World War II by country warships and the German ship "Admiral Graf Spee" fought the Battle of the River Plate in the zone. This prompted a joint protest from several Latin American nations to both sides. ("Admiral Graf Spee" took refuge in Uruguay's capital, Montevideo, claiming sanctuary in a neutral port, but was later ordered out.) In early 1942, President Baldomir broke off diplomatic relations with the Axis Powers. On 15 February 1945, near the end of the war, Uruguay dropped its neutrality and joined the Allies. Uzbekistan was part of the Soviet Union during World War II. So see this article's section on the
British World War II destroyers construction and completion were slow, due in part to the unavailability of equipment. As the outcome of the war became assured, the need for warships declined and the numbers of the two Battle types was reduced to a total of twenty-four ships. Only one saw action in the Pacific. The Weapon-class destroyers was a class of destroyers built for the British Royal Navy towards the end of World War II. They were the smaller counterpart to the Battle class (which followed them) and were the first new destroyer designs for the Royal Navy since the Second World War Emergency Programme.