By 07:40, Ajax and Achilles were running low on resources, and the British decided to change tactics, moving to the east under a smoke screen. At least 800 of her crew had been transferred to the German steamship Tacoma, which then followed the Graf Spee out to sea. On 15 one of his artillery officers believed that he had sighted the Renown’s fighting top through the ship’s range finders, although by 1939 that fighting top had been removed. On 13 December at 05:20, the British squadron was proceeding on a course of 060° at 14 knots with HMS Ajax at 34° 34′ South 48° 17′ West, 390 nmi (720 km) east of Montevideo. Ultimately, he chose to scuttle his ship in the River Plate estuary on 17 December, to avoid unnecessary loss of life for no particular military advantage, a decision that is said[by whom?] Only the rear Y turret was still firing, aimed manually by the Gunnery Officer, Lieutenant-Commander Richard Jennings, who was standing on the roof. Admiral Graf Spee turned and fired two three-gun salvoes with her fore guns. He ordered his squadron to steam toward the position 32° south, 47° west. Believing this, they spent the rest of the first day attempting to make sure that the Graf Spee was only allowed the 24 hours in port she was allowed under international law. to have infuriated Adolf Hitler. At 6.17am he opened fire on the Exeterwith all of his 11in guns, straddling her with his third salvo at 6.23am. It would seem likely that a fight with an equally strong cruiser squadron on 17 December would have exhausted the Graf Spee’s ammunition. It is normally stated that the Graf Spee would have been able to overwhelm the British squadron outside the River Plate. Rows of simple crosses in the Cementerio del Norte, in the north of the city of Montevideo, mark the burial places of the German dead. The battle of the River Plate is one of the most famous naval battles of the Second World War, despite only involving four ships. This illusion was very quickly shattered – at 6.16am the British finally realised that they had found their target. From his latest information Harwood had calculated that the Graf Spee could reach Rio de Janeiro on 12 December, the River Plate on 13 December or the Falkland Islands on 14 December. The only potentially serious damage was a six foot wide hole in the bow, well above the waterline. Olynthus was also directed to keep observation between Medanos and Cape San Antonio, off Argentina south of the River Plate estuary (see chart below). From her opening salvo, Admiral Graf Spee′s gunfire proved fairly accurate, her third salvo straddling Exeter. All three ships were capable of over 30kts. Before returning home Langsdorff wanted to achieve some final successes. At this point the British had not yet sighted the Von Spee. Ajaxand Achilles attempted to follow the Graf Spee at a safe different, to make sure she was indeed heading into port. On 15 December 1939, Olynthus refuelled Ajax, which proved a difficult operation; the ship had to use hurricane hawsers to complete the replenishment. He decided to engage, despite having received a broadly accurate report from the German naval staff on 4 December, outlining British activity in the River Plate area. Harwood chose this position, according to his despatch, because of its being the most congested part of the shipping routes in the South Atlantic, and therefore the point where a raider could do the most damage to enemy shipping. The resulting ships were officially known as Panzerschiffe (armoured ships), despite being very poorly armoured - the side armour on the Graf Spee was only 3.1-2.4in thick. At this point, nearly one hour after the battle started, Admiral Graf Spee was doomed; she could not make fuel system repairs of this complexity under fire. At this point, Exeter was severely damaged, having only "Y" turret still in action under 'local' control, with Jennings on the roof shouting instructions to those inside. Meanwhile the Exeterhad come into a good position to launch her starboard torpedoes. The Graf Spee’s lookout position was much higher than that on the British ships, so for some time the British were unaware that they were about to encounter the German ship. The Graf Spee now turned to the Ajaxand the Achilles. In 1997, one of Admiral Graf Spee's 149 mm (5.9 in) secondary gun mounts was raised and restored; it can now be seen outside Montevideo's National Maritime Museum. The older and larger Cumberland was more powerful than Exeter, with an additional aft turret containing two more 8-inch guns, but was no match on paper for Admiral Graf Spee whose guns had significantly longer range and fired much heavier shells (660 lb against 256 lb). His divided ships would also be able to correct each others shooting. At 09:15, Ajax recovered her aircraft. She had crippled Exeterbut both of the light cruisers had survived the battle. 34 in Guelph, Ontario; the Navy League Wrenette Corps (NLWC) Lady Exeter (now disbanded) and the camp shared by all three corps, called Camp Cumberland (this camp no longer exists; it was decommissioned around 1999). The force was commanded by Commodore Henry Harwood from Ajax, which was captained by Charles Woodhouse. The Germans feared that Uruguay could be persuaded to join the Allied cause. The first major section, the 27 long tons (27 t) heavy gunnery control station, was raised on 25 February 2004. Three minutes later, Exeter suffered a direct hit on her "B" turret, putting it and its two guns out of action. The Ajaxand Achilles were now in a good position to launch a torpedo attack, and so Captain Langsdorff ordered a turn to the north to make the Graf Spee a harder target for torpedoes. The German propaganda machine had reported that Admiral Graf Spee had sunk a heavy cruiser and heavily damaged two light cruisers while only being lightly damaged herself. Unknown to Langsdorff, Commodore Henry Harwood knew there was a German ship in the area, likely headed to Montevideo. After it has been raised, it was planned that the ship may be restored and put on display at the National Marine Museum. Prisoners taken from merchant ships by Admiral Graf Spee who had been transferred to her supply ship Altmark were freed by a boarding party from the British destroyer HMS Cossack, in the Altmark Incident (16 February 1940)—whilst in Jøssingfjord, at the time neutral Norwegian waters. It made it to shore in Uruguay, where the Germans released 61 captive British merchant seamen who had been on board. This would have been the opportunity to finish off Exeter. The Graf Spee had been designed while Germany was still publicly obeying the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. The Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps (RCSCC) Ajax No. War Monthly (1977). At 09:46, Harwood signalled to Cumberland for reinforcement and the Admiralty also ordered ships within 3,000 mi (2,600 nmi; 4,800 km) to proceed to the River Plate. One hit "A" turret and put it out of action, the other entered the hull and started fires. Harwood’s last ship, the Cumberland, arrived from the Falklands on 14 December. She carried eight 8in guns, making her 25% more powerful than the Exeter. This report included information that Ajax, Achilles, Cumberland and Exeter were patrolling the South American coast. December 1939", "The Avalon Project: Text of the 13th Hague Convention", "A Swastika, 60 Years Submerged, Still Inflames Debate", "What should Uruguay do with its Nazi eagle? Last edited on 26 September 2020, at 00:58, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Ahoy – Mac's Web Log – The Battle of the River Plate. Maier, Rohde, Stegemann and Umbreit 1991, p. 166. Instead of turning back to finish off the badly mauled British squadron, he decided to continue on to the west, and seek safety in Montevideo.

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