Which German pocket battleship was scuttled off Montevideo in 1939?
Montevideo and ground was broken (1929) for the Estadio Centenario (completed 1930). During World War II, a famous incident involving the German pocket battleship "Admiral Graf Spee" took place in Punta del Este, from Montevideo. After the Battle of the River Plate with the Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy on 13 December 1939, the "Graf Spee" retreated to Montevideo's port, which was considered neutral at the time. To avoid risking the crew in what he thought would be a losing battle, Captain Hans Langsdorff scuttled the ship on 17 December. Langsdorff committed suicide two days later. The eagle figurehead
German battleship Scharnhorst German battleship Scharnhorst Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship or battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine". She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, . The ship was built at the "Kriegsmarinewerft" dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15 June 1935 and launched a year and four months later on 3 October 1936. Completed in January 1939, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK