[fl][b]The corsair campaign[/b][/fl][p]

The Admiral Graf Spee left the shipyard in Wilhelmshaven the 21st August 1939, the
same day of the signing in Moscow of the German-Russian Pact. About two weeks
remained for the beginning of the war but Hitler had taken definitive decisions.
During these days of general doubt Germany tuned up its war machinery. The Admiral
Graf Spee was just an echelon in this homicidal chain and her mission was already
one of war, a corsair route against the British merchant ships. She had to reach a
secret position to start attacking at the outbreak of the conflict. The only person
onboard who knew about the mission was Commander Hans Langsdorff, German officer
born in Hamburg in 1894, a veteran of the Great War and a prideful, tenacious,
lonesome and rather silent man.[p]
The orders received when departing were: [i]"At the outbreak of the war,
immediately proceed to destroy the enemy merchant ships. Perform frequent position
changes to confuse the enemy. Engage in combat against the enemy warships only if
necessary. The Admiral Graf Spee must behave like a corsair ship. She can
camouflage herself, change her name and her flag. She must not dock in any enemy or
neutral port. She can provide herself with fuel, ammunitions and victuals from the
auxiliary ship Altmark, which will wait her at preset points."[/i][p]
The complement was formed by 1500 men, all young and selected. Apart from those who
controlled the Admiral Graf Spee there were groups called "prey crews" whose
purpose was to get onboard the captured merchant ships to transfer them to Germany
if possible. The auxiliary ship Altmark was a petrol tanker which the mariners
called "the milky cow", just because she provided fuel. The Altmark followed the
Admiral Graf Spee like a satellite, changed her name and her flag and refuelled in
neutral ports without raising suspicions.[p]
The 20th September the Admiral Graf Spee found her first prey near Pernambuco: the
British steamship Clement, loaded with coal and petrol. Langsdorff telegraphed to
the merchant ship the order of shutting down her radio; otherwise, he would order
to fire at her. The captain of the steamship obeyed and Langsdorff sent the "prey
crew" to take control of the captured ship. To confuse the British, the German wore
caps with the name of the battleship Admiral Scheer. So, the mariners of the
Clement (who were sent to the coast onboard shallops) later reported that the
Admiral Scheer had attacked their ship. Later the Admiral Graf Spee captured
another three ships, which she towed tied one to each other.[p]
Continuing her corsair campaign, the Admiral Graf Spee headed toward Cape of Good
Hope to get as far as possible from the area where she had attacked the Clement.
Between the 5th and the 7th October the other British ships captured were Newton
Beach, the Huntsman and the Ashlea. The German had already four ships to take care
of. They would be happy to carry them to Germany, but that was not possible, so
they decided to sink them with torpedoes and cannonades, after having gathered all
the useful materials and victuals from them.[p]
Before sinking the ships, all the British were transferred to the Admiral Graf
Spee, where they spent fifteen days. In such occasion the German behavior was
impeccable. The prisoners were allowed to stay for long time in the weather deck to
do exercise. One morning, they saw a tanker ship very close, which displayed the
Norwegian flag and was named Solveig (Dream).
Captain Langsdorff announced that all the prisoners would be transferred to that
ship, which made them to rejoice. Being a ship from a neutral country, they
believed to be close to freedom. But as soon as they got onboard, they saw with
disappointment that the ship was actually the Altmark. Things were worse from that
moment. Captain Dau, aged seventy-seven, was a hard Nazi. He locked the prisoners
in the hold, letting them to stay on the weather deck only twenty minutes. The
food, and especially the water, was very scarce. In the narrowness of the hold,
where 150 people had to live, the air seemed unbreathable. But then, over time, the
number rose to more than the double.[p]
Meanwhile the British Admiralty, which had been informed about a corsair
expedition, was very confused. The whole British fleet was in state of alarm, but
the orders were vague. It was only known that one or more corsair ships were
operating in the Atlantic. None of the captured ships had communicated their
position when being attacked. It was not known where the German ships hid nor how
many they were.[p]
To counteract the deceitful actions of the Admiral Graf Spee, the British Admiralty
initiated the largest tracking operation in History. Using all the available units
and moving the Mediterranean Fleet to the Atlantic, they were formed nine search
groups, being entrusted to each of them a sector in the vast ocean. Still, it was
like searching a needle in a haystack and this hide-and-seek game lasted for
months. The Admiral Graf Spee showed up in the most unexpected places.[p]
Besides, it was easy for the German to avoid the enemy hunt. Back then the largest
part of ships were fueled with coal and tall columns of smoke rose from the
horizon, which allowed Langsdorff to act with enough anticipation. However, the
safety of the Admiral Graf Spee relied in coercion to the captured ships so they
would not call for help via radio. When one of them (the Doric Star) did not obey,
things turned ugly for the German. The "RRR" signal had betrayed their location.
