The ship Admiral Spee. Admiral Count Spee and his legendary captain. The beginning of the war. Pirate everyday life

“Admiral Count Spee”

Germany's third "pocket battleship" was laid down in Wilhelmshaven on October 1, 1932, launched on June 30, 1934, and entered service on January 6, 1936. By May 9, 1936, its trials were completed, and from July "Admiral Graf Spee "became the flagship of the German navy, replacing the Admiral Scheer, and remained so until 1938. Since August 1936, the battleship entered Spanish territorial waters five times, but did not participate in hostilities.

From May 15 to 22, 1937, the ship attended the international naval parade in Spithead, visited Sweden and Norway, and paid a visit to Scandinavia in 1938. On August 22, 1938, "Spee" participated in the parade on the occasion of the launch of the cruiser " Prinz Eugen", and in October of the same year he conducted exercises in the Atlantic. In March 1939, the “pocket battleship” entered Memel, when it was annexed to the Third Reich, in May it was on maneuvers in the Atlantic and transported parts of the Condor Legion from Spain.

From the very beginning of World War II, the German naval command sought to use “pocket battleships” in accordance with their main purpose: to combat enemy trade. On August 21, 1939, the Admiral Graf Spee left Germany and, passing between Iceland and the Faroe Islands, took up a position in the central Atlantic. As a supply transport, the raider was assigned the ship "Altmark", which left Kiel several weeks earlier and was supposed to meet the battleship on September 1 near the Canary Islands.

Like the Deutschland, the Admiral Graf Spee, for the above reason, was inactive until September 26, and, as it turned out, she was almost discovered at the very beginning of her raid.

On September 11, a reconnaissance plane from the Spee, 30 miles from the raider, spotted the English heavy cruiser Cumberland, heading on a collision course. Surprisingly, the cruiser did not see the plane, and he was able to warn his battleship about the danger, after which the Spee immediately retreated to the east. It must be said that the presence of reconnaissance aircraft greatly facilitated the actions of the German raiders.

The first victim of the Spee was the English ship Clement, sunk on September 30 off the coast of Brazil. Its crew arrived in this country on another English ship. After Clement's report, the British Admiralty ordered the formation of 8 powerful search groups, which included 4 battleships, 4 aircraft carriers, 1 battle cruiser, 14 heavy and light cruisers. Their task was to hunt for German raiders. Meanwhile, the Admiral Graf Spee crossed the South Atlantic and on October 5 met its second victim: the Newton Beach steamer, from which a signal for help was transmitted before the ship was captured by a raider. This signal was received by another English merchant ship, and a report was immediately sent to the cruiser Cumberland.

But the cruiser commander made a miscalculation: he was sure that the commander of the search group in Freetown had also accepted the report, so he did not rehearse it. In fact, in Freetown for several weeks they knew nothing about the actions of the raider, and if the report had been transmitted to headquarters immediately, the “pocket battleship” would have been overtaken in a matter of days.

From October 5 to October 10, 1939, the Spee sank or captured 3 more ships sailing from the Cape of Good Hope. On October 22, he sank the steamer Trevanion, which sent a signal for help, received by the Lanstephan Castle and transmitted to Freetown. An active search for the German raider was organized, but it turned out to be fruitless, since, fearing detection, the Spee hastily retreated to the southwest, once again replenished its fuel supply from the Altmark and, on Raeder’s orders, headed for the Indian Ocean. On November 15, he sank a small tanker in the Mozambique Channel, and the next day stopped a Dutch ship, after which he turned back, rounded the Cape of Good Hope again and returned to the Atlantic.

By this time, the English Admiral Harwood, who commanded the search group "G", had become convinced that the German raider would sooner or later appear in the Rio de Janeiro - La Plata area, which was characterized by very intense shipping. It was decided to concentrate all the ships of the group in this area: the heavy cruiser Exeter, the light cruisers Ajax and Achilles. By December 12, the three ships connected 150 miles east of the mouth of the La Plata River.

On December 2, 1939, the Admiral Graf Spee sank the English ship Doric Star, and then, while in the central Atlantic Ocean, on December 7 sank its last victim, Streonshell, headed west and headed for La Plata , where Harwood's cruisers were waiting for him.

December 13 at 06 o'clock. 08 minutes, a day after the connection of the English cruisers, Ajax reported that he saw smoke in the northwest. The heavy cruiser Exeter was sent for reconnaissance. After 8 minutes, a report came from him: “I believe that this is a “pocket battleship.” So, after a long search, the British managed to discover the Spee.

The first phase of the battle lasted about an hour and a half: from 06:00. 14 min. until 07 o'clock 40 min. The cruisers Ajax and Achilles, approaching from the east, opened fire from a distance of 95 cables. The cruiser "Exeter" separated from them and attacked the "pocket battleship" from the south. "Spee" was faced with a dilemma: to fire from the main caliber at one target or simultaneously at three enemy ships. At first, the commander of the battleship, Captain 1st Rank Landsdorff, chose the second method, but, convinced that the greatest danger to the Spee was posed by the 203-mm guns of the Exeter, he ordered the fire of all his 280-mm guns to be transferred to the British heavy cruiser.

It must be said that due to errors by the surveillance service, the raider commander initially believed that he was dealing with a light cruiser and two destroyers. When the mistake became clear, it was too late to avoid the battle, and escaping from three cruisers was not so easy.

The Spee's artillery fire was accurate throughout the battle. The "pocket battleship", unlike the British cruisers, had a radar, which, although not specifically for artillery, still gave out the firing distance. Soon the Exeter was hit by main caliber shells. One of its gun turrets was damaged and the steering mechanisms were damaged. The cruiser commander switched to control from the stern post, continued maneuvering and ordered a torpedo salvo. But the torpedoes missed the target, and Exeter was again hit by 280-mm shells, so that only one of its turrets remained in service. At 07 o'clock. 30 min. the cruiser had to stop the battle and retreat to the southeast to eliminate damage.

At the same time, "Spee" fired from 152-mm guns at "Ajax" and "Achilles", but did not achieve hits from a long distance. However, the distance between the raider and the light cruisers quickly decreased, and at 06:00. 30 min. the battleship transferred the fire of one of its towers to them. The Achilles received minor damage from a heavy shell that exploded at the waterline; its artillery fire control radio failed, as a result of which the shooting accuracy noticeably decreased.

