F. S. Bell 1939. "Exeter's" six eight-inch guns were mainly responsible for seriously damaging the in the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939. In this battle, "Exeter" also incurred severe damage from seven hits by eleven-inch shells and suffered 61 killed and 23 wounded. One salvo from the "Graf Spee" did a great deal of damage to the wheelhouse and killed all but three of the officers in it. Bell survived with minor injuries and he ordered that the remaining turrets should continue firing on the enemy. As damage control parties battled fires and flooding, Bell used a compass from one
HMS E20 British code. Upon arriving at the designated location, "UB-14" surfaced and fired a torpedo at "E20" from a distance of . "E20"s crew saw the torpedo, but it was too late to avoid the weapon. The torpedo hit "E20"s conning tower and sank her with the loss of 21 men. "UB-14" rescued nine, including "E20"s captain who, reportedly, had been brushing his teeth at the time of the attack. HMS E20 HMS "E20" was a British E-class submarine built by Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 25 November 1914 and was commissioned on 30 August 1915. She was sunk,