At noon, a British squadron showed up in the horizon. But Langsdorff used one of
his tricks as a last resort. He raised a fake funnel and the British flag to mimic
a Repulse-class cruiser. With such a clever camouflage the German battleship
managed to quietly pass through the enemy squadron without being spotted.[p]
On the morning of the 3rd December, after a brief mission in the Indian Ocean, the
Admiral Graf Spee returned to the Atlantic. The morale onboard was extraordinarily
high. During three monts of piracy they had sunk nine enemy merchant ships with a
total of 50,000 tonnes and, however, not even a drop of blood had been spilled. The
prisoners, around 260, had been being transferred to the Altmark. Onboard the
Admiral Graf Spee still stayed 63 prisoners: 42 officers and 21 mariners. Despite
the long stay in the sea, the German felt satisfied. The war seemed like an easy
thing, with glory for everyone in exchange of little risk.[p]
But Commodore Henry Harwood, commander of three British cruisers (the heavy cruiser
Exeter and the light cruisers Ajax and Achilles) tasked with patroling the South
American coasts, was preparing a deadly trap for the Admiral Graf Spee. After
analyzing the sequence of sinkings and the movements of the German battleship, the
British commander calculated that it was probable that the Admiral Graf Spee
reached the waters of the River Plate around the 13th December, even if she was
then almost 3000 miles away. It was a very vague hypothesis, but Harwood sent his
cruisers to that area.[p]
[aimg96]high_res/warships_britain/home_fleet_squadron.jpg[*aimg96]low_res/
warships_britain/home_fleet_squadron.jpg[/aimg96][br]
[fs]A squadron of the Home Fleet, the British metropolitan war fleet.[/fs][p]
[aimg96]high_res/battles/hunt_of_the_admiral_graf_spee.png[*aimg96]low_res/
battles/hunt_of_the_admiral_graf_spee.png[/aimg96][p]
[fl][b]The Battle of River Plate[/b][/fl][p]
With disconcerting punctuality, what Harwood had predicted happened indeed. The
13th December at 06:14 o'clock the Admiral Graf Spee showed up on the horizon. The
German sighted the small enemy fleet with anticipation. The alarm sounded and the
men ran to their combat positions. However, Langsdorff had not realized that he was
dealing with cruisers. Believing the British ships to be destroyers, he charged
against the enemy at full speed. And this was his first mistake.[p]
Still, despite the enemy units being cruisers, the Admiral Graf Spee should have,
at least in theory, advantages when facing them. She was armed with six 280-
millimeter cannons and eight 150-millimeter cannons, directed by an excellent fire
control system. The three British cruisers had in total six 203-millimeter cannons
(those of the Exeter) and sixteen 152-millimeter cannons. A salvo from the Admiral
Graf Spee would easily destroy the thinner armor of the British cruisers, whereas
three simultaneous salvos from these would find it harder to break through the
relatively robust armor of the German battleship.[p]
The British had advantage only regarding their higher rate of fire (six rounds per
minute of the Exeter versus three rounds per minute of the Admiral Graf Spee), but
the German cannons had a longer range. This would allow the Admiral Graf Spee to
hit the enemy without being hit in turn. To avoid the risk of being under the enemy
fire without being able to return it, the British commander ordered to his squadron
to defilade as much as possible and arrange the units in a semicircle around the
German battleship, to prevent the enemy from concentrating the fire upon a single
target.[p]
The German reacted to the attack as the British had expected. The Admiral Graf Spee
opened fire with her fore turret against the Exeter, the most powerful cruiser, and
with her rear turret against the Ajax. Attacking in this way, the Admiral Graf Spee
could not assert her whole firepower. Albeit the first salvo from the Exeter hit
the German battleship at the beginning of the combat, the British cruiser received
a cannonade that destroyed her rear turret, leaving only one cannon available.
