[Automated]

The Battle of the River Plate, the first major naval battle of WWII, involved the Admiral Graf Spee, a German pocket battleship. Its crew had been under orders to sink British merchant ships, a practice known as commerce raiding, but avoid combat with enemy forces. During the Royal Navy's attack on the Graf Spee, the German vessel suffered some superficial damage and set a course for Montevideo. There, believing his forces to be outnumbered, the German captain made what decision?


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[ZS-VAN]

Scuttle his ship. What's with the German Navy in WWII? Couldn't use battleships? The Bismarcks' Captain gave his position away by having an unnecessary chat over the radio.

[1250ships]

The Graf Spee suffered a lot more than just "superficial damage" in the battle. There were two areas of damage that were critical. Hits in the unarmored bow area compromised the ships ability to sail in any sort of heavy weather. Worse one of Exeter's 8 inch shells had wrecked a boiler room aft of the funnel. Though the Graf Spee was diesel powered the raw fuel carried had to be treated below it could be burned by her engines. The separators that did the cleaning required high pressure steam to work. The loss of the boiler room ment that the ship only had enough treated fuel for 16 hours of sailing. That hit doomed the ship as there was no way for the Germans to repair the ship in the 72 hours available to her under international law.

This was in the end a design flaw because the critical machinery was carried above the ship's armored deck.


Admiral Graf Spee


HMS Exeter

HMS Ajax

HMS Achilles

[ZS-VAN]

Appreciate the insights Ships.

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by Automated

.....the German captain made what decision?

Paper!....

[mikeb1958]

the German captain made what decision?

That going with E-7 instead of the obvious D-7 cost him the game. YOU SUNK MY BATTLESHIP!