At 07 o'clock. 16 min. "Spee", having laid a smoke screen, turned sharply to the south with the goal of engaging in a duel with the heavily damaged "Exeter". But Ajax and Achilles, having figured out this maneuver, hastened to the aid of the heavy cruiser and opened such effective fire that Spee abandoned his attempt, turned to the northwest and entered into battle with Ajax.

At 07 o'clock. 25 min. Ajax received the first hit from a 280-mm shell, which knocked out both of its rear turrets. At 07 o'clock. 38 min. followed by a second hit. At the same time, the Spee was not seriously damaged, although there were already 36 killed and 59 wounded on board.

With the exit of the Exeter from the battle, the total weight of the artillery salvo of the two English cruisers only slightly exceeded the weight of the one auxiliary artillery salvo of the “pocket battleship”. It is not surprising that at 07 o'clock. 40 min. Hartward ordered his ships to put up a smoke screen and retreat to the east, which ended the first phase of the battle. "Admiral Count Spee" did not pursue the enemy, but continued to move west. Therefore, after 6 minutes, the British cruisers turned 180° and moved after him.

The second phase of the battle was that the British ships relentlessly followed the “pocket battleship” approaching the mouth of La Plata. If the cruisers came too close, the Spee fired several salvos.

At 11 p.m. 17 min. It became clear that the raider intended to enter the port of Montevideo, and Harwood ordered the pursuit to cease. The British faced a difficult task: to prevent the German battleship from escaping. At their disposal were only two light cruisers, on one of which half of the guns were disabled, and the English heavy cruiser Cumberland, closest to the battlefield, could not approach them until the evening of the next day. But the Spee did not try to break into the open sea. The ship's performance had deteriorated, and the chances of crossing the Atlantic Ocean in winter conditions without encountering the enemy were slim. Dropping anchor off Montevideo, Lansdorff requested permission from the Uruguayan government to remain there for the period necessary to repair and restore the ship. But the “pocket battleship” was allowed to stay in Montevideo for no more than 72 hours. During this time it was difficult to do anything significant.

In addition, the British very skillfully misinformed the Germans: with the help of radio communications, they created the impression that the area at the mouth of the La Plata River was literally teeming with British warships, among which were the battle cruiser Rhinaun and the aircraft carrier Ark Royal.

On December 16, Lansdorff reported to Berlin about his position and about the superior forces of the British, who were allegedly concentrated at the mouth of the river. He asked what was preferable: to sink the ship or agree to its internment, since a breakout attempt was doomed to failure. Admiral Raeder and Hitler discussed the situation that same day and agreed that it was better to sink the ship than to allow her to be interned.

On December 17, 1939, the Spee descended to the mouth of the La Plata River, and at 19.56, about a mile beyond Uruguayan territorial waters, at a depth of 8 m, the ship was blown up by its crew (the ammunition was blown up). The commander, Captain 1st Rank Lansdorf, shot himself and shared the fate of his ship.

Thus, the German Navy lost its first large ship, which, acting as a raider from September 26 to December 13, 1939, sank 9 merchant ships with a total displacement of 50,000 tons.

Battle of the battleship "Admiral Count Spee".

Soon after the start of the war, the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee entered the ocean and headed, without revealing its presence, to the shores of Brazil. Having sunk one cargo ship off Pernambuco, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean and went to the shores of Madagascar, but then returned to South America, where he took up cruising operations.

After the sinking of the ninth steamer, the battleship headed to the mouth of La Plata, where it was supposed to meet the German ship and replenish its fuel supply. Here he met with a detachment of three English cruisers "Exeter", "A]ah" and "Achilles", of which the first was armed with 6,203 mm guns, and the other two had 8,152 mm guns each. The displacement of the three English cruisers was 22,400 tons versus the 10,000 tons of the German battleship.

The battle took place early in the morning of December 13th. "Admiral Graf Spee" was superior to its opponents in the caliber of its main artillery: it had 6 280 mm guns, i.e. was armed with the same caliber of guns with which the Von der Tann destroyed the Indefatigable in the Battle of Jutland 14 minutes after opening fire. Therefore, there was every reason to believe that the weakly protected English cruisers were exposed to very serious risks when engaging in battle with a ship armed with heavy guns. But the English ships developed a speed of 32-32.5 knots, while the German raider could only give 26 knots and, moreover, obviously had a very insufficient fuel supply.

The battle ensued between the battleship and the cruiser "Exeter" at a distance of about 65 cabs. The firefight lasted 16 minutes, and "Exeter", although it suffered damage, continued to approach the enemy according to a pre-developed plan. At this time, "Ajax" and "Achilles" approached from the other side and opened rapid fire on the battleship from 152-mm guns. "Spee" was forced to divide his fire: while firing at "Exeter" from one turret, he transferred the fire of the other turret to two light cruisers, shooting at them alternately. After a 16-minute battle, "Exeter" was actually disabled: it lost both bow towers, the wheelhouse and bow bridge were destroyed, so the commander had to move control to the aft wheelhouse and guide the ship using the boat compass, giving orders to the car by voice transmission.

Of the cruiser's personnel, 61 people were killed and 23 were wounded; Only one 203-mm gun with manually fed shells remained in action. "Exeter" began to lose speed and soon failed. On "Ajax" two towers were damaged. On both light cruisers, out of 16 152 mm guns, only ten remained in service. But the Admiral Count Spee also apparently received significant damage. Its bow turret was out of order, the central fire control room was destroyed, and 4 150-mm guns were damaged.

For reasons that are not entirely clear, the battleship suddenly broke off the battle, set up a smoke screen and began to leave in zigzag courses towards the mouth of La Plata. "Ajax" and "Achilles" pursued him and approached him several times, breaking through the smoke screen, achieving frequent hits from the remaining 152 mm guns from a distance of about 40 cabs. The battleship drove away the cruisers, occasionally firing salvos from the surviving stern tower.

The British did not seek an immediate decisive result; it was clear to them that the fate of the German raider was decided: with damage, it could not go into the ocean, it did not have time to receive fuel, and the Washington cruiser "Cumberland" with 8,203 mm guns came to the aid of the British cruisers. aircraft carrier "Ark Royal" and other ships. "Spee" entered Montevideo for repairs, handed over the dead and wounded, but without receiving permission for a period sufficient for repairs, according to a telegram from Germany, it was scuttled by the commander outside the raid. The British guarded the exit to the open sea. According to data published by the Uruguayan government, the battleship received 15 hits on the starboard side and 12 on the port side. The fire from the cruiser "Exeter" was apparently successful: all the hits on the starboard side were inflicted by it.

The reasons that forced the German commander to first retreat to Montevideo and then abandon attempts at a breakthrough remain unclear.