Another cannonade like this one and the Exeter could end in the bottom of the sea.
[p]
At the beginning of the battle the German commander was very close to success. His
mistake was to not take maximum advantage of the range of his cannons. Nonetheless,
the first phase of this encounter was a triumph for the German, as they were close
to put the Exeter out of action. The battle lasted for an hour and twenty minutes.
The Exeter was hit again and 60 crewmen died. Also the Ajax and the Achilles were
hit several times. The balance of casualties was 36 dead and 60 wounded for the
German and 72 dead (61 on the Exeter) and 28 wounded for the British. And the
Exeter was finally out of action.[p]
The report from Charles Woodhouse, commander of the Ajax, stated that the Admiral
Graf Spee had sighted the British squadron with anticipation and thus the German
had the necessary time to prepare for battle. In opinion of Woodhouse, Langsdorff
could have avoided the combat and fled before the British could have noticed about
his presence if he had wanted so. But he accepted the battle and, while the British
had managed to make some good shots, the Exeter was suddenly hit and severely
damaged. The majority of experts who studied this battle agreed that it was a
mistake from Langsdorff to not complete the neutralization of the Exeter. The
thesis from Admiral Woodhouse is generally accepted. However, we should not forget
that the Admiral Graf Spee was hit as well and that Langsdorff was injured in the
head during the initial phase of the battle, being probable that his judgement were
diminished because of this. If this had not happened, perhaps he could have taken a
better control of the situation, keeping his battleship at a safer distance.[p]
Around 10:00 o'clock the Admiral Graf Spee, severely damaged during the
confrontation, headed toward the estuary of the River Plate, in an attempt to take
refuge in the neutral port of Montevideo. The whole day the two remaining cruisers,
the Ajax and the Achilles, followed the German battleship like bloodhounds. They
did not want to lose their prey until the arrival of reinforcements. During the
day, when the distances shortened, quick artillery encounters took place. The ships
continued firing at each other while they navigated at few kilometers from the
Uruguayan coast, when the night had already fallen upon them. Finally, at midnight,
the German battleship entered the neutral port of Montevideo. The two British
battleships, of course, did not follow her. They stopped in the limit of
territorial waters and awaited there.[p]
[fl][b]Aftermath[/b][/fl][p]
Sir Eugen Millington-Drake, descendant of the famous Sir Francis Drake, was then
the British ambassador in Montevideo. He was one of the protagonists of the
diplomatic battle which took place during the four days that the Admiral Graf Spee
spent in Montevideo. The German battleship had entered the port the 13th December
at 23:00 o'clock, without support from lights or pilots. The British ambassador
received orders from London of demanding that she could stay only 24 hours in her
haven, condition that the Hague Convention of 1907 had established for a
belligerent ship which entered a neutral port, unless she were unable to navigate
due to damage. He motivated his request on the fact that the Admiral Graf Spee had
fled at full speed from the location of the battle, 300 miles away. But he guessed
that the German would request a permission for 48 hours, because shortly before
some British warships had obtained 48 hours instead of 24 hours. The German
ambassador adviced Langsdorff to request a similar permission. But Langsdorff was
inflexible and insisted in requesting 15 days, even if this would require to
demonstrate that the German battleship was more damaged than what it seemed to be.
