Contrast this with $230,000, being the highest price paid for a Victoria Cross. But in reality, the British had only a single fully-equipped ship near them at that moment. It was once the pride of Hitler’s navy but now an 800lb bronze Nazi eagle from the German ‘pocket battleship’ Graf Spee is set to be auctioned off to the highest bidder – amid fears it may end up in the hands of white supremacists. Admiral Graf Spee was deployed to the South Atlantic in the weeks before the outbreak of World War II, to be positioned in merchant sea lanes once war was declared. Later, they used the acquired knowledge to develop their own technology. Actually, the international convention allowed only 72 hours of anchoring in a neutral harbor. The ship had a design displacement of 14,890 t (14,650 long tons; 16,410 short tons) and a full load displacement of 16,020 long tons (16,280 t),[2] though the ship was officially stated to be within the 10,000 long tons (10,000 t) limit of the Treaty of Versailles. The documents revealed that four unescorted British merchant ships were due to leave Montevideo on December 10th. He knew that although Uruguay was neutral, the government was on friendly terms with Britain and if he allowed his ship to be interned, the Uruguayan Navy would allow British intelligence officers access to the ship. In 1956, a British war movie entitled The Battle of the River Plate was filmed about the events of this famous World War II battle. While replenishing his fuel supplies, Langsdorff ordered superfluous equipment transferred to the Altmark; this included several of the ship's boats, flammable paint, and two of her ten 2 cm anti-aircraft guns, which were installed on the tanker. It has been languishing in a crate in a storeroom since then, subject to a bitter court battle between the consortium of businessmen and the Government of Uruguay. All but one of the German vessels, SMS Dresden, was sunk, with 2,200 men lost, including Graf von Spee and his two sons. Take the sale held last month at Bosleys Military Auctioneers in the genteel surroundings of Marlow in Buckinghamshire. The vessel was named after Admiral Maximilian von Spee, commander of the East Asia Squadron who fought the battles of Coronel and the Falkland Islands, where he was killed in action, in World War I. Initially thought to be worth as much as £20million, an expert has recently declared that many of the items are fakes. Having found no prey apart from a small British tanker, which was caught by surprise and scuttled, she returned to the Atlantic after being sighted by the Dutch SS Mapia. The Admiral Graf Spee preyed on merchant ships in the South Atlantic before being damaged and scuttled. Among them was a Third Reich government official’s dagger, with an estimate of £1,800 to £2,200. Campaign to Save Doomed Falklands War Carrier From the Scrapyard, 5 Little Known Facts about Easy Company “Band of Brothers”, German WWII Warship Karlsruhe Discovered 80 Years After Controversial Sinking, Gravestone for Dambusters Dog Replaced Due to Racist Name, Operation Vengeance: Original Footage of Yamamoto’s Last Flight, Predators of the Seas: Life Inside a U-Boat – In 41 Images, Footage taken at The Tomb of The Unknown Soldier: The crowd starts to get loud & the Sentinel calls them out, Repelled 30 Taliban: 400 Rounds, Launched 17 Grenades, Detonated a Mine, and Used His Tripod as a Weapon, Total Victory Lost – Why the South Lost Civil War at Chancellorsville not Gettysburg. It weights about 400 kgs and is 2.8m wide and 2m high. Believing the British reports, Langsdorff discussed his options with commanders in Berlin. It could fetch £20 million. And besides, even if the items are on public display, what can possibly be learned about Hitler from mundane objects such as his bed? ‘It must be done respectfully. Armed with six 28 cm (11 in) guns in two triple gun turrets, Admiral Graf Spee and her sisters were designed to outgun any cruiser fast enough to catch them. After the successful outcome of this operation, she headed to Montevideo, the capital of neutral Uruguay. The first half is purely domestic & social, with no mention of the war. Admiral Graf Spee had fired much of her ammunition in the engagement with Harwood's cruisers. Hitler nevertheless delayed issuing the order until it became clear that Britain would not countenance a peace treaty following the conquest of Poland. Langsdorff pressed on, regardless of reports that several British