Replies

Actually it's even more interesting than that. Under the so-called "Cruiser Rules" the German ship couldn't leave a neutral port within a certain time period (I think it was 24-hours) of the departure of a ship from a hostile nation. The Brits had several merchant ships in Montevideo harbor and they were letting them leave one-at-a-time in order to prevent the Graf Spee's early departure. By this gambit the British consulate was attempting to 'hold' the Graf Spee in the harbor until more Naval Forces arrived.

The deception worked: Capt. Langsdorff was convinced that he was going to run into a British Battle Fleet instead of a few damaged light cruisers, and so he slipped anchor with a skeleton crew and scuttled the ship, much to the relief of the British sailors.

The Graf Spee -- damaged as she was -- constituted a superior force to the allied cruiser force. She had them outranged & outgunned bigtime.

My recollection is that the original damage that caused the Graf Spree to go into Montevideo ws caused by a shell from a destroyer that happened to take out the ship's electrical system. The delay in restoring power permitted some destroyers to get inside the minimum depression angle of their big guns. At that point Captain Langsdorff decided to enter the neutral port.

This power failure led the U.S. Navy to analyze the power distribution systems on our own ships. This task was assigned to Hymen Rickover and the A-B-C power distribution system was adopted as the U.S. Standard. This is one of the significant Rickover achievements that led to his being assigned the task of developing our first nuclear powered submarine, the Nautilis.

Another reason for Rickover's assignment to the Nautilis was the Navy high command recognized that all nuclear development was under the authority of the Atomic Energy Commission ("AEC"). As such many in the Navy command believed that Rickover would be stymied by the civilians on the AEC. He overcame this obstacle by making the point that there was no Navy liason in the AEC.

He got that position created and applied for the job. He wrote the requisitions for materials for the Nautilis with his Navy hat and approved them with his civilian hat. By the time the Navy realized what happened, the Nautilis was almost ready for sea trials.

Then Rickover was passed over for promotion and told that he had to leave. He persuaded several members of Congress that he had the world's first nuclear submarine ready for sea trials and that the Navy wanted him out. The Congress backed him and made it clear to the Navy that their budget would have a tough time, if Rickover wasn't promoted. We all know many of the milestones of the Nautilis and the birth of the submarine fleet as a dominant part of our strategic defense.

Actually it's even more interesting than that. Under the so-called "Cruiser Rules" the German ship couldn't leave a neutral port within a certain time period (I think it was 24-hours) of the departure of a ship from a hostile nation.

Warships in neutral ports are allowed to make repairs in order to make themselves seaworthy, they are not permitted to do anything that makes them more combatworthy. Warships that are in neutral ports for more than 24 hours can be interned for the duration. The Uruguay authorities did an inspection and gave a 72 hour extension on top of the 18 hours the ship had already been in port.

The Brits had several merchant ships in Montevideo harbor and they were letting them leave one-at-a-time in order to prevent the Graf Spee's early departure. By this gambit the British consulate was attempting to 'hold' the Graf Spee in the harbor until more Naval Forces arrived.

After realizing the real status quo the British invoked the 24 hour pursuit rule by sailing a merchant ship, Graf Spee had to then wait 24 hours before being allowed to start a (possible) pursuit. Later a second merchant ship was sailed thereby ensuring the Graf Spee could only legally leave port in daylight hours before the granted time extension expired. That was effing brilliant of the British, and that sort of thinking is why we should be happy they are close allies in 2004.