Historical information
Photo taken by a sailor onboard H.M.S.Ajax 17 Dec.1939
On December 17, 1939 the Admiral Graf Spee, with Langsdorff and a skeleton crew of 40 aboard, steamed out of Montevideo as 20,000 onlookers watched. The crew set the scuttling charges and and everyone was evacuated by an Argentinian tugboat. The explosions ripped through the ship and it sank at 08:55 PM.
On December 20, Captain Langsdorff, lying on the ship's flag and wearing his full dress uniform, shot and killed himself.
Physical description
Black and white photo of The Admiral Graf Spee being scuttled in the Pate River
