After the Panzerschiff (Deutschland-class cruiser) was unable to escape a pursuing squadron of Royal Navy ships, Langsdorff scuttled his ship. After sinking several merchant ships in the Atlantic, the Graf Spee was sighted on Dec. 13, 1939, Discussions on all (non-biographical) aspects of the Kriegsmarine except those dealing with the U-Boat forces. Are you sure that many of them went to San Juan? Then the Graf Spee sailed but only with a skeleton crew on board. The most famous of these raiders was the pocket battleship the Admiral Graf Spee, commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff.The Graf Spee sailed out into the Atlantic before the outbreak of war at the start of September 1939. by Polar bear » 27 Feb 2013, 14:14, Return to “Kriegsmarine surface ships and Kriegsmarine in general”. What eventually happened to the Crew of the Graf Spee. Four days previously the Graf Spee had been seriously damaged during the Battle of the River Plate by a British fleet under Admiral Henry Harwood comprised of HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles, which were guarding South America's Atlantic coast. This is an apolitical forum for discussions on the Axis nations and related topics hosted by the Axis History Factbook in cooperation with Christian Ankerstjerne’s Panzerworld and Christoph Awender's WW2 day by day. I believe Argentina was more pro-German, so perhaps returning home was easier than in Uruguay. What happened to them afterward? Kriegsmarine surface ships and Kriegsmarine in general, ↳   Life in the Third Reich & Weimar Republic, ↳   Kriegsmarine surface ships and Kriegsmarine in general, ↳   Luftwaffe air units and Luftwaffe in general, ↳   German Strategy & General German Military Discussion, ↳   NSDAP, other party organizations & Government, ↳   The Ron Klages Panzer & other vehicles Section, ↳   Panzer & other vehicles - Photo threads, ↳   Axis Documents, Feldpost numbers, Postcards & Other Paper Items, ↳   The United Kingdom & its Empire and Commonwealth 1919-45, ↳   The Allies and the Neutral States in general, ↳   German Colonies and Overseas Expeditions, ↳   The end of the Ottoman Empire 1908-1923, ↳   Translation help: Breaking the Sound Barrier, http://historisches-marinearchiv.de/pro ... gebnis.php. by ohrdruf » 19 May 2004, 18:34, Post

The Argentine intelligence report states U-235. I believe that in Rogge's book he mentions that two of them ended up on Atlantis. Just three miles out of Montevideo harbour, the Graf Spee stopped.

by lijn34 » 13 Jan 2004, 22:56, Post The best account of the voyage of the ship is in my opinion, Koop & Schmolke: "Pocket-Battleships of the Deutschland-Class", Greenhill Books London/USNIP Anapolis. In Montevideo, the 13th Hague Conventioncame into play.

Did they spend the next 5 years there? The battleship was sunk by its commander, Capt. If memory serves, at least 2 of them ended up on Atlantis. In December of 1939, excepting the commanding officer and those KIA, the remainder of the crew of the Graf Spee were in Uruguay. by MaggieMitchell » 18 Feb 2013, 21:08, Post Friedrich Adolph was buried in the British Cemetery instead of the Del Norte Cemetery, where about 50 of the Graf Spee's crew members who died in Uruguay are buried.

I'd presume that they returned to Germany after the war -- those that didn't get involved in certain, From what I read, some of them stayed in Argentina or Uruguay for the rest of their lives as they became part of the community as they had no urge to return to Germany. aprox.

I'll see if I can find anything further on this. Captain Hans Langsdorff strictly adhered 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. The Uruguayan government, which at that point in World War Two was still maintaining its neutrality, invoked international practice and asked the Graf Spee to leave the port after four days, on Dec. 17, upon which Langsdorff decided to scuttle her. I live in Argentina.

The German dead were buried in a Montevideo cemetery and the wounded - five of whom were seriously injured - were treated at local hospitals. In December of 1939, excepting the commanding officer and those KIA, the remainder of the crew of the Graf Spee were in Uruguay. He was gunnery officer of the Graf Spee. by lijn34 » 13 Jan 2004, 23:07, Post

Gustav Friedrich Adolph Quick, 89, the last surviving crew member of the German pocket battleship Graf Spee that was scuttled in the River Plate at the beginning of World War II, … by USS ALASKA » 25 Feb 2013, 21:47, Post Under Article 14, "[a] belligerent war-ship may not prolong its stay in a neutral port beyond the permissible time except on account of damage." by Bokkop » 18 Feb 2013, 22:52, Post There would have been no particular need for them to Latinize their names in Argentina, which already had a fair sized population of ethnic Germans. Early on the night of Dec. 13th, the battleship entered the River Plate and docked at Montevideo's port and Langsdorff presented a report to Uruguayan authorities claiming that since the vessel was having navigation problems - due to the combat damage it had sustained - it was justified in entering the port for repairs. Several Spanish-language books on the subject of the ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE crew are available here.

British diplomats duly pressed for the speedy departure of the Graf Spee.

Graf Spee, German pocket battleship of 10,000 tons launched in 1936.

Commenting for this story is now closed.If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page! Between about 1870 and WWI, the Argentine population doubled as some 3 million Europeans piled in. Thank you ohrdruf for the information supplied. Under Article 12, "belligerent war-ships are not permitted to remain in the ports, roadsteads or territorial waters of the said Power for more than twenty-four hours."