RN survey ship commemorates River Plate anniversary
GRAF SPEE's final battle remembered...

The Royal Navy survey ship HMS Scott arrived in Montevideo this week to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the River Plate in which the pride of Hitler’s Navy, the pocket battleship Graf Spee, was brought to book off the Uruguayan capital.

The ship’s company were hosted by the Uruguayan navy and attended a service of commemoration on Sunday (13 December), the date of the battle in 1939. The next day they attended a ceremony at the Naval Museum at which representatives from New Zealand and Germany were also be in attendance.

Scott is on route to the Antarctic to undertake important work in support of the UK National Hydrographic Programme and is visiting to Montevideo to take on provisions, refuel and conduct a crew rotation.

The Battle of the River Plate was the first epic sea battle of the Second World War when the Graf Spee was engaged by the outgunned heavy cruisers HMS Exeter and Ajax, and the New Zealand cruiser HMS Achilles.

By the end of the battle the British had lost 72 sailors and the Germans 36, and while Exeter was so seriously damaged that she had to retire for repairs to the Falkland Islands, the two remaining cruisers forced the battleship to seek shelter in neutral Montevideo. On 17 December, Graf Spee left the port but the Germans, believing spurious British reports that a large enemy force was waiting in the River Plate, scuttled the raider.


The Commanding Officer of HMS Scott, Commander Gary Hesling RN said:

“It was an honour for us to participate in the commemorative ceremonies for the Battle of the River Plate, to pay tribute to the courage of all those at the battle but most particularly to remember the sailors who lost their lives on that day.


“As HMS Scott proceeds south through the area of the battle my ship’s company will reflect on these historic events and the veterans we were privileged to meet during this memorable visit. I am sure that for each of us, despite the exciting deployment ahead of us in the Southern Ocean, these will have been moments that remain in our thoughts forever.”