[p]
The diplomatic conversations between the Uruguyan Minister of the Exterior and both
ambassadors began the 13th December at midnight. While a large multitude crowded
the port, in the Admiral Graf Spee the crew worked hard to dissimulate with
sailcloth the damage inflicted to their ship. Pride and prejudice forced the German
to hide the reality. Berlin wanted to hide that the battleship had gotten a hard
lesson from the humble British cruisers. But it was absurd to hide the damage and
then request 15 days to repair it.[p]
Meanwhile, the 14th December at dawn, the British ambassador suddenly changed his
tactic and seemed to support the request from Langsdorff. Why this change? Because,
as Millington-Drake explained many years later, that very morning he had received
new instructions from Commodore Harwood, commander of the British cruisers. He
wanted to retain the Admiral Graf Spee in Montevideo at least until the 20th
December, when two large units, the battleship Renown and the aircraft carrier Ark
Royal, arrived to River Plate to support his two cruisers. Harwood also adviced the
British ambassador on how to achieve his purpose. A certain article from the Hague
Convention modified the aforementioned one in the sense that a belligerent ship can
leave a neutral port only 24 hours later than a merchant ship belonging to an enemy
country. This rule was made to prevent that a battle could take place just in front
of a port. The Minister of the Exterior found it funny when the British ambassador
notified him about the departure of a British merchant ship that same day, but he
became very serious when the ambassador said that another ship would depart the
following day and energically asked to not send a third merchant ship out of the
port, because he did not want the Admiral Graf Spee to stay in the port for long
time. He had thought to grant a permission of 72 hours to the German battleship,
which should depart the 17th December at 9:30 o'clock to avoid being seized by the
Uruguayan Government.[p]
On the morning of the 14th December they were disembarked the German wounded and
the British prisoners, who consequently retrieved their freedom. On the evening of
that same day it took place in Montevideo the burial of the 36 German mariners
fallen in combat. Many people attended the ceremony and a group of British mariners
who had been prisoners onboard the Admiral Graf Spee put a wreath on the coffins.
Meanwhile, the diplomatic battle was gaining intensity. Langsdorff and the German
ambassador were in continuous telephonic contact with Berlin. Orders and
counterorders arrived and Langsdorff did not hide his discomfort. He started to
realize that he had committed a big mistake when seeking protection in a neutral
port. The diplomatic encounter seemed to be more arduous than a naval one, for he
was in risk of losing his ship without firing a single shot. Meanwhile, Montevideo
was the center of attention of the world because the case of the Admiral Graf Spee
caused sensation among the public opinion. Everyone wondered what would Langsdorff
do after the 72 hours of asylum which had been granted to him.[p]
Meanwhile, uncertainty reigned onboard the Admiral Graf Spee. News had arrived
about many British warships joining the Ajax and the Achilles. This was not true,
but the British Admiralty had sent many messages telling about a large
concentration of warships near Montevideo, to be intercepted by the German secret
service. Actually, the ships were still hundreds of miles far away. Only a cruiser,
the Cumberland, had joined the Ajax and the Achilles. Hence, if Langsdorff had not
heard the news coming from Berlin and he had departed, it is probable that he would
have managed to overcome the modest obstacle posed by three light cruisers. But
Langsdorff did not know the actual situation and, besides, the rupture of the
blockade would not be enough to save the Admiral Graf Spee, for the British had
already localized her.[p]
The Sunday 17th December a multitude crowded the port of Montevideo. All the
binoculars were aimed at the Admiral Graf Spee. At 19:30 o'clock the time granted
by the Uruguayan Goverment would end. What would the German do? On the afternoon,
Langsdorff visited the German embassy to receive the final orders from Berlin,
which he would not reveal to anyone. Finally, at 19:30 o'clock the Admiral Graf
Spee headed toward the exit of the port but, unexpectedly, she stopped at around
five miles from the city. The German steamship Tacoma, which was docked there as
well, followed her slowly. Few minutes later some small boats showed up on the
horizon and stopped near the Admiral Graf Spee. Right away, the crew left the
battleship to take place in the small boats, which headed toward Buenos Aires.