The battleship apparently had a lack of fuel and shells, half of the artillery was disabled, but the hull and mechanisms were not seriously damaged. The German raider might have had a chance to break out at night, but having been damaged and discovered by the British, he could no longer hope to continue his cruising operations or reach his shores. This artillery battle, although it did not produce decisive results, nevertheless turned out to be very significant in many respects.

First of all, beyond expectations, all ships, including cruisers, protected only by deck armor 50 mm thick, turned out to be much more durable than expected. Even the cruiser "Exeter", with very weak onboard protection, received heavy damage and at one time was considered lost, returned to England under its own vehicles at the beginning of 1940, making repairs with the help of personnel in the port of Stanley on the Falkland Islands.

According to the calculations of the naval engineer Rougeron (former chief naval engineer of the French fleet), the Exeter should have received up to 20 hits from 280-mm caliber shells, but its buoyancy and stability, as well as its mechanisms, were not seriously damaged, from which

Rougeron concludes that concerns about the insufficient armor of Washington-class cruisers turned out to be greatly exaggerated. Under the influence of this somewhat hasty conclusion, Rougeron tries to defend the ideas of Admiral Fisher and justify the advisability of building ships with strong artillery and weak defense. However, he ignores the fact that all the damage to the cruisers and the battleship was concentrated in the superstructures, and the sides along the waterline did not suffer significant damage.

It should be noted that in this battle, the lightly protected turrets of the British cruisers for 203- and 152-mm guns received great damage, but not a single ship had a fire in the turrets or an explosion in the cellars. Consequently, the experience of the war of 1914-18. was correctly taken into account by the British, and the design of the towers was duly redesigned. Rougeron emphasizes in this regard that the death of many English cruisers during the war of 1814-18. can only be explained by defects in the design of the towers, which did not eliminate the danger of an explosion of ammunition in the cellars, and not at all by the weakness of the side protection of the hulls and barbettes themselves.

The last statement is also not entirely correct. If some of the cruisers exploded due to the penetration of fires from the towers into the cellars, then on the "Invincible", "Defense" and "Black Prince" we have to assume a direct hit and the explosion of shells in the bomb cellars, piercing the insufficiently thick waist and deck armor. Regarding the "Warrior", it is known that the shells exploded in its engine room, passing through the entire armor protection.

The battle off Montevideo provided an interesting example of the tactics of light cruisers when meeting ships with heavy artillery. For the battleship Admiral Graf Spee, the correct tactics should have been to fight at extreme ranges to take full advantage of the superior caliber of her big guns, as Admiral Sturdee had done at the Battle of the Falkland Islands. True, the fight is

Montevideo showed that in practice this is only possible with simultaneous superiority in speed, which this time was on the side of the British. The attack and approach tactics used by the weaker and less protected cruisers against the German battleship turned out to be quite correct, since they were able to use their 152-mm guns without exposing themselves to great risk.

Protection of the turrets with 50-75 mm armor on English cruisers and 1 25 mm on a German battleship turned out to be completely insufficient even against 203 mm caliber guns.

The case of a battle from two sides showed the difficulty of dispersing fire over several targets. A battleship, having two turrets, had to act against three cruisers simultaneously so as not to leave them without fire. If he had fully fired all his heavy guns at the cruiser "Exeter", firing back at the light cruisers with four 150-mm guns on the other side, then, in all likelihood, "Exeter" would have been completely hit. By getting close to him, "Spee" could destroy him. We must conclude that two turrets with six guns are not enough for a ship to fire full salvos at fairly short intervals.

Magazine "Marine Collection". February 1941

“Laid down on October 1, 1932, launched on June 30, 1934, entered service on January 6, 1936. Built in the shipyards of Wilhelmshaven..
Death:
On the morning of December 13, 1939, at about 6 a.m., the Admiral Graf Spee collided with a squadron of British cruisers; the tops of the masts were discovered on the Spee at 5:52, at 6:16 a report was received from the cruiser Exeter: “I believe that this is a “pocket battleship”.” At first, the English light cruisers were mistaken for destroyers, that is, the commander of the Admiral Spee, Captain zur See Hans Langsdorff, believed that he was fighting with a cruiser and two destroyers.
At 6:18 a.m., the first salvo of the German raider fell between the English cruisers, and four minutes later the Exeter’s guns began to speak. Mistaking the light cruisers for destroyers, the commander of the ship Admiral Graf Spee ordered the main caliber artillery fire to be concentrated only on the heavy cruiser. Over the next twenty minutes, the Exeter receives several hits, as a result of which its second bow turret was broken, the command bridge was destroyed, communications were disrupted, and the rudder control mechanisms were disabled. Moving to the aft conning tower, the commander of the English ship orders a torpedo salvo to be fired at the German battleship, and at that very moment the ship is rocked by two more heavy hits. Shrouded in smoke, settled on the bow and tilted to the side, Exeter leaves the battle at 7.40.
Meanwhile, the light cruisers, fired only by the battleship's auxiliary artillery, slipped through the danger zone and, according to Langsdorff, behaved with “incomprehensible impudence.” When at 7.16 the raider turned south, intending to finish off the Exeter, the light cruisers Ajax and Achilles, rushing to the aid of their fellow ship, fired so accurately and effectively that with two shells they disabled the artillery fire control system on the Admiral Count Spee." And although these actions did not go unpunished - one 280-mm German shell disabled the stern towers on the Ajax, and another demolished its mast - both Englishmen continued to follow the “pocket” battleship departing to the east like shadows. At midnight, when the Admiral Graf Spee anchored in the Montevideo roadstead, Ajax and Achilles, splitting up, hastened to block both exits from the mouth of La Plata. The next night they were joined by the heavy cruiser Cumberland - that was all that Harwood could oppose to the German raider.
Although the damage to the Admiral Graf Spee was not very great, she needed repairs that could not be done in the three days provided by the Uruguayan government according to regulations international law, besides, the ammunition was running out. Understanding his predicament, British agents in Montevideo intensively spread rumors: a strong English squadron, which included the battle cruiser Rinaun and the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, was waiting for the “Admiral Count Spee” at the exit from La Plata. Believing in the inevitable death of his ship, Langsdorff sent a request to Berlin, from where he received almost a personal order from the Fuhrer: do not accept the battle, destroy the ship. On December 17, 1939, Langsdorff ordered the ship to be scuttled. The crew went ashore and were interned. The commander shot himself on December 20.
The Spee sank in neutral waters in a shallow place, so that its charred superstructures rose above the waves. The British equipped a special expedition, intending to remove from it everything that had survived from the instruments, in particular, the radar, as well as weapons (105-mm anti-aircraft guns and machine guns). It was possible to complete only part of the program, since shortly after the start of work a storm broke out and the operation had to be stopped. The remaining pile of iron was gradually dismantled for scrap starting in 1942. True, working on the muddy bottom turned out to be extremely inconvenient, and some parts of the last “pocket battleship” are still rusting at the site of the sinking, at 34° 58" 25" south latitude and 56° 18" 01" west longitude. In 2004, some remains of the ship were recovered from the water.

