Unable to escape, her captain was ordered by hitler to scuttle the ship, and he later commited suicide. After the ship was scuttled it started to sink deeper and deeper into the mud until it finaly disappeared below the water surface. 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. 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.
Download pdf the german pocket battleship admiral graf spee book full free. 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. Like her two other sister ships, the graf spee conducted several nonintervention patrols off the coast of spain during the spanish civil war 19361939. 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.
The text part of this book describes technical specifications of the ship and her operational history in detail. The wreckage was penetrated even during the war by british divers in order to recover more valuable items and obtain. Outside the museum is a 150mm gun raised from the vessel and another small anchor around the side. In 2004, a project started to raise the wreck of the admiral graf spee. Then the graf spee sailed but only with a skeleton crew on board. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee topdrawings. 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. 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. These limited future german warships to 10,000 long tons.
This pocket battleship, as termed by the british, sports 11 inch battleship guns and the repair party consumable. Life and death of the german heavy cruiser admiral. 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. 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. During the spanish civil war the ship patrolled coastal waters of this country. The most famous of these raiders was the pocket battleship the admiral graf spee, commanded by captain hans langsdorff.
Pdf the german pocket battleship admiral graf spee. Here is graf spee in montevideo harbor immediately after the battle note the hole between the bow and the a turret. With an alpha damage of 8,400 per shell and a 20 second reload time, the guns perform exceptionally well against lightlyarmored. 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.
This page features, and provides links to, all the views we have concerning the wreck of the german armored ship admiral graf spee. 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. Was it possible for the graf spee to break out of montevideo. 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 hunt for the german pocket battleship graf spree. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee in flames. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee by stefan. The admiral graf spee is finally in game as a tier 6 cruiser. Nazi eagle from german warship wreck must be sold, court rules. The heavy cruiser hms exeter and two light cruisers. 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. The deutschlandclass ships were the first heavy vessels of the german navy after the first world war. Admiral graf spee survived the battle of the river.
Admiral graf spee laid smoke and made a 150 turn which allowed a fan of torpedoes from exeters starboard tubes to pass harmlessly astern. 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. 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 comes with 3 photoetch frets, 2 labeled graf spee b and the other labeled simply graf spee. 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. Admiral graf spee current condition naval history forums. 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.
Titleeighteight fleet japanese navy battleship book from japanitem conditionused but excellent bo. At the beginning of world war ii, the vessel was sent to the south atlantic to serve as commerce raider. 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. Admiral graf spee deliberately sunk by its crew in neutral waters and captain hans langsdorff committed suicide. The graf spee sailed out into the atlantic before the outbreak of war at the start of september 1939. On the sunday, crew from the graf spee were seen leaving the ship and by midday an estimated 800 men had left. Admiral graf spee armored ship, 19361939 views of the ships wreck. Its only a small museum, but it is packed full of other stuff about the uruguayan navy and it is all very well presented. 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. 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. 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. It was a refuge from which there would be no escape.
A closeup of the outburned fighting tower of admiral graf spee. The admiral graf spee was a preworld war 2 vessel of the deutschlandclass of german warships. May 22, 2011 from the reincarnation album from 1989. Entrance is free and it is open from 9am to 12pm, then 2pm to 6pm except thursdays. 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. In the evening a large explosion was seen on board the graf spee. 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. 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. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee by stefan draminski, 9788364596308, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Apr 24, 2015 the german pocket battleship admiral graf spee by stefan draminski, 9788364596308, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers. Her commander, captain hans langsdorff, believed he was facing. The wreckage was penetrated even during the war by british divers in order to recover more valuable items and obtain information about german technology. Germany grapples with honoring graf spee captain dw. 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. 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. 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. Academy the admiral graf spee 1939 kriegsmarine pocket. 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. A skeleton crew smashed up the graf spee s ultramodern gunsight technology with hammers to stop the british finding it. In the background are the battleship hms resolution and the battlecruiser hms hood. I understand from uruguay navy sources the wreck of the admiral graf spee is now almost totally 9095% sunk into the mud.
