But his officers stonewalled him , and rigged up a timer instead. It was to be that stroke of genius that was to doom the Graf Spee. IIRC the gunnery officer of the Bismarck, Adalbert Schneider, was on the Graf Spee. He then lay on Admiral Graf Spee's battle ensign and shot himself through the head. A skeleton crew smashed up the Graf Spee's ultra-modern gunsight technology with hammers to stop the British finding it. But, and here was the nub of the problem, there was a rigid time-limit. His ship outgunned all his opponents, having 11 inch (280 mm) main guns, to Exeter's 8 inch (200 mm) and Ajax and Achilles’s 6 inch (150 mm) guns. They were not yet free, but they were alive. He was the Captain of the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee during the second world war. Her crew were interned, though many escaped and made their way back to Germany. He could turn away and keep his distance as long as possible, firing his 11.1-inch guns at long range, hoping to disable at least one of the enemy vessels before they could get into range to reply, and then use the superior weight of his larger guns to disable or drive the remainder off. Soon a salvo, struck the front of "B" turret, putting it out of action and sending splinters across the bridge, killing everyone except the captain and two other officers, all of whom were wounded. The channel was only 23 feet deep at some places, so if the British scored a hit below the waterline Graf Spee would ground, unable to move. On the night of the 16th, repair work on Graf Spee was halted. I walked to it and touched it. I shall face my fate with firm faith in the cause and the future of the nation and of my Führer. So instead, Langsdorff ran toward the enemy at full speed, closing to 20,000 yards, and then turned broadside to bring all six main guns and half his secondary guns to bear, hoping the greater weight of fire at shorter range would more quickly tell on the most powerful British ship, Exeter. Hundreds more returned, and some 500 of Graf Spee's crew eventually settled in Argentina. Hans Wilhelm Langsdorff (20 March 1894 – 20 December 1939) was a German naval officer, most famous for his command of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee during the Battle of the River Plate off the coast of Uruguay in 1939. This properly stirred up a hornet's nest in the area, and the Germans planned to put a prize crew on the liner for later use as a supply ship before dashing across the Atlantic. This is an indispensable book for anyone wanting to know more about the before, during and after the Battle of the River Plate, the naval tactics that were employed, the games of diplomacy, the honour of the captains and crews, and the ... Found insideUnder the command of Captain Hans Langsdorff, the Graf Spee struck in the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. From late-October to early-December she sank ... Her radio operator had no chance to send a message, and the ship was boarded. This meant that she would have to stay in the narrow dredged channel to reach Buenos Aries, while the British cruisers, which drew only 16 feet, would have freedom of movement. Found insideThe Graf Spee was commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff. His successful spree of merchant ship sinkings was naturally attracting the attention of the British ... 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 biggest). This controversial story of risk and naval strategy has been told before, but Grove has unearthed previously unpublished sources to provide a definitive account of the battle and throw new light on the motivation of the Graf Spee's captain. How a Nazi Battleship Captain Was Tricked Into Sinking His Own Warship. This liner too sent a distress message despite being warned not to do so. Soon after Langsdorff freed his prisoners in the afternoon, and landed his dead and wounded for hospital treatment, the technical experts toured the ship. Her neutrality was respected and she was allowed to go, but Langsdorff knew the Dutch captain would report . As a young kid I had heard that Emden gained access to Cochin port by threatening to harm the kings son who was studying medicine at Germany at that time. Exeter was severely damaged and forced to withdraw; later she re-engaged and, further damaged and listing, again withdrew. The next day Graf Spee closed on another vessel, only to find that it was the neutral SS Mapia, of Dutch registry. 16 officers escaped in the next two months, and 17 more in August, and a handful in 1942. Over the next 10 weeks, Langsdorff and Admiral Graf Spee were extremely successful, stopping and sinking nine British merchant ships, totalling over 50,000 tons. Harwood had guessed that the captain of the German ship would try one last attack in that area. The German Captain met with his crew, which one officer recorded in his diary as being ready to follow their captain blindly, even to certain death. A small tug from Argentina had already carried the remaining seamen over to Buenos Aires in Argentina. The fight that the British had anticipated never took place: Captain Langsdorff, believing that a superior force awaited him, had his crew scuttle their ship; three days later Langsdorff shot himself. Capt Langsdorff decided that his ship and crew were about ready to go home. This tale of the Battle of the River Plate follows the machinations of the German war machine as Kapitan zur See Hans Langsdorff commands the pocket battleship Graf Spee on a mission to cripple British shipping. 