KMS Admiral Graf Spee

History of KMS Admiral Count Spee

Admiral Graf Spee was a German-class warship of the German warships before World War II. It was designed and built at a time when Germany was still bound by the Treaty of Versailles signed after World War I. The treaty stipulated the design of new warships with a displacement of no more than 10,000 tons.

However, Admiral Count Spee was the product of breaking the rules and completely disregarding such restrictions - a practice that became increasingly common after Hitler came to power. The German class was first deployed at sea with its lead ship KMS Deutschland, followed by KMS Admiral Scheer and finally KMS Admiral Graf Spee.

Graf Spee is named after German Admiral Maximilian von Spee, who was killed in World War I and joined his flagship, two sons and 2,200 German soldiers in the Battle of the Falklands. The sailors sank together. Admiral Graf Spee was launched in October 1932, launched in June 1934 and officially commissioned in January 1936.

All German-class ships were eventually killed in World War II. The original main ship, Deutschland, was later renamed Lutso, out of fears that losing her namesake in an enemy action could have a devastating effect on national pride and morale.

Although all three ships of the class could easily exceed the allowable limit of 10,000 tons (only Graf Spee exceeded 16,000 tons at the end of construction), they were never true by definition Battleship Caliber". The selected machinery came in the form of 8 x MAN diesel engines producing 56,000 shaft horsepower on two propeller shafts, which brought an additional speed advantage and proved to be a weight saving measure that could be achieved by armour and armament Focus on the overall protection of the vessel. The structure is electric welded, further reducing weight, in contrast to the common practice of riveting. German naval engineers actually produced more of an "intermediate" battleship design - neither a true battleship nor a true cruiser. The final product has "battleship-like" weapons and armor, but it's essentially a faster ocean-going design - over 28 knots.

This ship demonstrates the prowess of a cruiser. To this end, the design of the world was called a "pocket battleship", and the Graf Spee would further distinguish it from her contemporaries, also equipped with an early ship radar called "Seetakt" - the first ship such a warship.

Equipped by the German Navy.

Count Spee was armed with 6 x 11" main guns in two main turrets - three guns each - one in the front and the other in the rear. Supplemented with 8 x 5.9" main guns, And further strengthened with 6 x 105mm, 8 x 37mm and 10 x 20mm guns. Larger caliber weapons are effective against surface ships and land-based targets, while smaller caliber systems can be used against surface ships and low-flying aircraft.

Additionally, the ship gains true "ship kill" capability in the form of 8 x 533mm torpedo tubes. Two Arado Ar 196 seaplanes were brought aboard and launched from catapults located aft of the bridge superstructure. These aircraft provided the ships with the necessary "eyes in the air" by performing various reconnaissance missions and, when called upon, attacked with machine guns, bombs, and depth charges.

The plane was then lifted from the water by a crane and used again. The Graf Spee's side profile features a smoke funnel amidships and a towering mast. During the war, 1,150 officers and sailors made the ship their home.

Upon completion, Graf Spee embarked on various promotional tours after completing the necessary sea trials. In August 1939, the ship was commissioned to the South Atlantic, with Captain Hans Langsdorf at the helm.

World War II officially broke out in September of that year, and all Allied ships in the Atlantic were now available for raids.

Graf Spee is best known for her ultimate action in the "Battle of the Riverbed" in the South Atlantic in December 1939 when she fought against the Royal Navy's warships. The Germans found HMS Exeter and two cruisers - HMS Ajax and HMS Achilles - sailing on the horizon.

Langsdorf ordered his men to the battle station and full speed ahead to surprise the enemy. However, the British in turn found them and were ready to fight. British officer Henry Harwood ordered his fleet out of formation, forcing the Graf Spee to choose her target for engagement. The two sides exchanged shells angrily, and Count Spee's crew earned a lot of respect in the advance - considering they were outnumbered.

HMS Exeter pulled out of the battle after being hit by consecutive hits from the Graf Spee, badly damaged. The main guns of the German ships matched that of the lightly armored British ships. Graf Spee then laid a smoke screen and the ship is believed to be under torpedo attack.

Exeter returned after the break but was knocked back again. HMS Ajax now suffers damage from Graf Spee and loses one of her turrets. This move was enough to separate the two sides, each going its own way.

Despite the demonstrations, the Graf Spee is not an invincible ship. She suffered enough combat damage and casualties in action to force her to seek a friendly haven for repairs and casualty transfer. Some reports state that the Graf Spee took 60 to 70 direct hits during the battle.

In addition, their ammunition was in short supply, and their oil purification and desalination systems were completely destroyed - making a return to Germany nearly impossible.

So the ship landed in Montevideo, a neutral country near Uruguay, with the idea of ??making the ship seaworthy again. At the port, the British navy convinced the Germans, through deliberately intercepted radio signals, that a sizable force was nearby waiting for them to return to sea.

This ultimately left Captain Spee with two options - a suicide run towards friendly Argentina, or sink the ship where it was. It was eventually decided to sink the ship, and due to Uruguay's neutrality, the crew of the Graf Spee had 72 hours to stand by the ship before the ship could turn around.

This time is used to clear the injured and wire explosives.

On December 17, 1939, the crew of the Graf Spee began the sinking process. When everything was in place, the rest of the crew was captured and the Graf Spee was blown up on 18 December. However, her captain (Langsdorff) decides to commit suicide on 20 December in a chilling honour, as he takes full responsibility for Count Spee's defeat and does not want to disgrace his native Germany.

Count Spee's involvement in World War II officially ended.

The wreck of the Graf Spee is known today, and the painstaking effort to recover the ship began in 2004.

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