiral graf spee, the german battleship sunk off uruguay after the battle of the river plate, is to be auctioned.
Unable to escape, her captain was ordered by hitler to scuttle the ship, and he later commited suicide. The top drawing of the admiral graf spee by stefan draminski is a highly recommended book for the naval enthusiast and specially for the modeller. Admiral graf spee was 186 meters 610 ft long overall and had a beam of 21. A skeleton crew smashed up the graf spees ultramodern gunsight technology with hammers to stop the british finding it. In late january 1940, the neutral american cruiser uss helena arrived in montevideo and the crew was permitted to visit the wreck of admiral graf spee. Then the graf spee sailed but only with a skeleton crew on board. The admiral graf spee was a preworld war 2 vessel of the deutschlandclass of german warships. The blurb of this book stresses this is not an historical account, it is an adventure story. During the spanish civil war the ship patrolled coastal waters of this country. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee top. Unfortunately this needs a ton of money so the eagle will probably be sold, and it will be difficult.