Before its death in the harbor of Montevideo, the “pocket battleship” seriously annoyed the British, having managed to sink eleven merchant ships.” (c) text from the internet for reference

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After battle

"Admiral Count Spee" in Montevideo. Last stop

On the evening of December 17, 1939, a crowd of thousands of spectators from the shores of La Plata Bay watched a breathtaking spectacle. The war, which was already raging with might and main in Europe, finally reached carefree South America and no longer as newspaper reports. Angular, with sharp chopped shapes, like a medieval Teutonic knight, the German raider “Admiral Graf Spee” moved along the fairway. Those who were knowledgeable in naval affairs shook their heads thoughtfully - the circumstances were too reminiscent of the events of 120 years ago, when the residents of Cherbourg escorted the Confederate cruiser Alabama to battle with the Kearsarge. The crowd was thirsty for battle and the inevitable bloodshed: everyone knew that an English squadron was guarding the entrance to the Spee Bay. The “pocket battleship” (an English term; the Germans called such ships sawn-off battleships) leisurely left the territorial waters, the anchors being released rumbled in the hawse. And then explosions thundered - a cloud of smoke and flame rose above the ship. The crowd sighed in fascination and disappointment. The much anticipated battle did not take place. Bet and deals collapsed, newspapermen were left without fees, and Montevideo doctors were left without work. The career of the German “pocket battleship” Admiral Graf Spee was over.

Sharp dagger in a narrow sheath

In an effort to humiliate and trample Germany into the mud after the First World War, the Entente allies entangled the defeated country with many restrictions, primarily in military terms. It was quite difficult to determine from a long list with no less impressive additions, clarifications and explanations: what could the vanquished have in their arsenal and what should it look like? With the death of the most combat-ready core of the High Seas Fleet by self-sinking in Scapa Flow, the British lords finally breathed easier, and the fog over London became less gloomy. As part of a small “club for the elderly”, which with great stretch can be called a fleet, the Weimar Republic was allowed to have only 6 battleships, not counting the limited number of ships of other classes, which were actually battleships of the pre-dreadnought era. The pragmatism of Western politicians was obvious: these forces were quite enough to confront the Navy of Soviet Russia, the state of which by the beginning of the 20s was even more dismal, and at the same time completely insufficient for any attempts to sort out relations with the victors. But the larger the text of the agreement, the more clauses it contains, the easier it is to find appropriate loopholes and room for maneuver in it. According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had the right to build new battleships with a tonnage limit of 10 thousand tons instead of the old ones after 20 years of service. It just so happened that the time in service of the Braunschweig and Deutschland-class battleships, which entered service in 1902–1906, was approaching the cherished twenty-year mark already by the mid-1920s. And just a few years after the end of the First World War, the Germans began designing ships for their new fleet. Fate, in the person of the Americans, presented the vanquished with an unexpected, but nice gift: in 1922, the Washington Naval Agreement was signed, imposing restrictions on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of ships of the main classes. Germany had a chance to create a new ship from scratch, being within the framework of less stringent agreements than those of the Entente countries that defeated it.

At first, the requirements for new ships were quite moderate. This confrontation in the Baltic was either with the fleets of the Scandinavian countries, which themselves had plenty of junk, or a reflection of the “punitive” expedition of the French fleet, where the Germans considered the main opponents to be intermediate-class battleships of the Danton type - it is unlikely that the French would have sent their deep ships to the Baltic Sea seated dreadnoughts. At first, the future German battleship confidently resembled a typical coastal defense ship with powerful artillery and a low side. Another group of specialists advocated the creation of a powerful 10,000-ton cruiser capable of fighting any of the “Washingtonians,” that is, cruisers built taking into account the restrictions imposed by the Washington Maritime Agreement. But again, the cruiser was of little use in the Baltic, and the admirals were scratching their heads, complaining about insufficient armor. There was a design impasse: a well-armed, protected and at the same time fast ship was required. A breakthrough in the situation came when the fleet was led by Admiral Zenker, former commander of the battlecruiser Von der Tann. It was under his leadership that German designers managed to cross a “hedgehog with a snake,” which resulted in the I/M 26 project. Ease of fire control and space saving led to the optimal 280-mm main caliber. In 1926, the French, tired of victory, left the demilitarized and occupied Rhineland, and the Krupp concern could guarantee the timely production of new barrels. Initially, the ship was planned to be equipped with intermediate calibers - universal 127 mm guns, which was an innovative and progressive solution for those years. However, everything that looks great on paper does not always translate into metal (sometimes, fortunately) or is implemented in a completely different way. Conservative admirals, who always prepare for the naval battles of the bygone war, demanded a return to the 150-mm medium caliber, which would be complemented by 88-mm anti-aircraft guns. The subsequent service of “pocket battleships” showed the fallacy of this idea. The center of the battleship turned out to be overloaded with weapons, protected, moreover, for the sake of economy, only by anti-fragmentation shields. But this was not enough for the admirals, and they pushed through the installation of torpedo tubes, which had to be placed on the upper deck behind the main tower. We had to pay for this with protection - the main armor belt “lost weight” from 100 to 80 mm. The displacement increased to 13 thousand tons.

The first ship of the series, serial number 219, was laid down in Kiel at the Deutsche Veerke shipyard on February 9, 1929. The construction of the lead battleship (in this way, so as not to confuse the “enlightened sailors” and their friends, new ships were classified) did not proceed very quickly, and under the pretentious name “Deutschland” it was delivered to the fleet on April 1, 1933. On June 25, 1931, the second unit, the Admiral Scheer, was laid down at the state shipyard in Wilhelmshaven. Its construction was already proceeding at a fairly rapid pace. Meanwhile, the appearance in Germany of some suspicious “battleships” that had agreed-upon dimensions on paper, but in reality looked very impressive, could not help but worry its neighbors. First of all, the French, who hastily began to design “hunters” for the German “Deutschlands”. The fears of the French were embodied in the ship's steel of the battlecruisers Dunkirk and Strasbourg, which were superior to their opponents in all respects, although they were much more expensive. German designers needed to somehow respond to the appearance of the “Dunkirks”, which caused some pause in the construction of the series. It was already too late to make fundamental changes to the project, so we limited ourselves to revising the reservation system of the third ship, bringing it to 100 mm, and instead of 88 mm anti-aircraft guns, they installed more powerful 105 mm ones.

