[martin_fierro]

Huija!

I can pretty much guarantee that this was HUGE stuff for the Montevideans in tiny Uruguay.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the article Blam.

[EggsAckley]

The Graf SPREE???


(just teasing)

[KellyAdmirer]

More like a heavy cruiser than a battleship. There was a lot of fast and loose playing around with terms in the 1930s.

[ibbryn]

Captain Hans Langsdorff decided to seek refuge in Montevideo harbour but was unable to make the necessary repairs within the 72-hour period afforded in a neutral harbour by international convention.

This part's interesting.

[Professional Engineer]

It'll be interesting to see what they can recover. I wonder what corrosion and sea life has done to her.

[coydog]

Sinking of the Graf Spee

Oh there was a jolly ship built in Nazi Germany,
And the name of that ship was the Admiral Graf Spee;
And she looted merchantmen of ev'ery nationality
As she sailed upon the rolling, bowling,
As she sailed upon the rolling sea.

She met three cruisers of the British army,
And to stop them she knew would put Berlin on the spree.
Their commander laughed aloud: 'Now merry game there'll be,
For I'll sink them 'neath the rolling, bowling,
For I'll sink them 'neath the rolling sea.'

She fired her mighty guns, did the Admiral Graf Spee;
Her captain laughed aloud, and hugged himself with glee,
But he swore a hasty oath as the little cruisers three
Came dashing over the rolling, bowling,
Came dashing over the rolling sea.

'To the helm, quick,' he cries, 'and turn face right merrily,
Or our Fuhrer's small moustache we never more may live to see.'
With his tail between his legs, in his ear a lively flea,
He went scurrying through the rolling, bowling,
He went scurrying through the rolling sea.

Yes, the 'bear' he went to cover where his wounds
the world could see,
For the British bulldog bite had hurted painfully,
And the foeman speeding forward knew the fight that he had seen
Would end beneath the rolling, bowling,
Would end beneath the rolling sea.

Yes, and this was the end of the Admiral Graf Spee,
And perhaps it was for this that a pocket ship was she,
For in Davy Jones's pocket, scuttled most ingloriously,
She rusts beneath the rolling, bowling,
She rusts beneath the rolling sea.

The Admiral Graf Spee was scuttled in Montevideo harbor in 1939
to prevent its capture by by Ajax, Achilles and Exeter. Big morale
boost to the Allied forces.RG


Song based on Golden Vanity (VANTYGL*)
from a newspaper in County Armagh
Printed in Roy Palmer, Oxford Book of Sea Songs
SOF

[Southack]

Just a little trivia, but "Graf" is German for Count or Earl. So the battleship "Admiral Graf Spree" was named for an Admiral who was also Germanic Royalty...a bit quirky considering that Hitler's rise to power depended upon the German Kaiser (Ceasar / King) being out of the picture.

[backhoe]

A search for "Battle of the Falkland Islands ( WWI ) and the Battle of Coronel" should yield a wealth of info regarding Admiral Graf Spee, armored cruisers versus battlecruiser, etc.

[Orangedog]

Brings back memories of the urban legend that the Ballester-Molina, the .45 ACP manufactured by HAFDASA and was rumored to have been made from salvaged Graf Spee armor.

[curmudgeonII]

I was under the impression that much of the Graf Spee has already been salvaged for scrap metal.

[shaggy eel]

HMNZS Achilles.

[solitas]

Followup article (for reference): http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1576482/posts