During some minutes, the battleship remained immobile in the still waters. Then, a
loud explosion shocked Montevideo. The Admiral Graf Spee had exploded.[p]
The bustle from the multitude and the loudspeakers was suddenly replaced by a death
silence when a column of smoke rose from the battleship. After some seconds the
noise from the explosions arrived, which lasted for one hour in a series of blasts.
The roar of the blasts reached the British ships which were preparing for battle.
Amidst the general joy, Commodore Harwood telegraphed to London: [i]"Today many
lives have been saved"[/i]. The Admiral Graf Spee burned during some hours before
overturning and resting on a depth of barely eight meters. The photograph of the
scuttled battleship traveled around the world. Many expert mariners wondered about
the mysterious structure which rose on the top of the conning tower. The British
had no doubt: they promptly understood that also the German had built a radar
device.[p]
[aimg96]high_res/warships_germany/
admiral_graf_spee_exploded_battleship.jpg[*aimg96]low_res/warships_germany/
admiral_graf_spee_exploded_battleship.jpg[/aimg96][br]
[fs]The Admiral Graf Spee burning before the River Plate.[/fs][p]
[box]
[b]Live broadcast of the sinking from Montevideo[/b][p]
Montevideo, 17th December 1939. At 19:30 o'clock that day the special correspondent
of the BBC transmitted the following broadcast, which was reproduced by the whole
western network: [p]
[i]Here Mike Fowler, who talks from Montevideo. In front of me, in the center of
the port, lies the "Graf Spee" pocket battleship, the German corsair ship of which
everyone is talking about. The Nazi unit has spent four days sheltered in the
Uruguayan neutral port after having sustained a hard encounter with three British
units which are now waiting her outside the territorial limits. Shortly, the "Graf
Spee" will have to leave this port. Few minutes are left for the end of the time
granted by Uruguay to the German to repair the damages suffered by the ship during
the battle. If after some minutes she does not depart, she will be seized, and the
crew interned. What will the German do? Will they confront the ships which await
outside the port or will they let their battleship to be seized? The case created
by this warship sheltered in a neutral port is to be resolved. There are around
three hundred thousands of persons crowded in the docks, in the rooftops and in the
roofs of the whole city. All of them want to see in person what is going to happen.
They know that they are witnesses of an event that will go down in History. But...
What is happening? I see agitation on the deck of the "Graf Spee"... It is true...
The ship is going to depart... We feel the beat of the machines... The anchors are
weighed... Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the battleship is moving. She heads toward
the exit. Toward the enemy... The German have taken a decision... Now the
unavoidable will happen...[/i][p]
But the unavoidable did not happen. The prediction made by Fowler showed to be
wrong after few minutes. The battleship was not heading toward the enemy, who was
waiting during four days already. Once having arrived to the mouth of the porth,
the spectators saw the ship stopping and then the crew jumping into the shallops
and heading toward some small boats which arrived in that moment. Shortly after, a
column of smoke rose from the center of the Admiral Graf Spee. And Mike Fowler went
on with his broadcast: [p]
[i]What is happening? My God, the German have set fire in the powder magazine!
Terrible explosions arrive to us. All the crystals in Montevideo break into pieces!
The "Graf Spee" is sinking... The German have exploded it. But why have they done
this? Why? Why?...
