Fingers Salute given to scuttled ship...

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German warships were already at sea when the Second World War was declared in 1939.  
The ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE, was the first German ship equipped with radar.   Cruising at a top speed of 28.5 knots, this 186 m ship immediately attacked British & French shipping.
Nine merchant ships were sank by ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE during the first three months.
Furious at loosing so many ships, the British and French mustered a fleet of battle cruises, aircraft carriers and cruises to capture the raider and her sister ship.
Between Argentina and Uruguay, ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE was caught in what is now known as the Battle of the River Plate.    This was the first naval battle of the Second World War.  
The ship was badly damaged with thirty six killed and sixty wounded.  
She'd been hit over seventy times.
ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE limped into neutral Montevideo harbour.
With the ship safely docked, the wounded in hospital and allied seamen released, the captain began negotiations to have his ship repaired.
He was told that if he put to sea, his ship would be destroyed.
With limited options available, the captain scuttled his ship on December 17, 1939.  
And three days later shot himself.

Across the ocean, SS PETERTON had departed England bound for Montevideo.   
On board was my uncle Syd, then a 14yr old seaman (just a boy) on his first trip to sea.  
On reading some of his 'My Story' I found that they passed the ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE just after she was scuttled.   
“We youngsters took great pleasure in giving her the fingers salute.   
Her mast and funnels were showing above the water.  
We were probably one of the first British ships to see her after the great battle*”  
- Sydney Simpson 1925-2011
*The Battle of the River Plate.

For more info on the ship, follow this link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cruiser_Admiral_Graf_Spee
For info on the 2014 salvage follow this link: 
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=graf+spee+salvage+2014




Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 17, 2017 10:40 pm

    Interesting ... I wonder why the Admiral Graf Spee was over by South America. Had the ship been chased by the French and English? And now I know what "scuttled" means.

    ReplyDelete

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