A GALLANT ACTION

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 70, 15 December 1939, Page 10

A GALLANT ACTION

Light Cruisers v. Battleship

UNEVEN ODDS

New Zealanders’ Baptism Of Fire

(By

S.D.W.)

There are some notable features in the naval action fought in the South Atlantic between the three British light cruisers Exeter, Achilles and-Ajax and the heavilyarmed German battleship Admit al Graf Spee. This is the first naval action in which a ship of the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy and a crew composed largely of New Zealand ratings, have ever taken part. The Dominion can take great pride in the gallant part played in the action by H.M.S. Achilles and her New Zealand lads. It is to be hoped that the casualties in this ship and her consorts were not severe.

It is a remarkable coincidence that the action was fought just over 25 years after the memorable Battle of the Falkland Islands (December 8, 1914), and that the name of the German ship engaged commemorated Admiral Graf von Spee, who commanded the German Pacific Squadron, which was destroyed -by Admiral Sturd-ee’s Squadron, and who perished with all hands in his flagship Scharuhorst. The fact that it was the Admiral Graf Spee which was engaged on this occasion indicates that all three of the so-called “pocket battleships” of the German Navy have been at large in the Atlantic in recent weeks. The others are the Deutshland, which recently sank the British auxiliary cruiser Rawalpindi off Iceland, and was reported to have' returned to Germany a few days ago, and -the Admiral Scheer, which some weeks ago was reported to have sunk the British steamer Clement. Atlantic Commerce Raider. The identity of the German raider which captured the Doric Star ou December 5 -has not been established, but. it was possibly the Admiral Graf Spee. The position from which the Doric Star sent out her SOS message was in the South Atlantic, roughly midway between St. Helena and the west coast of Africa. Seeing that her presence had been disclosed by the Doric Star, the Admiral Graf Spee might well have decided to leave that area and make across the wide expanse of the Atlantic to the River Plate trade route. She could have accomplished the passage in a week at a speed of 15 knots. In auy case the German ship appears to have been encountered early on Wednesday morning by the British cruisers patrolling that area for the protection of British and French shipping. The action started about 6 o’clock iu the morning and appears to have been a running fight at high speed lasting most of the day. The naval engagements of the Great War afford no parallel to this amazing action in which three light cruisers tackled au opponent whose armament was very much heavier than their combined weight of metal. The British ships had the advantage in speed. The following brief description of the ships gives the essential facts: — Fighting Ships Compared. The Admiral Graf Spee is an armoured ship of 10,000 tous displacement, measuring CO9 feet in length by 674 feet in breadth. She is armed with six 11-inch and eight 5.9-inch guns, six 3.5-inch anti-aircraft guns and a number of smaller weapons, as well as eight torpedo-tubes. Her eight sets of Diesel oil-engines develop 56,500 horse-power for a maximum speed of 27} knots. The ship is armoured with a 4-lnch belt and 7 inches at the gun positions. Her 11-inch guns lire shells of 6701 b. weight and her 5.9’s (comparable to the British 6-inch guns) shells of 101}lb. Her secondary armament is, in fact, the equal of the main guns of the Ajax or the Achilles. The Exeter, a light, cruiser of 5390 tons displacement, measuring 575 ft. in length 'by 58ft. in breadth, is propelled by turbine engines of 80,000 horsepower, giving her a speed of 32 knots or more. She is armed with six Bin. and four 4in. anti-aircraft gnus and six torpedo-tubes. The Sin. gun fires a shell of 2501 b. The Achilles and Ajax are light cruisers of 7000 tons displacement, measuring 5544 ft. in length and 55ft. Sin. in breadth. They are propelled by turbine engines of 72,000 horse-power, giving them a speed of 32} knots or more. Their armament comprises eight 6in. and four 4in. anti-aircraft guns and eight torpedo-tubes. The Gin. gun fires a shell of 1001 b. weight. Superior German Gun Power. Thus, it will be seen that the combined gun-power of the three cruisers was much inferior to that of the German battleship. But there was no hesitation on the part of the British ships iu joining action. The engagement doubtless called for great tactical skill ou die part of' the British captains iu avoiding, punishment as much as possible while still doing their utmost to disable their powerful antagonist. It appears to have been a running fight at high speed for long hours. The Exeter, after four hours, sustained damage to her steering gear which put her out of the engagement. But die Achilles and Ajax held on and forced the Admiral Graf Spee to run into Uruguayan territorial waters, and finally into harbour at Montevideo. All three ships acquitted themselves well and worthily upheld the great traditions of the Royal Navy. At least one German raider has been run to earth. The New Zealanders in the Achilles have had their baptism of fire. Fate of German Raider. The future of.the Admiral Graf Spee is a matter of considerable interest. By international law she is entitled to remain iu the neutral port'of Montevideo for 24 hours. At the expir ation of that period she must proceed to sea, failing which she and her crew must be interned. Iu view of the proposal recently discussed at a conference of representatives of the American republics to establish a neutral zone extending 300 miles to sea, it is interesting to record that Wednesday’s action must have been fought almost wholly within that distance of the Uruguayan coast.