The Waikato Times SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1939 THRILLING NAVAL BATTLE

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20989, 16 December 1939, Page 6

The Waikato Times SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1939 THRILLING NAVAL BATTLE

In the most thrilling incident of the present war New Zealand, represented by the cruiser Achilles, has played a prominent part. Attacked and damaged in a long and strenuous running fight by three smaller British cruisers, the Exeter, Ajax and Achilles, the powerful German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee has been driven into the neutral Uruguayan port of Montevideo, from which she seems to have little hope of escape. Thus it is almost certain that a most serious menace to Allied shipping has been driven from the seas. How long the Graf Spee will be permitted to remain without internment remains to be seen, but Uruguayan messages suggest a short period wil be allowed for repairs. Britain will not doubt take good care of the harbour approaches in the meantime. The performance of the British ships must be regarded as highly creditable, for although they were three to one until the Exeter was disabled, and although they were all faster than the Graf Spee, they were at a serious disadvantage because of the superior armament of the German ship. While the Graf Spee carried eight 11-inch guns, the Exeter had only eight-inch and the Ajax and Achilles only sixinch guns. For the greater part of the engagement, apparently, only the six-inch guns were opposed to the powerful German weapons, and it is rather remarkable that the German ship was severely damaged and forced to flee. Tactics evidently played a great part in the battle, and in that respect the British sailors were clearly not at a disadvantage. Nevertheless the German sailors seem to have fought doggedly and at least prevented the sinking of their ship. The battle with the Graf Spee has only partly explained the mystery of the movements of the three German pocket battleships, the Graf Spee, Deutschland and Admiral Scheer, at least as far as the public is concerned. One of the three was bombed at the Kiel Canal early in the war. The Admiral Scheer was believed to be in the South Atlantic and the Deutschland in northern waters. The Germans are taking great care to hide the identity of the ships, and as far as the public knows the Admiral Scheer may still be at large in the Atlantic, unless the Graf Spee has for some time been mistaken for her sister-ship. But the hunt is now on seriously and the mystery should soon be solved. According to reports from Montevideo, the Graf Spee has disembarked the remnants of the crews of half a dozen British ships which had fallen victims to the raider. They have an unusually exciting tale to tell of the adventures of the Graf Spee and an account of the experience of a British attack from the enemy’s point of view. No doubt the information they will be able to give, although they would be under close guard, will be of considerable value to the British authorities. The Admiral Scheer and the Deutschland have yet to be accounted for. They are undoubtedly receiving fuel and supplies from some source at sea, and the wide range of their movements makes their capture exceedingly difficult. The Deutschland, if she is still in northern waters, seems to have a chance of returning to Germany. If the Admiral Scheer is in the South Atlantic her destruction is probably only a matter of time.