[/box][p]
The German had obtained permission to move to Buenos Aires, where the situation was
more favorable for them. There Langsdorff spent a time organizing his crew. He was
also called to the German embassy, where he had many conversations with Berlin. It
has been said that he received harsh reproaches because of his behavior and,
besides, many newspapers wrote that he had avoided the duty of a captain of dying
with his ship. Finally, Langsdorff took a tragic decision: the afternoon of the
19th December he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. It is very
difficult to understand the reason of this delayed suicide. The German Ministry of
Propaganda presented it as a sign of valor, saying that he had delayed his
sacrifice just to be able to save his crew. But this source is not trustable. The
truth is that Langsdorff was a victim of the trick organized by the British secret
service. It is also possible that his suicide were ordered by Hitler. The Ministry
of Propaganda tried to disguise this failure as a case of
heroism of the Kriegsmarine, but in Berlin it was widely believed that a more
audacious commander could have saved the Admiral Graf Spee. Hence, it is also
possible that Langsdorff wanted to put an end to his life to avoid the humilliation
of a court-martial where he would have to explain his mistakes. A revealing fact is
that, despite the official position of considering Langsdorff to be a hero, his
widow received only half pension because the German Government defined his death as
a personal initiative rather than a war service.[p]
[fl][b]The Admiral Graf Spee[/b][/fl][p]
The "pocket battleship" Admiral Graf Spee was built in 1934 after her sister ships
Admiral Scheer and Deutschland. She had been designed to elude the Versailles
Treaty, which prohibited to Germany to build warships of displacement above 10,160
tonnes and armed with calibers above 280 millimeters. The German engineers had made
a technical miracle in building a warship of such power within the mandatory weight
(she actually exceeded the weight but not exaggeratedly). By using a large
proportion of light alloys and replacing rivets by electric soldering, it was
possible to lighten the hull and arm it with cannons of caliber much superior than
that of those installed in other ships of the same tonnage. The main armament was
installed in two triple turrets to save weight, but this caused that the Admiral
Graf Spee could fire with certain precision against a single target only, a
negative aspect which came to light when she had to fire simultaneously against the
Exeter and the other two cruisers which pursued her during the Battle of River
Plate. The 150-millimeter cannons were installed beside the superstructure in
single mountings protected by simple casemates. Two torpedo launchers with four
tubes each were installed astern and their main purpose was to quickly sink the
merchant ships.[p]
The original anti-aircraft armament comprised 88-millimeter cannons, which were
soon replaced by 105-millimeter cannons in the Admiral Graf Spee, and in the autumn
of 1939 in her sisters. The main belt, which was thicker in the Admiral Graf Spee
than in her sisters, was inclined and it had a superimposed anti-torpedo bulkhead.
The most visible differences with the former Deutschland were the conning tower of
modernized design and the aircraft-launching catapult reallocated after the funnel.
Apart from the special armament there was another "secret weapon" in the ship: the
radar, which the German called "Dete". The Admiral Graf Spee was one of the first
ships fitted with such a device. The propulsion system was based in Diesel engines,
which despite being not much lighter than a steam machinery occupied less space,
required less operators and consumed less fuel, granting a larger operational range
to a smaller ship. Another advantage was that they produced less smoke, which
allowed the Admiral Graf Spee to sight with anticipation the British squadron in
River Plate, for its smoke trails were visible 15 minutes before it could sight the
smoke from the German battleship. A negative aspect was that the utilization of
Diesel machinery reduced the maximum speed.[p]
Actually, the ships of the Deutschland class were long-range but slow