"Admiral Graf Spee" leaves the slipway

On September 1, 1932, on the slipway vacated after the launch of the Scheer, the “battleship C” with construction number 124 was laid down. On June 30, 1934, the daughter of the German admiral Count Maximilian von Spee, Countess Huberta, broke a traditional bottle of champagne against the side of the ship named after her father . On January 6, 1936, Admiral Graf Spee joined the Kriegsmarine. In memory of the admiral, who died in 1914 near the Falkland Islands, the new battleship bore the coat of arms of the house of von Spee on the bow, and the Gothic inscription “CORONEL” was made on the tower-like superstructure in honor of the victory won by the admiral over the English squadron off the coast of Chile. The Spee differed from the first two battleships of the series in its enhanced armor and developed superstructure. A few words should be said about the power plant of the Deutschland class ships. Naturally, these so-called “battleships” were not intended for any protection of the Baltic waters - their main task was to disrupt enemy communications and combat merchant shipping. Hence the increased requirements for autonomy and cruising range. The main power plant was supposed to be diesel engines, in the production of which Germany has traditionally maintained leadership. Back in 1926, the well-known company MAN began developing a lightweight marine diesel engine. For the experiment, a similar product was used as an economic propulsion installation on the light cruiser Leipzig. The new engine turned out to be capricious and often failed: since the design was lightweight, it created increased vibration, which led to breakdowns. The situation was so serious that Spee began to explore options for installing steam boilers. But the MAN engineers promised to bring their brainchild to fruition; moreover, the requirements for the project did not provide for a difference in the types of installed engines, and the third ship of the series received the 8 main nine-cylinder diesel engines provided for it with a total power of 56 thousand hp. By the beginning of World War II, the engines on all three ships had been brought to a high degree of reliability, which was proven in practice by the first raid of the Admiral Scheer, which covered 46 thousand miles in 161 days without serious breakdowns.

Pre-war service

"Spee" passes by the Kiel Canal

After various tests and testing equipment, the “pocket battleship” took part in the naval parade held on May 29, 1936, which was attended by Hitler and others senior officials Reich. The reviving German fleet was faced with the problem of training personnel, and on June 6, the Graf Spee, taking on board midshipmen, set sail for the Atlantic to the island of Santa Cruz. During the 20-day trip, the operation of the mechanisms, primarily diesel engines, is checked. Their increased noise was noted, especially on the main stroke. Upon returning to Germany - again exercises, training, training voyages in the Baltic. With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Germany took an active part in these events. As a member of the “Non-Intervention Committee,” whose function was to prevent the supply of military supplies to both warring parties, the Germans sent almost all of their large ships to Spanish waters. The Deutschland and Scheer first visited Spanish waters, then it was the turn of the Graf Spee, which set sail for the Bay of Biscay on March 2, 1937. The “pocket battleship” kept its watch for two months, visiting Spanish ports in between and encouraging the Francoists with its presence. In general, the activities of the “Committee” over time began to be more and more mocking and one-sided in nature, turning into a farce.

"Pocket Battleship" at the Spithead naval parade

In May, Spee returned to Kiel, after which she was sent as the most modern German ship at that time to represent Germany in the naval parade on the Spithead roadstead, given in honor of the British King George VI. Then again a trip to Spain, this time short-term. The “pocket battleship” spent the remaining time before the big war in frequent exercises and training voyages. The fleet commander raised the flag on it more than once - the Spee had a significant reputation as an exemplary ceremonial ship. In 1939, a large overseas cruise of the German fleet was planned to demonstrate the flag and technical achievements of the Third Reich, in which all three “pocket battleships”, light cruisers and destroyers were to take part. However, different events took place in Europe, and the Kriegsmarine no longer had time for demonstration campaigns. The Second World War began.

The beginning of the war. Pirate everyday life

The German command, in the conditions of the increasingly deteriorating situation in the summer of 1939 and the inevitable clash with Poland and its allies England and France, planned to start a traditional raider war. But the fleet, whose admirals were running around with the concept of chaos in communications, was not ready to create it - only the Deutschland and Admiral Graf Spee, which were constantly in heavy use, were ready for a long trip to the ocean. It also turned out that hordes of raiders converted from commercial ships exist only on paper. To save time, it was decided to send two “pocket battleships” and supply ships to the Atlantic to provide them with everything they needed. On August 5, 1939, the ship Altmark left Germany and went to the USA, where it was supposed to take on board diesel fuel for the Spee. The “pocket battleship” itself left Wilhelmshaven on August 21 under the command of Captain Zur See G. Langsdorff. On the 24th, the Deutschland followed its sistership, working in conjunction with the tanker Westerfald. The areas of responsibility were divided as follows: Deutschland was supposed to operate in the North Atlantic, in the area south of Greenland - Graf Spee had hunting grounds in the southern part of the ocean.

