[Stoat]

Some recent FR threads on the 'slightly larger' Admiral Graf Spee   :-)

Divers recover large piece of Graf Spee (+ lots of unique Graff Spee photos)

Floating crane maneuvered near sunken World War II era German warship off Uruguay

Effort to raise battleship GRAF SPEE at mouth of Plate R. in Uruguay postponed b-c high winds.

Divers Aim To Raise The Graf Spree

[Petronski]

From Wikipedia:

Immediately after the scuttling in shallow water much of the ship's superstructure remained above water level, but then over the years the wreck subsided into the muddy bottom and today only the tip of the mast remains above the surface.

The first salvage from the ship was most likely carried out by Royal Navy intelligence teams which recovered the highly advanced Seetakt radar not destroyed in the scuttling. In February, 1940 the wreck was boarded by US Navy sailors from the light cruiser USS Helena.

Seems like a pretty glaring oversight on the Captain's part.