She took 70 or so hits, all but two of which were superficial or bounced off of armor. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee 22 by stefan draminski 2015, paperback at the best online prices at ebay. Salvage crew raise key piece of sunken german battleship. After sinking several merchant ships in the atlantic, the graf spee was sighted on dec. Great german raider expedition of the battleship graf spee. The graf spees captain scuttled the ship before committing suicide, and it has remained in waters less than 25 feet 7. 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. Admiral graf spee anchored off montevideo, uruguay, circa 16 dec 1939.
This was a deliberate ploy to avoid having to break out past the royal navy. Panzerschiff admiral graf spees forward 11inch triplegun turret, circa 1939. The sinking of the graf spee campaign by konstam, angus, bryan, tony isbn. Graf spee, german pocket battleship of 10,000 tons launched in 1936. Unfortunately this needs a ton of money so the eagle will probably be sold, and it will be difficult.
However the idea is to salvage as much of the wreck as possible. 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. Admiral graf spee panzerschiff schwerer kreuzer 19361939 deutschland class ship info history operational history technical data photos 1. Kms admiral graf spee pocket battleship armored cruiser. Admiral graf spee wreck salvage photos german navy. 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. Admiral graf spee was a deutschlandclass panzerschiff armored ship, nicknamed a. The third and last vessel of this class was admiral graf spee. The admiral graf spee preyed on merchant ships in the south. Captain langsdorff decides to make for the neutral port of montevideo to carry out temporary repairs. The 2 b frets are railings, while the other fret is a relief etched eagle crest for the stern.
The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee book depository. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee available for download and read online in other. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee top drawings. 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. Admiral graf spee was 186 meters 610 ft long overall and had a beam of 21. Admiral graf spee views of the ships wreck part ii. Most notably, her main battery is comprised of 283mm guns. Jun 19, 20 the text part of this book describes technical specifications of the ship and her operational history in detail. There is a small etched part next to the eagle to simulate the presence of a. She was laid down on 1 october 1932, launched on 30 june 1934 and commissioned on 6 january 1936.
The treaty stipulated new warship designs with a displacement not to exceed 10,000 tons. There is a small etched part next to the eagle to simulate the presence of a swastika in the eagles talons. Uruguay is set to sell bronze eagle saved from nazi ship. Graf spee secondaries general game discussion world of. The blurb of this book stresses this is not an historical account, it is an adventure story. Historian norman ohlers book on the issue has just been published in english. The hull broke in two pieces just in front of barbette b. 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. As the first part of the ship, the main rangefinder was salvaged in march 2004.
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. 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. Salvage team in threeyear plan to raise the graf spee. The photos on were made by tabare perez, montevideo. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee top. 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. On the other hand, hes sort of a war grave, because his captain, hans langsdorff, committed suicide because of the scuttling. In the postwar years many single parts of the ship were recovered.
Jan 22, 2004 salvage team in threeyear plan to raise the graf spee. Admiral graf spee is a premium tier vi german cruiser that straddles the line with battleships in several ways. Maritimequest admiral graf spee message board messages 1. 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. 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. The german pocket battleship admiral graf spee topdrawings stefan.
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. Spee entered the navy in 1878 and served in a variety of roles and locations, including on a colonial gunboat in german west africa. Just three miles out of montevideo harbour, the graf spee stopped. 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. Admiral graf spee survived the battle of the river plate.
The ship had a design displacement of 14,890 t 14,650 long tons. For the admiral graf spee fan this booklet is a must. A skeleton crew smashed up the graf spees ultramodern gunsight technology with hammers to stop the british finding it. It proved successful in this role and soon was hunted down by a british squadron. The top drawing of the admiral graf spee by stefan draminski is a highly recommended book for the naval enthusiast and. The gun battle that ensued went to the history as the battle of the river plate. Both the exeter and her german enemy were damaged during the course of the engagement. 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 americans met the german crewmen, who were still in montevideo. Graf spee hit her 7 times and knocked out every turret she had and killed almost everyone on the bridge.
Though the vessels of deutschlandclass exceeded this displacement, the german designers devised numerous. This is accompanied by more than 100 color illustrations showing admiral graf spees appearance during the battle of river plate. Graf spee german cruisers world of warships official forum. 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. Graf spee has an inner 40mm layer that could safe you butt from time to time.
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