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
USS S-22 (SS-127) United States Naval Academy midshipmen at Annapolis, Maryland, and assisting the diving school at Piney Point, Maryland. After duty at Key West, Florida, from December 1940 into May 1941 and overhaul during the latter half of 1941, "S-22" served in the Panama Canal area from January into March 1942. Returning to New London on 17 April, she was decommissioned on 19 June 1942 and was transferred to the United Kingdom for service in the Royal Navy as HMS P.554. Returned to the United States Navy at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 11 July 1944, "S-22" was subsequently used as a sonar target