Admiral Graf Spee

E14405

Admiral Graf Spee was a German "pocket battleship" (heavy cruiser) of the Kriegsmarine famed for its commerce raiding in the South Atlantic and its scuttling after the Battle of the River Plate early in World War II.


Statements (52)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Deutschland-class cruiser
Kriegsmarine ship
heavy cruiser
pocket battleship
warship
aircraftCarried 2 seaplanes
aircraftType Arado Ar 196 seaplane
armamentAA 8.8 cm anti-aircraft guns
armamentMainBattery 6 × 28 cm (11 in) guns in two triple turrets
armamentSecondary 8 × 15 cm (5.9 in) guns
armamentTorpedoTubes 8 × 53.3 cm torpedo tubes
beam approximately 21.6 meters
builder Reichsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven
commanderDuringRiverPlate Hans Langsdorff
commissioned 1936-01-06
conflictParticipatedIn World War II
countryOfOrigin Germany
crewComplement approximately 1150
dateOfBattleOfTheRiverPlate 1939-12-13
dateOfScuttling 1939-12-17
displacementFullLoad approximately 16200 tons
displacementStandard approximately 12100 tons
draft approximately 7.3 meters
enteredMontevideoDate 1939-12-14
enteredPort Montevideo
fate scuttled
laidDown 1932-10-01
launched 1934-06-30
legacy symbol of early-war German commerce raiding
lengthOverall approximately 186 meters
maximumSpeed approximately 28.5 knots
namedAfter Maximilian von Spee
notableEngagement Battle of the River Plate
notableFor influencing early Allied naval strategy in the South Atlantic
operator Kriegsmarine
opponentsAtRiverPlate HMNZS Achilles
HMS Ajax
HMS Exeter
placeBuilt Wilhelmshaven
propulsion diesel engines
range approximately 8900 nautical miles at 20 knots
reasonForScuttling to avoid internment and capture
roleInWorldWarII commerce raider
scuttledAt off Montevideo
scuttledIn River Plate estuary
serviceEntryPeriod interwar period
shipClass Deutschland class
shipType armored ship
pocket battleship
status wreck
theaterOfOperations Indian Ocean
South Atlantic Ocean

Referenced by (18)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Reichsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven
Reichsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven ("heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee")
constructed
Kriegsmarine
Reichsmarine ("pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee")
notableShip
Commodore Henry Harwood’s Force G ("German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee")
HMNZS Achilles ("German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee")
opponent
Battle of the River Plate
combatantShip
Hans Langsdorff ("German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee")
commanded
Batalla del Río de la Plata
hasParticipant
Maximilian von Spee ("German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee")
honouredIn
Batalla del Río de la Plata ("acorazado de bolsillo alemán Admiral Graf Spee")
mainCombatant
HMS Ajax ("German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee")
opponentInBattleOfTheRiverPlate
HMS Exeter ("German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee")
opponentShip
Altmark Incident
relatedShip
Deutschland class
ship
Battle of the River Plate
shipDamaged
Deutschland class
shipLostInBattle
Altmark
supportedVessel

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