Europe was still living a peaceful life, but Langsdorff had already been ordered to maintain maximum secrecy of movement, so as not to alarm the British ahead of time. "Spee" managed to sneak unnoticed, first to the shores of Norway, and then to enter the Atlantic south of Iceland. This route, subsequently carefully guarded by British patrols, would not be repeated by any German raider. Bad weather helped the German ship continue to remain undetected. On September 1, 1939, the “pocket battleship” was found 1000 miles north of the Cape Verde Islands. A meeting with Altmark was scheduled and took place there. Langsdorff was unpleasantly surprised that the supply team discovered and identified the German raider by its high tower-like superstructure, which had no analogues on other ships. Moreover, the Altmark itself was spotted from the Spee later. Having taken fuel and completed the supply team with artillery servants, Langsdorff continued sailing south, maintaining complete radio silence. "Spee" maintained complete secrecy, dodging any smoke - Hitler still hoped to resolve the issue with Poland in the style of "Munich 2.0" and therefore did not want to anger the British ahead of time. While the “pocket battleship” was waiting for instructions from Berlin, its team, taking into account the opinion of colleagues from the “Altmark”, began camouflaging the ship. A second one was installed from plywood and canvas behind the front main caliber turret, which gave the Spee a vague resemblance to the battle cruiser Scharnhorst. One could expect that a similar trick would work with captains of civilian ships. Finally, on September 25, Langsdorff received freedom of action - an order came from headquarters. The hunter could now shoot game, and not just watch it from the bushes. The supply worker was released, and the raider began patrolling the northeastern coast of Brazil near the port of Recife. On September 28, we were lucky for the first time - after a short pursuit, the British 5,000-ton steamer Clement, which was carrying out a coastal voyage from Pernambuco to Bahia, was stopped. When trying to send their first prey to the bottom, the Germans had to work hard: despite the explosive cartridges and open seams, the ship did not sink. Two torpedoes fired at it missed. Then the 150-mm guns were used and, wasting precious shells, the obstinate Englishman was finally sent to the bottom. The war was just beginning, and both sides had not yet accumulated merciless bitterness. Langsdorf contacted the coastal radio station and indicated the coordinates of the boats in which the Clement crew members were located. However, this not only revealed the location of the raider, but also helped the enemy identify him. The fact that a powerful German warship, and not a poorly armed “trader,” was operating in the Atlantic alarmed the British command, and it promptly responded to the threat. To search and destroy the German “pocket battleship”, 8 tactical battle groups were created, which included 3 battle cruisers (British “Rinaun” and French “Dunkirk” and “Strasbourg”), 3 aircraft carriers, 9 heavy and 5 light cruisers, not counting ships involved in escorting Atlantic convoys. However, in the waters where Langsdorff was going to work, that is, in the South Atlantic, all three groups opposed him. Two of them did not pose an excessive threat and consisted of a total of 4 heavy cruisers. A meeting with Group K, which included the aircraft carrier Ark Royal and the battlecruiser Rhinaun, could have been deadly.

Spee captured her second trophy, the British steamer Newton Beach, on the Cape Town-Freetown line on October 5. Along with the maize cargo, the Germans received an intact English ship's radio station with the corresponding documentation. On October 7, the Ashley steamship, transporting raw sugar, became a victim of the raider. Allied ships were actively searching for the robber who dared to venture into the Atlantic, into this “old English court.” On October 9, an aircraft from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal discovered a large tanker lying adrift west of the Cape Verde Islands, which called itself the American transport Delmar. Since no one was escorting the aircraft carrier except the Rinaun, Admiral Wells decided not to conduct an inspection and follow the previous course. Thus, the supply ship Altmark avoided the fate of being destroyed at the very beginning of its voyage. Out of harm's way, transport moved to southern latitudes. On October 10, the “pocket battleship” stopped the large transport Huntsman, which was carrying various food cargo. Having sunk it, the Spee on October 14 met with the almost exposed Altmark, to which it transferred prisoners and food from captured English ships. Having replenished fuel reserves, Langsdorff continued the operation - on October 22, the raider stopped and sank an 8,000-ton ore carrier, which, however, managed to transmit a distress signal, which was received on shore. Fearing being discovered, Langsdorff decided to change his area of ​​activity and try his luck in the Indian Ocean. For the first time since the beginning of the campaign, having contacted headquarters in Berlin and saying that it plans to continue the campaign until January 1940, on November 4, the Spee rounds the Cape of Good Hope. He moved towards Madagascar, where major ocean shipping routes intersected. On November 9, when landing in rough sea conditions, the ship's Ar-196 reconnaissance aircraft was damaged, which left the “pocket battleship” without eyes for a long time. The expectation of rich loot that the Germans were counting on did not materialize - it was only on November 14 that the small motor ship Africa Shell was stopped and scuttled.

On November 20, Admiral Graf Spee returned to the Atlantic. November 28 - a new rendezvous with the Altmark, which was pleasant for the crew exhausted by the fruitless campaign, from which they took fuel and updated the stock of provisions. Langsdorff decided to return to the successful waters for his ship between Freetown and Rio de Janeiro. Having replenished its supplies, the ship could now continue cruising until the end of February 1940. Its engines were rebuilt, and aircraft mechanics were finally able to bring the reconnaissance aircraft back to life. Things went more smoothly with the flying Arado - on December 2, the Doric Star turbo ship with a load of wool and frozen meat was sunk, and on December 3, the 8,000-ton Tairoa, which was also transporting lamb in refrigerators. Langsdorff again decides to change the cruising area, choosing for this the mouth of the La Plata River. Buenos Aires is one of the largest ports in South America, and several English ships visited almost daily. On December 6, the Admiral Graf Spee meets with its supply officer Altmark for the last time. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the “pocket battleship” conducts artillery exercises, choosing its own tanker as a target. Their result extremely disturbed the senior gunner of the ship, frigate captain Asher - the fire control system personnel showed a very mediocre level of equipment proficiency during two months of inactivity. On December 7, taking away more than 400 prisoners, Altmark parted with its charge forever. By the evening of the same December 7, the Germans managed to capture their last trophy - the steamship "Streonshel", loaded with wheat. The newspapers found on board contained a photograph of the British heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland in camouflage. It was decided to make up like him. The Spee is repainted and a fake smokestack is installed on it. Langsdorff planned to return to Germany after piracy off La Plata. However, history turned out differently.

Commodore Harewood's British cruiser Force G, like persistent hunting dogs on the trail of a wolf, had long been plying the South Atlantic. In addition to the heavy cruiser Exeter, the commodore could count on two light cruisers - Ajax (New Zealand Navy) and the same type Achilles. The patrol conditions of Harewood's group were probably the most difficult - the nearest British base of Port Stanley was more than 1000 miles from the area of ​​​​operation of his formation. Having received a message about the death of the Doric Star off the coast of Angola, Harewood logically calculated that the German raider would rush from the coast of Africa to South America to the most “grainful” area for production - at the mouth of La Plata. With his subordinates, he had long ago developed a battle plan in case of a meeting with a “pocket battleship” - to persistently close in order to make the most of the numerous 6-inch artillery of light cruisers. On the morning of December 12, all three cruisers were already off the coast of Uruguay (Exeter was hastily called from Port Stanley, where it was undergoing maintenance).

“Spee” was also moving towards approximately the same area. On December 11, his on-board plane was completely disabled during landing, which may have played an important role in the events that occurred later.

