Member states of NATO members and three former Yugoslav republics) from 12 March 1999 to 5 June 2017. NATO has added new members seven times since its founding in 1949, and since 2017 NATO has had 29 members. Twelve countries were part of the founding of NATO: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1952, Greece and Turkey became members of the Alliance, joined later by West Germany (in 1955) and Spain (in 1982). In 1990, with the reunification of Germany, NATO grew to include the former country of East Germany. Between
German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee boats, flammable paint, and two of her ten 2 cm anti-aircraft guns, which were installed on the tanker. On 11 September, while still transferring supplies from "Altmark", "Admiral Graf Spee"s Arado floatplane spotted the British heavy cruiser approaching the two German ships. Langsdorff ordered both vessels to depart at high speed, successfully evading the British cruiser. On 26 September, the ship finally received orders authorizing attacks on Allied merchant shipping. Four days later "Admiral Graf Spee"s Arado located Booth Steam Ship Co's cargo ship "Clement" off the coast of Brazil. The cargo ship transmitted an "RRR" signal ("I am under