and French warships were scouring the area to intercept them near the estuary of the River Plate. It became a danger for navigation, and between 2004 and 2006 large sections of it, like the gunnery rangefinder and a bronze eagle weighing between 350 and 400 kg, were raised from the water. At least these various items had only one careful owner. Still, historians that specialize in studying and writing about the Nazi era warn that this is a dangerous trend that should not merely be written off as the work of lunatics. Hitler’s eye for quality was just extraordinary. [32], As a result of battle damage and casualties, Langsdorff decided to put into Montevideo, where repairs could be effected and the wounded men could be evacuated from the ship. The Graf Spee’s fuel system was damaged in the fight, forcing her captain Hans Langsdorff to head to the neutral port of Montevideo for repairs. [10] In the summer of 1936, following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, she deployed to the Atlantic to participate in non-intervention patrols off the Republican-held coast of Spain. Circumnavigating the British Isles at a cautious distance, she cruised through the Atlantic towards the coast of South America, where she was destined to enter the first significant naval battle of World War II. [12] She also participated in extensive fleet maneuvers in German waters. [29] The ship's disguise was removed, so it would not hinder the ship in battle. The ink is then replenished and Geoff writes an account of the scuttling of ‘The Graf Spee’. Patched up as well as could be done at sea, Langsdorff decided his ship was sound enough to make one final sweep along the coast of South America before returning home for a full overhaul. [40], In February 2004, a salvage team began work raising the wreck of Admiral Graf Spee. The captain, chief engineer, and another man were taken as prisoners for questioning but later handed over to a (neutral) Greek steamer. [37] In the aftermath of the scuttling, the ship's crew were taken to Argentina, where they were interned for the remainder of the war. It is a market that is not merely expanding but is truly global. ‘More than that, though, I want to preserve things. | Mobile version, Wolf's Lair: Hitler's infamous bunker faces its past, US judge rules Spanish museum can keep Nazi-looted Pissarro painting, Ex-Nazi rally ground to be renovated in Nuremberg. The cargo ship transmitted an "RRR" signal ("I am under attack by a raider") before the cruiser ordered her to stop. Langsdorff allowed the crew to scramble into their lifeboats before a volley from Graf Spee sank the merchant ship. During this operation, parts of the wreck were broken up on site. The Admiral Graf Spee tried, by using a smoke-screen, to retreat from the battle. [31] At around 07:00, Exeter returned to the engagement, firing from her stern turret. [3] Admiral Graf Spee was powered by four sets of MAN 9-cylinder double-acting two-stroke diesel engines. The ship conducted five non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in 1936–1938, and participated in the Coronation Review of King George VI in May 1937. A picture taken on December 17, 1939 shows the Admiral Graf Spee on fire and sinking off the coast of Montevideo. On December 17, the ship set sail but, believing there to be a superior British fleet waiting for him and not wanting the Allies to gain access to its more advanced technology, Langsdorff chose to offload more than 1,000 German sailors and scuttle the ship. It is easy to disparage these sales and treat them as a joke. A huge Nazi eagle recovered from the ship has been the source of controversy. Read more: US judge rules Spanish museum can keep Nazi-looted Pissarro painting. The wrecksite has been derived in part from material obtained from the UK Hydrographic Office with the permission of the UK Hydrographic Office and Her Majesty’s Stationery Office and the following authorities.© British Crown Copyright, 2020. The Battle of the River Plate was the first naval battle in the Second World War and the first one of the Battle of the Atlantic in South American waters. Another fanatical collector was the late rock singer Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead, whose study was a shrine to Nazi memorabilia, and who had the views to match. The sale of Third Reich memorabilia will always elicit strong reactions from those who are in favor of it and from those who vehemently oppose it.