battlecruisers, a fact that the German acknowledged in February 1940, when the
Lutzow (ex Deutschland) and the Admiral Scheer were reclassified as heavy cruisers.
These ships would have been more effective if they had installed an armament
lighter than that of 280 millimeters and 150 millimeters; the saved weight could
have been used to increase speed and protection. However, they would have not had
the same effect of propaganda. Since their speed would not allow them to fight at
long range, they were actually very vulnerable to the 203-millimeter cannons, whose
projectiles could easily shatter their armor. The French fast battleship Dunkerque
confirmed the obsolescency of this type of warship, and despite another three ships
of the Deutschland class were designed their keels were never laid down. However,
the main armament for two of those ships had been already produced and it would be
finally installed in the battlecruisers of the Scharnhorst class, another
unfortunate design of the Kriegsmarine.[p]
[aimg96]high_res/warships_germany/
admiral_graf_spee_pocket_battleship.jpg[*aimg96]low_res/warships_germany/
admiral_graf_spee_pocket_battleship.jpg[/aimg96][p]
[aimg96]high_res/warships_germany/
admiral_graf_spee_heavy_cruiser_1939.jpg[*aimg96]low_res/warships_germany/
admiral_graf_spee_heavy_cruiser_1939.jpg[/aimg96][br]
[fs]The Admiral Graf Spee in December 1939 with an Arado 196 seaplane. Note the
tall and narrow conning tower, characteristic of the German warships of that time,
fitted with a radar-telemeter device on top.[/fs][p]
[box]
[b]SPECIFICATIONS OF ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE[/b][p]
[b]Class:[/b] Deutschland (Deutschland, Admiral Speer and Admiral Graf Spee)[p]
[b]Built in:[/b] Wilhelmshaven Shipyards[p]
[b]Authorized:[/b] 1932[p]
[b]Keel laid:[/b] 1 October 1932[p]
[b]Launched:[/b] 30 June 1934[p]
[b]Completed:[/b] 6 January 1936[p]
[b]Fate:[/b] Sunk by her own crew on 17 December 1939 and scuttled in 1942[p]
[b]Length (total):[/b] 186 meters[p]
[b]Length (in waterline):[/b] 181.7 meters[p]
[b]Beam:[/b] 21.3 meters[p]
[b]Draught:[/b] 5.8 meters[p]
[b]Displacement (standard):[/b] 12,290 tonnes[p]
[b]Displacement (normal):[/b] 14,100 tonnes[p]
[b]Displacement (full load):[/b] 16,460 tonnes[p]
[b]Engines:[/b] Eight MAN Diesel 9-cylinder engines (four per axis); two
propellers[p]
[b]Power (total):[/b] 56,000 shaft horsepower[p]
[b]Speed (maximum):[/b] 28 knots[p]
[b]Operational range:[/b] 7570 nautical miles at 19 knots[p]
[b]Fuel load:[/b] 2564 tonnes[p]
[b]Armor:[/b] 100 millimeters in main belt; 40 millimeters in anti-torpedo
bulkhead; 45-70 millimeters in deck; 85-140 millimeters in main turrets; 100
millimeters in barbettes; 10 millimeters in secondary turrets[p]
[b]Armament:[/b] 6 x 280-millimeter 54-caliber cannon (2 x 3); 8 x 150-millimeter
55-caliber cannon (8 x 1); 6 x 105-millimeter anti-aircraft cannon (3 x 2); 8 x 37-
millimeter anti-aircraft cannon (4 x 2); 10 x 20-millimeter anti-aircraft cannon
(10 x 1); 8 x 533-millimeter torpedo tube (2 x 4); 2 x reconnaissance aircraft[p]
[b]Complement:[/b] 1150[p]
[/box][p]
[box]
[b]SERVICE HISTORY OF ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE[/b][p]
[b]1936-38:[/b] Flagship of the Fleet.[p]
[b]1936-39:[/b] Patrols in Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War.[p]
[b]May 1937:[/b] Attended the British Coronation Ceremony in Spithead.[p]
[b]1938:[/b] Remodelation; modification of the conning tower and installation of
radar equipment.[p]
[b]21 August - 13 December 1939:[/b] Corsair patrols in the Atlantic and Indian
oceans.[p]
[b]September - December 1939:[/b] Sank nine merchant ships for a total of 50,089
tonnes.[p]
[b]13 December 1939:[/b] Battle of River Plate; caused important damages to the
British cruisers Exeter and Ajax; hit by twenty projectiles; fire control destroyed
and forecastle damaged; took refuge in Montevideo.[p]
[b]17 December 1939:[/b] Sunk by her own crew outside Montevideo.[p]
[b]1942:[/b] Scuttled.[p]
[/box][p]
[fl][b]The HMS Exeter[/b][/fl][p]
Albeit the ships of the County class achieved all the possible advantages from the
limits imposed by the Washington Treaty, the British Admiralty was convinced that
for the British requirements it was preferable a lesser amount of larger cruisers.
