by Konley Kelley
1/400 DKM Admiral Graf Spee (Heller)
I've been reading the book "The Battle of the River Plate. The Hunt for the German Pocket Battleship Graf Spee" by Dudley Pope. A few weeks ago, I bid on a Heller 1/400 Admiral Graf Spee and won the kit.
With the Versailles Treaty signed after WWI, German was limited to the size and strength of its navy. This didn't stop the Germans from violating the treaty including the construction of three "pocket" battleships. The heavily-armored Admiral Graf Spee was 12,000 tons and carried six 11-inch, eight 5.9-inch, six 4.1-inch guns and torpedo tubes.
Captained by Hans Langsdorff, the Graf Spee was at sea in the South Atlantic when WW2 broke out. In short time, Graf Spee sank nine merchant ships. Captain Lansdorff ordered the crews on each ship to come aboard the Graf Spee as prisoners before he destroyed their ships. The British Navy sent dozens of ships in pursuit of the Graf Spee.
In December, 1939, Graf Spee engaged in a surface battle near the estuary of the River Plate with three British Cruisers, Ajax, Achilles, and Exeter. The Exeter was badly damaged. The Ajax was slightly damaged. Graf Spee took many hits and Captain Langsdorff sought safety and repairs in the neutral port of Montevideo, Uruguay. The British exerted pressure on the Uruguayan government to make the Graf Spee leave Montevideo. Captain Langsdorff also believed that more British warships were now waiting outside the harbor.
For reasons debated to this day, Captain Langsdorff sailed the Graf Spee just outside the harbor and scuttled the ship. The crew was interned in Uruguay and Captain Langsdorff committed suicide. Thus ended one of the most dramatic naval battles of early WW2. There is an effort today to raise the Graf Spee from the shallow water where she lies. The bronze eagle and swastika that adorned her stern was salvaged from the wreck.
Attached is a pic of my finished kit and a digitally-altered image. I used Photoshop to weather this ship and add virtual "photo-etch" railings and rigging. The sea is an image taken off the coast of Corpus Christi, Texas. The gun blasts, smoke, and ship's wake were created with Photoshop paint tools.
