She was laid down at the Reichsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven in October and completed by January The ship was nominally under the 10, long tons 10, t limitation on warship size imposed by the Treaty of Versailles , though with a full load displacement of 16, long tons 16, t , she significantly exceeded it. Armed with six 28 cm 11 in guns in two triple gun turrets , Admiral Graf Spee and her sisters were designed to outgun any cruiser fast enough to catch them. 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 , the warship sank nine vessels totaling 50, 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 , Uruguay.
Convinced by false reports of superior British naval forces gathering, Hans Langsdorff , commander of the ship, ordered the vessel to be scuttled. The ship was partially broken up in situ , though part of the ship remained visible above the surface of the water for years. Admiral Graf Spee was meters ft long overall and had a beam of The ship had a design displacement of 14, t 14, long tons and a full load displacement of 16, long tons 16, t , [ 2 ] though the ship was officially stated to be within the 10,long-ton 10, t limit of the Treaty of Versailles.
At a cruising speed of One floatplane was carried on the catapult. The initial Heinkel He 60 was replaced with an Arado Ar before the outbreak of the war. The ship carried a secondary battery of eight 15 cm 5. These guns were directed by three SL-4 director posts.
The middle and light anti-aircraft armament consisted of four twin 3. Admiral Graf Spee ' s armored belt was mm 3. The main battery turrets had mm 5. Admiral Graf Spee was ordered by the Reichsmarine from the Reichsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven.
