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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- SHIPS of the GERMAN NAVY --
Admiral Graf Spee (Armored Ship, 1936-1939)
Admiral Graf Spee, a 12,340-ton (standard displacement)
Deutschland class armored ship built at Wilhelmshaven,
Germany, was commissioned in January 1936. Of a type popularly
called "pocket battleships", she (and her two sisters)
had cruiser-type hulls, and armor protection, but carried heavier
guns (eleven-inch) than contemporary foreign cruisers. They were
propelled by diesel engines that provided extraordinarily long
range, though with a maximum speed (about 29 knots) that was somewhat
slower than most cruisers. Largely designed as oceanic commerce
raiders, it was expected that they could outgun almost any opponent
that could not be outrun.
Following shakedown Admiral Graf Spee was, for a few
years, flagship of the German fleet. During 1936-1938 she made
training cruises in the Atlantic and Baltic, served off Spain
during that Nation's civil war, and, in May 1937, was present
off Spithead during the Coronation Naval Review held in honor
of British King George VI. In April and May 1939 she participated
in German naval exercises in the Atlantic.
As political tensions in Europe aproached a climax in mid-August
1939, Admiral Graf Spee again left Germany for the south
Atlantic, where she remained hidden as World War II began early
in the following month. Beginning in late September she cruised
actively against British shipping in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans,
capturing and sinking nine ships and causing Germany's opponents
a great deal of anxiety and effort. On 6 December she rendezvoused
with the supply ship Altmark, which had kept her supplied
with fuel during her raiding operations, then headed for South
America, where rich hunting among enemy merchant ships was expected.
On 13 December 1939, off the mouth of the Rio de la Plata (or
River Plate), Admiral Graf Spee encountered three British
cruisers and fought the
first significant naval battle of the Second World War. Damaged
in this action, with more than sixty of her crew dead, she put
into Montevideo, Uruguay to make repairs. When these proved impossible
in the time allowed, and anticipating that vastly superior British
forces were now awaiting her return to sea, she was taken out
into the Plate's wide estuary and scuttled with explosives on
17 December. Admiral Graf Spee's shattered wreck has remained
there ever since, partially visible in the shallow water. Recently
(beginning in 2004) a group based in Uruguay has salvaged some
of her weapons and fittings.
This page features, and provides links to, all the views
we have concerning the German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee.
For more images related to this ship, see:
Battle
of the River Plate, December 1939;
Admiral Graf Spee -- Views
of the Ship's Wreck; and
Admiral Graf Spee -- Views
of the Ship's Wreck (Part II).
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 81110
Admiral Graf Spee (German Armored Ship, 1936)
Moored in harbor, circa 1936-1937.
Note the coat of arms mounted on her bow.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 85KB; 740 x 575 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 50268
Admiral Graf Spee (German Armored Ship, 1936)
Photographed from USS Wyoming (AG-17) at Kiel, Germany,
during the U.S. Naval Academy 1937 Midshipmen's cruise.
Note the canvas covered anti-aircraft gunnery rangefinder in
the right foreground.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 68KB; 740 x 545 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 104023
Admiral Graf Spee (German Armored Ship, 1936)
Steaming in the English Channel, April 1939.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 135KB; 740 x 625 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 80973
Admiral Graf Spee (German Armored Ship, 1936)
Underway in the English Channel. The original print is dated
April 1939.
Note the Arado Ar 196A-1 floatplane on her catapult, amidships,
and the freighter passing by in the background
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 69KB; 740 x 355 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 80974
Admiral Graf Spee (German Armored Ship, 1936)
Seen from astern, while underway in the English Channel. The
original print is dated April 1939.
Note the armored torpedo tubes on her after deck, triple 28cm
gun turret and the Arado Ar 196A-1 floatplane on her catapult,
amidships.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 82KB; 355 x 765 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 81737
Admiral Graf Spee (German Armored Ship, 1936)
Underway in the English Channel in August 1939, prior to reaching
the Atlantic in preparation for prospective wartime commerce-raiding
operations.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 94KB; 480 x 765 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 81108
Admiral Graf Spee (German Armored Ship, 1936)
Underway in the English Channel, August 1939.
Note the high-wing single engine airplane flying past in the
foreground.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 61KB; 740 x 405 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 80897
Admiral Graf Spee (German Armored Ship, 1936)
In European waters in mid-1939, prior to her departure for the
south Atlantic.
An Arado Ar 196A-1 floatplane, one of the first of its type to
enter German Navy service, is visible on Admiral Graf Spee's
catapult, just forward of the ship's after main battery rangefinder.
Note the triple eleven-inch gun turret.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 103KB; 740 x 550 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 104024
Admiral Graf Spee (German Armored Ship, 1936)
Fine screen halftone reproduction of a photograph of the ship's
forward 28cm/52 (eleven-inch) triple gun turret, taken circa
1939.
This image was published in the contemporary booklet "Deutsche
Seemacht".
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 74KB; 740 x 410 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 91874
Admiral Graf Spee (German Armored Ship, 1936)
Preliminary artist's impression of the ship by Dr. Oscar Parkes,
Editor of "Jane's Fighting Ships", circa 1932.
When completed in 1936, Admiral Graf Spee's superstructure
differed from that shown here.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 50KB; 740 x 490 pixels |
 |
Photo #: 242-HB-6823
Admiral Graf Spee (German Armored Ship, 1936)
Launching, at Wilhelmshaven, Germany, on 30 June 1934.
Note flags bearing the National Socialist emblem, and stiff-arm
salutes being given by most of those present.
Photographed by Hoffman.
Photograph from the Hoffman collection in the U.S. National
Archives.
Online Image: 116KB; 200 x 615 pixels |
 |
The following photographs show Admiral Graf Spee
(or MAY show her) in the background of views of other ships:
Photo #: NH 80978
German Naval Review, August 1938
The battleship Gneisenau leads a warship column during
the review. Following her are the three armored ships Admiral
Graf Spee, Admiral Scheer and Deutschland (listed
in order) and several smaller cruisers.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 85KB; 740 x 495 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 89566
Deutschland (German armored ship, 1933-1945)
Underway in the English Channel in April 1939, with a sister
ship (either Admiral Scheer or Admiral Graf Spee)
ahead.
Deutschland was renamed Lützow on 15 November
1939.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 112KB; 740 x 565 pixels |
 |
For more images related to this ship, see:
Battle
of the River Plate, December 1939; and
Admiral Graf Spee -- Views
of the Ship's Wreck; and
Admiral Graf Spee -- Views
of the Ship's Wreck (Part II).
Return to Naval
Historical Center home page.
Page made 6 October 2006
New images added 9 December 2006