German Pocket Battleships 1939–45

Turning south-west, Admiral Graf Spee captured the Huntsman on 9 October, but sent her to the bottom nine days later. Moving eastwards again, the Trevanion was sunk on 22 October. The German warship then moved south, swinging around into the Indian Ocean where she sank the Africa Shell off the east coast of South Africa before returning to the South Atlantic. Here she sank the Doric Star on 2 December and Tairoa on 5 December. Steaming westwards again, her final victim was the Streonshalh off the coast of Brazil on 7 December.

The net was closing in on Admiral Graf Spee, however. A number of British battlegroups (differing sources quote either eight or ten) were committed to the search for her, the approximate area in which the German raider was operating being known from fragmented signals transmitted by the Doric Star. The cruisers HMS Exeter and HMS Cumberland were steaming northwards along the coast of Argentina whilst at the same time the cruisers HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles were proceeding southward on a reciprocal course along the coast of Uruguay. The Ajax, Achilles and Exeter, having joined forces, were sweeping north again when they intercepted the Admiral Graf Spee on 13 December 1939.

As the enemy ships headed straight for each other, Exeter swung to port to bring her full main armament of eight 8-inch guns to bear on the Admiral Graf Spee. The British force divided, thus forcing the German warship to divide its fire between the two groups. Battle was joined at 0618hrs when the Admiral Graf Spee opened fire with both main turrets. Both sides put up accurate fire, the lighter 6-inch shells of Ajax and Achilles coming dangerously close to the German. The Admiral Graf Spee then turned both her main turrets on her more powerful adversary and within minutes was straddling the Exeter with fire from her main 28cm guns. A hail of deadly shrapnel scythed through Exeter, wrecking her bridge and killing or wounding everyone present. A direct hit from a 28cm shell destroyed Exeter’s ‘B’ turret and two more German shells struck the forward part of the ship.

With Exeter seriously damaged, the Admiral Graf Spee turned her fire on the rapidly approaching Ajax and Achilles. A few minutes later, Achilles also received a direct hit near her bridge, but Admiral Graf Spee then turned away, making smoke. As Admiral Graf Spee attempted to close with the Exeter and finish off the wounded enemy, accurate fire from the lighter cruisers found their target and Admiral Graf Spee was hit amidships.Just fifteen minutes later, fire from the raider knocked out both of Ajax’s after turrets. Five minutes after this, Exeter’s sole remaining turret having failed due to flooding, she withdrew from the battle. Admiral Graf Spee was faced now by just two light cruisers, one of which had only three functional 6-inch barrels remaining and had suffered significant damage. In the circumstances, the British decided to stand off some distance and shadow the German until dark when they would try to close and attack her with torpedoes.

As the British ships turned away however, Ajax was hit once again and her mainmast destroyed. After a few ineffectual salvoes were exchanged between the two sides, Admiral Graf Spee made for the River Plate and the neutral Uruguayan port of Montevideo for repairs, still shadowed by the British cruisers.

Admiral Graf Spee had suffered 17 hits from the 6-inch batteries of Ajax and Achillies and two 8-inch hits from Exeter. All of these had only caused minor structural damage, certainly not enough in themselves to endanger the ship. However, her water desalination plants and kitchens had been destroyed, her oil purification plant wrecked and ammunition supplies seriously depleted. Additionally, she had suffered a gash to her bow, which though in itself once again not desperately serious, could cause her problems on the return journey through the winter seas of the North Atlantic. The crew had also suffered almost a hundred dead and wounded.