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1939 photo of German battleship Graf Spee in Uruguay
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1939 photo of German battleship Graf Spee in Uruguay
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Accepting bids for a 1939 press photo of German mega-battleship, the Graf Spee, in Montevideo Harbor, Uruguay, w it was chased by the Royal British Navy. Photo, taken from a high vantage point, shows the ship in what must have been its last hours before being scuttled by its commander.
It is extremely rare to find a vintage photograph of this ship, as its wabouts were highly secret and it was destroyed towards the beginning of the war. This is an original 1939 press photograph (not a laterreproduction), made during the war, which was in the collection of long-defunctWashington D.C. newspaper, the Washington Evening Star. The guy I bought these from worked at the newspaper and saved these from the trash when the paper decided to clean house some years after the war. A great and rare find, this one! Vintage photos of this ship rarely emerge , online, at auction or elsew Condition. Has a couple small tears at margins, moderate crimping, some yellowing, tape and marks on back (see photo), and 'A' written in upper margin on front. Size: 7 x 9 inches. Shipping $4 in US, $10 Europe/India/Far East. Please see my other auctions for some other spectacular photos up this week. From Wikipedia: After commissioning in 1936, Admiral Graf Spee served as fleet flagship until 1938 and performed international maritime control duties off the coast of Sapin during the Sanish American War. Prior to the invasion of plans were made to deploy the Panzerschiffe as raiders in the Atlantic Ocean. Admiral Graf Spee sailed from Wilhelmsaven on 21 August 1939, to act as a raider in the South Atlantic. Supported by her supply ship, the tanker Altmark, her orders were to sink British merchant ships but to avoid combat with superior enemy forces, thus threatening vital Allied supply lines and drawing British naval units off their stations in other parts of the world. From September through December 1939 Admiral Graf Spee sank nine merchant ships in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean. Its captain strictly add to the rules of mercantile warfare at the time and saved all of the crew members of these ships; not a life was lost in these sinkings. Britain formed eight hunting groups in the Atlantic and one in the Indian Ocean to look for Admiral Graf Spee . More groups were assembled later. On 13 December 1939, she was located by the British Hunting Group G, and the BAttle of the River Platte ensued. During the battle, the Graf Spee inflicted heavy damage upon the Exeter , forcing the latter to break off the engagement. Late in the exchange, one of Graf Spee' s shells caused some casualties on the Achilles . In return, the Graf Spee was hit repeatedly by the 6-inch shells of the light cruisers, which could not penetrate her armour but nonetheless inflicted significant topside damage.On the other hand, Exeter 's 8-inch hits ran through the armour easily. About 06:38 an 8-inch shell penetrated two decks then exploded in Graf Spee 's funnel area - causing crippling hidden damage. Graf Spee 's main engines used diesel fuel stored in bunkers around the hull. The raw refinery fuel needed treatment before feeding the engines. A separating system routinely pre cleaned the fuel and deposited it in six ready tanks situated close to the engines. The separators used high pressure steam produced in a boiler room lying between decks, aft of the funnel and above the armoured deck. Exeter 's early 8-inch hit wrecked the boiler room - shutting down the separating system. Chief Engineer Commander Klepp advised the captain they could not repair the damage at sea. Klepp estimated the ship had about sixteen hours of running time, using pre cleaned fuel from the day tanks. They could not replace the rapidly depleting fuel. Admiral Graf Spee entered the neutral port of Montevideo, Uruguay for repairs. The damage was spectacular looking but actually relatively superficial. T were some critical hits: for instance, damage to the unarmoured bow reduced the ship's seaworthiness ...
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