Third Reich Naval Officers Photo Album from Famous Graf Spee – Item 116398

Excellent historically important German Naval Officers photo album on his service on the famous pocket battleship Graf Spee. Excellent album with good clear photos throughout. Many captioned. Showing action shots of sinking ships, picking up prisoners, life onboard etc. 95 photos including excellent shot of the whole crew. A fantastic historical album from a famous ship.

Note:  The ship conducted five non intervention patrols  during the Spanish Civil War  in 1936–1938 and participated in the Coronation Review of King George VI in May 1937. Admiral Graf Spee was deployed to the South Atlantic in the weeks before the outbreak of World War II, to be positioned in merchant sea lanes once war was declared. Between September and December 1939, the warship sank nine vessels totaling 50,089 gross register tons  (GRT), before being confronted by three British cruisers at the Battle of the River Plate  on 13 December. Admiral Graf Spee inflicted heavy damage on the British ships, but she too was damaged and was forced to put into port at Montevideo, Uruguary . Convinced by false reports of superior British naval forces gathering, Hans Langsdorff , commander of the ship, ordered the vessel to be scuttled.