Wolf and hounds. Battle of La Plata

At 5.52, observers from the tower reported that they could see the tops of the masts, and Langsdorff immediately gave the order to go full speed. He and his officers believed that it was some kind of “merchant” hurrying to the port, and went to intercept it. However, the approaching ship with the Spee was quickly identified as an Exeter-class heavy cruiser. At 6.16 "Exeter" signaled to the flagship "Ajax" that the unknown person looked like a "pocket battleship". Langsdorff decides to take the fight. The ammunition load was almost full, and one “Washington tin” was a weak threat to the “pocket battleship”. However, two more smaller enemy ships were soon discovered. These were the light cruisers Ajax and Achilles, mistaken by the Germans for destroyers. Langsdorff's decision to take the battle was strengthened - he mistook the cruiser and destroyers for guarding a convoy that should be nearby. The defeat of the convoy was supposed to successfully crown the modestly effective voyage of the Spee.

At 6.18, the German raider opened fire, firing at the Exeter with its main caliber. At 6.20 the British heavy cruiser returned fire. Initially, Langsdorff gives the order to concentrate fire on the largest English ship, providing "destroyers" for auxiliary artillery. It should be noted that in addition to standard fire control devices, the Germans also had at their disposal the FuMO-22 radar, capable of operating at a distance of up to 14 km. However, during the battle the Spee gunners relied more on their excellent rangefinders. The overall ratio of artillery of the main calibers: six 280 mm and eight 150 mm guns on the “pocket battleship” versus six 203 and sixteen 152 mm on three English ships.

"Exeter" gradually reduced the distance and hit the "Spee" with its fifth salvo - a 203-mm shell pierced the 105-mm installation on the starboard side and exploded inside the raider's hull. The German response was significant, the eighth salvo of the “pocket battleship” smashed turret “B” on the “Exeter”, a barrage of shrapnel riddled the bridge, wounding the ship’s commander, Captain 1st Rank Bell. More hits followed, knocking out the steering and causing further damage. Settled on his nose and shrouded in smoke, the Briton slows down his rate of fire. Until this time, he had managed to achieve three hits in the Spee: the most sensitive was in its control and rangefinder post. At this time, both light cruisers crept up to the “pocket battleship” at 12 thousand meters, and their artillery began to damage the lightly armored superstructures of the raider. It was because of their persistence that at 6.30 Langsdorff was forced to transfer the fire of the main caliber artillery to these two “impudent people,” as the Germans themselves later said. Exeter fires torpedoes, but Spee easily avoids them. The commander of the German ship ordered to increase the distance to 15 km, leveling the already very annoying fire of Ajax and Achilles. At 6.38, another German shell disabled turret “A” on the Exeter, and now it is increasing the distance. His companions rush at the raider again, and the heavy cruiser gets a break. It is in a deplorable state - even the Ajax ship's plane, which tried to adjust the fire, reported to Harewood that the cruiser was burning and sinking. At 7.29 Exeter left the battle.

Now the battle turned into an unequal duel between two light cruisers and a “pocket battleship”. The British constantly maneuvered, changed course, throwing off the German artillerymen's aim. Although their 152 mm shells could not sink the Spee, their explosions destroyed the unprotected superstructure of the German ship. At 7.17, Langsdorff, who commanded the battle from the open bridge, was wounded - shrapnel cut his hand and shoulder and hit him so hard on the bridge that he temporarily lost consciousness. At 7.25, both aft turrets of the Ajax were disabled by a well-aimed hit from a 280-mm shell. However, the light cruisers did not stop firing, achieving a total of 17 hits on the Admiral Graf Spee. Losses in its crew amounted to 39 people killed and 56 wounded. At 7.34 a new German shell demolished the top of the Ajax mast with all the antennas. Harewood decided to end the battle at this stage - all his ships were heavily damaged. Regardless of his English opponent, Langsdorff came to the same conclusion - reports from combat posts were disappointing, water was observed entering the hull through holes at the waterline. The speed had to be reduced to 22 knots. The British put up a smoke screen and the opponents disperse. By 7.46 the battle ends. The British suffered much more severely - Exeter alone lost 60 people killed. There were 11 dead among the light cruiser crews.

Not an easy decision

The end of the German raider. "Spee" was blown up by the crew and is on fire

The German commander was faced with a difficult task: wait until nightfall and try to escape with at least two enemies on his tail, or go to a neutral port for repairs. A torpedo specialist, Langsdorf fears night torpedo attacks and decides to go to Montevideo. On the afternoon of December 13, the Admiral Graf Spee enters the roadstead of the capital of Uruguay. "Ajax" and "Achilles" guard their enemy in neutral waters. An examination of the ship gives conflicting results: on the one hand, the battered raider did not receive a single fatal injury, on the other, the total amount of damage and destruction raised doubts about the possibility of crossing the Atlantic. There were several dozen English ships in Montevideo; the nearest ones were constantly monitoring the actions of the Germans. The British Consulate skillfully spreads rumors that the arrival of two large ships is expected, by which the Ark Royal and Rinaun are clearly meant. In fact, the “enlightened sailors” were bluffing. On the evening of December 14, the heavy cruiser Cumberland joined Harewood instead of the Exeter, which had gone for repairs. Langsdorff is conducting difficult negotiations with Berlin regarding the future fate of the crew and the ship: to be interned in Argentina, loyal to Germany, or to sink the ship. For some reason, the option of a breakthrough is not being considered, although Spee had every chance of doing so. In the end, the fate of the German ship was decided directly by Hitler in a difficult conversation with Grand Admiral Raeder. On the evening of December 16, Langsdorff receives orders to scuttle the ship. On the morning of December 17, the Germans begin to destroy all valuable equipment on the “pocket battleship”. All documentation is burned. By evening, work to prepare for self-destruction was completed: the bulk of the crew was transferred to the German ship Tacoma. At about 18 o'clock the flags were raised on the masts of the “pocket battleship”, it moved away from the pier and began to slowly move along the fairway in a northerly direction. This action was watched by a crowd of at least 200 thousand people. Having moved 4 miles from the shore, the raider dropped anchor. At about 20 o'clock there were 6 explosions - the ship sank to the bottom and fires started on it. Explosions were heard on the shore for another three days. The crew, with the exception of the wounded, reached Buenos Aires safely. Here Langsdorff addressed the team for the last time, thanking them for their service. On December 20, he shot himself in a hotel room. The voyage of the “pocket battleship” was completed.

Ship wreck

A mocking fate would have it that the ship “Admiral Count Spee”, a quarter of a century later, would rest on the ocean floor just a thousand miles from the grave of the man after whom it was named.

