What is the story of the Graf Spee?
The Graf Spee, commanded by Capt. Hans Langsdorff, sank three more ships — bringing its total merchant shipping sunk to roughly a half-million tons — before heading toward shipping lanes near the River Plate in early December.
What is the meaning of Graf Spee?
Admiral Graf Spee was a Deutschland-class “Panzerschiff” (armored ship), nicknamed a “pocket battleship” by the British, which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II.
Why was the Battle of the River Plate important?
Victory in the Battle of the River Plate, the first major naval engagement of the Second World War, was a great boost to British morale during the ‘Phoney War’. When war broke out in September 1939, the German pocket battleship Graf Spee, commanded by Hans Langsdorff, was patrolling in the Atlantic.
What happened to the Admiral Graf Spee?
Outcome: ‘Admiral Graf Spee’ deliberately sunk by its crew in neutral waters and Captain Hans Langsdorff committed suicide.
Why was the Graf Spee so famous?
Admiral Graf Spee’s World War II Raids She sank ship after ship, and even captured a number wholly intact and sent them to Germany as prizes. In all, Graf Spee ship sinkings totalled nine vessels comprising more than fifty thousand tons of shipping capacity.
Why was the Graf Spee called a pocket battleship?
Due to their heavy armament of six 28 cm (11 in) guns, high speed and long cruising range, the class was more capable of high seas operation than the old pre-dreadnought battleships they replaced; for this reason, they were referred to as “pocket battleships”, particularly in the British press.
Did the captain of the Graf Spee commit suicide?
Her commander, Captain Hans Langsdorff, believed he was facing impossible odds against a superior force beyond the horizon and defied Hitler’s order to fight to the last man. Three days later, he committed suicide, shooting himself in the head in a Buenos Aires hotel room.
Was the Graf Spee ever raised?
The ship is only eight metres below the surface, but it has broken into two and been engulfed by mud. Once raised and restored, the Graf Spee is expected to become a major tourist attraction in Montevideo, where reminders of the battle which made it famous still abound: museums, memorials, street names, graves.
Can the Graf Spee still be seen?
The Graf Spee’s captain scuttled the ship before committing suicide, and it has remained in waters less than 25 feet (7.5 meters) deep only miles outside the port of Montevideo ever since.
What happened to the crew of the Admiral Graf Spee?
Thirty-seven German sailors were killed in the confrontation and Captain Langsdorff was wounded, along with 57 other of the Graf Spee’s men. The Graf Spee was hit more than 30 times by shells fired from the British vessels, rendering it practically unable to function.
What happened to the survivors of the Graf Spee?
They are among the last five survivors of the Graf Spee, the German pocket battleship, and still live in Belgrano, a town to which the ship’s crew gave life.
What happened to the crew of the Graf Spee?