The Battle of the River Plate took Place when ?

rossian

This is classed as the first major sea battle of World War II. Britain's Navy trapped the Graf Spee in the River Plate. The date of the battle was 13 December 1939. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_the_river_plate.htm Jan 22 13, 7:08 AM

gtho4

13th December 1939 The Battle of the River Plate took place on December 13th 1939. The battle in the South Atlantic was the first major naval battle of World War Two. Ships from the Royal Navy's South American Division took on the might of Germany's Graf Spee which was successfully attacking merchant shipping in the South Atlantic. Great Britain's South American Naval Division was made up of four cruisers. On Saturday, December 2nd, 1939, HMS Ajax, commanded by Captain Woodhouse, was harboured at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Also at Port Stanley was HMS Exeter, commanded by Captain Bell. Two other ships made up the South American Division - HMS Cumberland, commanded by Captain Fallowfield, and HMNZS Achilles, commanded by Captain Parry. The commander of the South American Division was Commodore Harwood. Harwood knew that the Graf Spee was in the South Atlantic somewhere but he had received no intelligence since November 15th as to her exact position ... There were three neutral countries in South America that allowed ships to use their harbour facilities - Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Under international law, a naval ship could only use a harbour once every three months. However, Harwood had built up a number of contacts in each country and this 'law' was given a liberal interpretation by both parties. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_the_river_plate.htm Jan 22 13, 7:08 AM

MargW

The town of Ajax, Ontario was named for the HMS Ajax following the battle. The town began as DIL (Defense Industries Ltd) a munitions factory, and grew from there. The town crest is a modified version of the HMS Ajax crest. Streets in Ajax are named for crew members of the ship, and as those names ran out crew members names from the other ships in the battle were used. One street, Langsdorff, is named for the Captain of the Graf Spee. He was known for trying the rescue every survivor of the ships he sank. The main street in Ajax Is Harwood Avenue named for Commodore Harwood. Street signs also have a ship symbol on them. A memorial is located at the bse of Harwood on Lake Ontario. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajax,_Ontario Jan 24 13, 3:03 PM