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Battleship "Admiral Graf Spee"

After Germany's defeat in World War I, the victorious powers decided to impose many different restrictions on its navy. They carefully worked out the paragraphs of the agreements, according to which the displacement of the new ships, designed to replace the battleships that had served for 20 years, could not exceed 10,000 tons (“long”, 1016 kg each). At the same time, the maximum caliber of artillery was not specified: it was believed that only a heavy cruiser or a coastal defense ship could be “shoved” into the allotted framework. At the same time, the winners themselves, when concluding the Washington Treaty, decided to set not only a similar displacement limit for their cruisers, but also limit the caliber of their artillery to no more than 203 mm.

"Admiral Count Spee"

When the Germans began designing ships to replace battleships, they first really followed the usual path: they developed a coastal defense ship with 38 cm guns and a conventional Washington-type heavy cruiser with 210 mm guns. However, after several studies, they came up with a completely unusual project.

Firstly, they decided to use diesel engines as the main vehicles. Secondly, the main armament was to consist of six 28 cm guns in two three-gun turrets. Thirdly, much attention was paid to the fire control system, which turned out to be very successful and perfect. Fourthly, the armor protection became unusually powerful for a cruising class ship. The use of diesel engines was directly linked to the enormous cruising range, and the desire for comprehensive weight savings led to the use of a number of technological innovations during construction. True, the new battleships turned out to be expensive, and therefore the Weimar Republic could not immediately allocate funds for the construction of three units. As a result, the lead Deutschland was laid down in February 1928, the second in the Admiral Scheer series in June 1931, and the last Admiral Graf Spee only on October 1, 1932. It entered service in January 1936. The construction of this most advanced of diesel raiders was actually carried out after the Nazis came to power, who were not so afraid of international scandals due to the violation of “vile and criminal treaties unfairly imposed on Germany.”

The ship, built at the shipyard in Wilhelmshaven, had the following performance characteristics: standard displacement - 12,100 tons, full displacement - 16,582 tons. Waterline length - 181.7 m, maximum - 186 m, beam - 21.65 m, maximum draft - 7.43 m. Total power of eight main diesel engines - 56 800 hp, speed - 26 (maximum - 28) knots, economical cruising range - 16,300 miles. The thickness of the armor belt is up to 100 mm, decks are up to 70 mm, towers are up to 140 mm, deckhouses are 150 mm. The total weight of the armor was 3000 tons. The artillery armament consisted of 2? 3 28 cm (283 mm) main caliber guns, 8 1 15 cm auxiliary caliber guns, 3 2 105 mm anti-aircraft guns, as well as 4 2 37 mm 10 1 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. The artillery was complemented by two four-tube 533 mm torpedo tubes in lightly armored mounts. There was also a catapult and equipment to accommodate two float scouts. The crew exceeded 1000 people. It is worth noting that even before the start of World War II, “Admiral Count Spee” received, albeit still quite primitive, but already quite functional radar.

It was completely clear what class these ships belonged to; the British came up with a special name for them: “Pocket battleship” - “pocket battleship”. In Germany they were officially listed as armadillos (Panzerschiffe).

Soon after the completion of the tests, the battleship set off on a test voyage to the Atlantic, and in December 1936 it became part of the German squadron operating off the coast of the captured civil war Spain. The “pocket battleship” visited the waters off the Iberian Peninsula several times, but each time it was there for a relatively short time and was not particularly noteworthy, but it often participated in various ceremonial events. For example, he represented Germany during the celebrations at the Spithead raid in May 1937.

When, in August 1939, tensions in Europe began to rapidly increase and it became clear that things were heading towards another war, the command decided to take the raider to the vastness of the Atlantic ahead of time. The ship, commanded by Captain Zur See G. von Langsdorff, left Wilhelmshaven on the 21st and successfully entered the ocean. By September 1 - the day of the German attack on Poland - he was in the Central Atlantic, where he successfully met with the supply ship Altmark, which had also left Germany ahead of time.

On September 10, the “pocket battleship” crossed the equator and headed further south, but the order to begin active operations from Germany came only on the 25th. On the last day of the month, the British steamer Clement was captured, and its sinking was accompanied by a number of “jokes”: the ship did not want to sink, and two fired torpedoes missed. We had to use artillery. Observing the laws of cruising warfare, Langsdorff provided the English sailors with the opportunity to escape, but unmasked his ship. The British and French immediately sent several strong formations to search for the pickpocket. Subsequently, operating in the South Atlantic and entering the Indian Ocean, the Admiral Graf Spee captured eight more prizes. At the same time, the Ar-196 airborne aircraft was actively used to search for the next victims. The raider sent his last loot to the bottom on December 3, and after that he transferred the next prisoners to the Altmark, sending it to Germany. The trade fighter itself moved to the mouth of La Plata.

By this time, the British were able to correctly determine the location of the battleship, and Commodore G. Harwood’s squadron arrived in the same area, consisting of the heavy cruiser Exeter and the light cruisers Ajax and Achilles. The opponents discovered each other early in the morning of December 13, and the Germans initially mistook the light cruisers for destroyers. The commander of the “pocket battleship” decided to concentrate fire only on the heavy ship, and from 06:18 to 07:40 “Exeter” received several hits and left the battle. However, the light cruisers took advantage of the fact that the enemy’s attention was focused on the heavy cruiser and decisively moved towards rapprochement. They scored many hits and, although their six-inch shells could not inflict too much damage on the battleship, they forced her to abandon her intention to finish off the Exeter. Although as a result of the battle all three “British” suffered (total losses - 72 killed), and the strongest of them was out of action, the “pocket battleship” also suffered. It killed 36 people and was damaged, but most importantly, its commander lost confidence in himself. Without trying to deal with the “impudent people,” he preferred to go to a neutral port - the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo.

The period of stay there, according to international laws, expired on the evening of December 17, 1939. By this time, the heavy cruiser Cumberland came to the aid of Ajax and Achilles, but the Germans overestimated the enemy’s strength and decided not to go to sea to certain death. At about 6 p.m., the Admiral Graf Spee left, and two hours later it was blown up by its own crew on the border of territorial waters. The ship burned for three days, and its destroyed skeleton sank in shallow water. Captain zur See Langsdorff shot himself in Buenos Aires on December 20...

The Altmark was intercepted by British destroyers in Norwegian waters, and all the prisoners were freed. Two other battleships - Lützow (formerly Deutschland) and Admiral Scheer - were transferred to heavy cruisers in December 1939. Both of them died in the last month of the war. And the skeleton of the “Admiral Graf Spee” was partially dismantled for metal, and partially left at the scene of death. Already in the 2000s. underwater archaeologists brought to the surface many different objects, including individual tools.