1934 ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE. The Graf Spee was a German commerce-raider brought to action by three smaller British cruisers in the first naval battle of World War II.
A GESTURE OF DEFIANCE
The third unit of the Deufschland class was the best known of these pocket battleships built in the early 1930s. The term pocket battleship was bestowed on them by the British press, but in fact they were large cruisers armed with heavy-calibre guns. The Treaty of Versailles had been framed to prevent Germany from building large ocean-going commerce-raiders, and as a gesture of defiance the clause permitting the replacement of six obsolescent pre.dreadnought battleships was used to build six Panzerschiffe. On a nominal displacement of 10,000t, actually close to 12,000t, they were armed with two triple 280mm (11in) gun turrets. By adopting diesel propulsion, the designers gave them the very long endurance of 20,000 miles (36,000km) at an economical speed, ideal for commerce-raiding. This was exactly what the Treaty of Versailles was intended to prevent. The German press did nothing to play down the prestige of the achievements of German naval architects, and claimed that only seven warships in the world could fight a pocket battleship. In fact the ships were over-gunned heavy cruisers, considerably slower than other navies cruisers, yet with the same armour-thickness. The two triple turrets were not ideal for engaging fast-moving opponents, and the last three units projected were never built.
DEFEAT AND DISGRACE
The Admiral Graf Spee slipped out into the Atlantic before the declaration of war in September 1939, and enjoyed a brief reign as a commerce-raider until brought to action off the River Plate in December 1939. In the ensuing battle she inflicted severe damage on the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter, but failed to sink her or her consorts, the 6in (152mm) cruisers HMS Achilles and HMS Ajax. The three cruisers inflicted sufficient damage on the German ship to force her to take shelter in neutral Montevideo. The Royal Navy was able to replace the damaged Exeter with the more powerful heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland, and by an astute diplomatic bluff was able to convince the Graf Spee that much more powerful forces were approaching the area. Alarmed by the threat to German prestige Hitler ordered Captain Langsdorff to scuttle his ship, and this was done in Uruguayan territorial waters on 13 December in Montevideo harbour.
TECHNICAL DATA
Type: Heavy cruiser
Machinery: 3-shaft MAN diesels, 54,000bhp
Dimensions: Length, 186m (610.25ft); beam 21.6m (70.8ft)
Displacement: I6,200t (deep load)
Draught: 7.4m (24.251t) (max)
