Return to Naval Historical Center home page. Return to Online Library listing

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Photo # NH 81110:  German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee in harbor, circa 1936-1937

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).


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproducions."

    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).


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


    Return to Naval Historical Center home page.

    Page made 6 October 2006
    New images added 9 December 2006