800-pound, bronze eagle, recovered from a German battleship Graf Spee recovered off the coast of the South American nation. The British Supercargo who was sitting with his wife, in the car asked me " Captain, why did you want to touch it" . Gustav Friedrich Adolph Quick, 89, the last surviving crew member of the German pocket battleship Graf Spee that was scuttled in the River Plate at the beginning of World War II, has passed away and was buried Saturday in Montevideo. Unique, perhaps it is the classical Calicut, od spice traders that lives on. The Admiralty had known for weeks that at least one, and possibly two, German surface raiders were loose. The War Illustrated, Volume 1, No. The liner Doric Star (10,100-tons) was sighted bound for Britain from New Zealand with mutton, butter, cheese, and wool. He was also very gallant in saving many lives on the merchant ships he attacked. A gun mount, the ship's galley, the main rangefinder and the radar were destroyed by shellfire, and fire had destroyed the scout plane, three of the ship's boats, and Langsdorff's cabin. A few days after scuttling his own ship, German Captain Hans Langsdorff committed suicide in a hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Captain Langsdorff scuttled the Graf Spee and shot himself Posted in Historical articles , History , Ships , World War 2 on Tuesday, 25 February 2014 Click on any image for details about licensing for commercial or personal use. In 1898, the family moved to Düsseldorf, where they were neighbours of the family of Graf (Count) Maximilian von Spee, who was to become a German naval hero (while losing his life) at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in 1914. Kurt Diggens survived the war and died 01-03-2007, old age, 94, in Bonn, Germany. Her captain promised not to send a signal until reaching the Cape Verde Islands (a promise which he did not keep), so the three British men were transferred to the neutral freighter and Graf Spee went on her way. Flames! He received command of the Admiral Graf Spee in October 1938. What he found distressed him: a six-inch shell had penetrated the starboard quarter, destroying an ammunition hoist and cutting the electricity to the forward 11-inch turret; another had passed through the ship leaving a. three-foot by six-foot exit wound as it passed out the port side; a third destroyed a four-inch gun and its ammo hoist. Under International Law, Graf Spee could not hold prisoners and claim "havarie," the privilege of sanctuary for damage caused at sea. With her own free-ranging support vessel – the Altmark – to keep her armed and provisioned, and to look after her prisoners, the Graf Spee was an immensely dangerous lone wolf of the seas. historylearningsite.co.uk. Graf Spee made her presence known off Africa on December 2. 2015-07-27T11:15. Around 1800 hours, Uruguay's lookouts spotted Graf Spee, and settled in to watch the action. A message from Berlin commended the Graf Spee for her efforts and 100 Iron Crosses were awarded to her crew. Clement's captain, F.C.P. The Graf Spee was too slow to escape the smaller ships that could call in larger ships, and in fact that is what happened in the end. Destroyers were ships Graf Spee could not hope to outrun, but could easily destroy. Found inside – Page xlviii... ( U.S. TITLE : PURSUIT OF THE GRAF SPEE ) Written , produced , and directed ... Gregson ( Captain F. S. Bell ) , Anthony Quayle ( Commodore Henry Harwood ) ... As a last salute to the fallen Germans was given, photographers immortalized the moment: Everyone stood with their arm outstretched in the Nazi salute, except Langsdorff who gave the traditional salute of the old German Navy. Geoffrey’s account of the scuttling of ‘The Graf Spee’ I think this letter must have been written in 2 sessions. The first major naval campaign of Word War II, took place when the British navy pursued the Graf Spee, a German battlecruiser who was on a mission to attack British merchant vessels. U had all the answers and u have such humility towards any one who reaches out to you .. thank you sir . Graf Spee remained in a holding pattern north of the River Platte - Cape of Good Hope shipping route, refueling twice from Altmark. Harwood was an instant hero, and was promoted instantly to Rear Admiral and awarded the Knight Commander of the Order of Bath (KCB), while Bell, Parry, and Woodhouse were awarded the Companion of the Order of Bath (CB). As Graf Spee gracefully rode the swells near Altmark during their second rendezvous on September 25, a coded message from Berlin arrived ordering Graf Spee into action. Her engines were now in need of overhaul and the funnel belched smoke. 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. EM is low-value, IMO. This is a comnpendium volume of three Battle Summaries or Naval Staff Histories produced soon after the war by the Naval Historical Branch of the Admiralty. 3. That’s why Graf Spee went to the neutral port of Montevideo, but the British put political pressure on Uruguay to urge Graf Spee to leave port within 72 hours plus a cunning ruse, the captain of Graf Spee, Hans Langsdorff, believed he was up against a superior British force with battlecruisers waiting to finish off his ship, so Langsdorff took a skeleton crew, and left the others behind, to scuttle his ship just … Langsdorff was born on 20 March 1894 in Bergen, Germany on the island of Rügen. He joined the ship at age 19 and was 89 … With her 11-inch guns and heavy armour, she could out-range and out-gun any English vessel able to match her speed of nearly 30 knots. The scuttling of the German pocket battleship Graf Spee on December 17th 1939 and alleged suicide of her captain Hans Wilhelm Langsdorff captured worldwide attention. Thousands of confessions by British and American soldiers and sailors, on their death beds to clear their conscience , hoping to be at the pearly gates to meet their maker, are forcing revisionists to publish the truths with proper evidence , witnesses and signed affidavits. For the beginning of this momentous story we have to go back four months from the day of the incident – back to August 21st, 1939. The wreck of the Graf Spee slowly sank into the mud, until by 1948 only the control tower could be seen above water. One of the Royal Navy's top divers attempted to enter the forward turret to recover the advanced gyro-firing system (actually destroyed before the scuttle), only to become trapped and drown. Her captain, J. Robinson, hoped that Graf Spee was a British cruiser and delayed sending a distress call until it was too late. Heard that the unimaginable interned, though many escaped and made their way back to Germany on the of... 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