The minimum number of canons for firing before being detected by the radar was six,
and this determined the size of the ships of the York class, which were
specifically designed for escorting convoys. The thickness of the armor beside the
machinery was reduced because it was thought that the largest part of impacts would
take place from oblique trajectories, rather than perpendicularly to the board. The
York had a tall bridge, because the aircraft-launching catapult had been originally
planned to be installed on top of the fore superfiring turret, rearward inclined
masts and funnels, and a single catapult installed in the centerline. The Exeter
had a low bridge, totally vertical masts and funnels, two catapults arranged like a
carpenter's square and a slightly wider beam to improve stability.[p]
The York was sunk by an explosive craft the 26th March 1941, in the agitated waters
of Suda Bay in Crete, and was abandoned the 22nd May 1941, when the island was
definitely lost after the German assault. The Exeter was sunk by four Japanese
cruisers the 1st March 1942, when crossing the Sunda Strait between Sumatra and
Java.
[aimg96]high_res/warships_britain/
hms_exeter_heavy_cruiser_1939.jpg[*aimg96]low_res/warships_britain/
hms_exeter_heavy_cruiser_1939.jpg[/aimg96][br]
[fs]The HMS Exeter in December 1939, carrying a Walrus seaplane. They can be seen
the low profile of the bridge, the V-shaped catapult after the aft funnel and the
102-millimeter cannons installed in single mountings.[/fs][p]
[box]
[b]SPECIFICATIONS OF HMS EXETER[/b][p]
[b]Class:[/b] York (York and Exeter)[p]
[b]Built in:[/b] Devonport Shipyards[p]
[b]Authorized:[/b] 1927[p]
[b]Keel laid:[/b] 1 August 1928[p]
[b]Launched:[/b] 18 July 1929[p]
[b]Completed:[/b] 21 July 1931[p]
[b]Fate:[/b] Sunk after being severely damaged by four Japanese heavy cruisers on 1
March 1942[p]
[b]Length (total):[/b] 175.6 meters[p]
[b]Length (in waterline):[/b] 164.9 meters[p]
[b]Beam:[/b] 17.7 meters[p]
[b]Draught:[/b] 6.2 meters[p]
[b]Displacement (standard):[/b] 8520 tonnes[p]
[b]Engines:[/b] Eight Admiralty 3-drum boilers; four Parsons turbines of simple
reduction; four propellers[p]
[b]Power (total):[/b] 80,000 shaft horsepower[p]
[b]Speed (maximum):[/b] 32 knots[p]
[b]Operational range:[/b] 8400 nautical miles at 14 knots[p]
[b]Fuel load:[/b] 1930 tonnes[p]
[b]Armor:[/b] 51-76 millimeters in main belt; 51 millimeters in deck; 38-51
millimeters in main turrets[p]
[b]Armament:[/b] 6 x 203-millimeter cannon (3 x 2); 4 x 102-millimeter cannon (4 x
1) (8 x in 1941); 8 x 40-millimeter anti-aircraft cannon (8 x 1) (16 x in 1941); 2
x 12.7-millimeter machine gun (in 1941); 6 x 533-millimeter torpedo tube (2 x 3); 2
x reconnaissance aircraft[p]
[b]Complement:[/b] 630[p]
[/box][p][box]
[b]SERVICE HISTORY OF HMS EXETER[/b][p]
[b]1931-33:[/b] Second Cruiser Squadron.[p]
[b]October 1933 - August 1939:[/b] North American and East Indies Squadron.[p]
[b]25 August 1939:[/b] Navigation toward South America.[p]
[b]13 December 1939:[/b] Battle of River Plate. Severely damaged by the Admiral
Graf Spee.[p]
[b]December 1939 - January 1940:[/b] Emergency repairs in the Falkland Islands.[p]
[b]January - February 1940:[/b] Return to United Kingdom.[p]
[b]February 1940 - March 1941:[/b] Readjustments and modernization in Devonport.[p]
[b]March 1941:[/b] Included in the Home Fleet. Later she moved to Singapore.[p]
[b]December 1941 - February 1942:[/b] Service in the Indian Ocean and in the East
Indies.[p]
[b]20 February 1942:[/b] Damaged in the Battle of the Java Sea.[p]
[b]27-28 February 1942:[/b] Provisional repairs in Surabaya.[p]
[b]1 March 1942:[/b] Scuttled after suffering very severe damage from the Japanese
heavy cruisers Nachi, Haguro, Ashigara and Myoko.[p]
[/box][p]
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