Rare WW2 Admiral Graf Spee – Ashtray or Dish made from the wood of the German Pocket Battleship – Battle of the River Plate 1939

Here on offer is a rare opportunity to obtain a piece of WW2 German Navy memorabilia from the famous German Pocket Battleship, the ‘GRAF SPEE’.

It appears to be an ashtray or small dish made from the wood that was recovered from the scuttled “GRAF SPEE”.

The circular dish seems to be made from a dark wood, possibly teak and it has a number of small, evenly spaced holes around the outer edge.

On the front it has the following details hand written (in German) in white paint, that honours the famous Battle of the River Plate.

Ajax
Exeter
Achilles

13deXII de39
Graf Spee
P. del Este (Punta del Este)

The dish is 5.9” (15cm) dimeter, 1.1” (2.5cm) high and weighs 164g.

It is in excellent condition, but there are some slight burn marks, form I guess cigarettes, inside the dish and some loss of the white paint used on the writing around the top.


Some information relating the Admiral Graf Spee.

The Admiral Graf Spee was a Deutschland-class "Panzerschiff", nicknamed a "Pocket Battleship" by the British, which served with Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II.

She was commissioned in 1936 and Graf Spee had sailed into the South Atlantic in August 1939, before the war began, and had begun commerce raiding after receiving the appropriate authorisation on 26 September 1939.

On the 13th December 1939, she engaged a Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Commodore Henry Harwood, comprising the light cruisers HMS Ajax, HMS Achilles (on loan to the New Zealand Division) and the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter.

Harwood's squadron was one of several search groups sent in pursuit by the British Admiralty and sighted Graf Spee off the estuary of the River Plate near the coasts of Argentina and Uruguay.

In the ensuing battle, Exeter was severely damaged and forced to retire, making for the Falklands; Ajax and Achilles suffered moderate damage. Damage to Graf Spee, although not extensive, was critical because her fuel system was crippled. Ajax and Achilles shadowed the German ship until she entered the port of Montevideo, the capital of neutral Uruguay, to effect urgent repairs.

Langsdorff was told that his stay could not be extended beyond 72 hours. Apparently believing that the British had gathered a superior force to await his departure, he ordered for the ship to be scuttled.

On 20 December 1939, in his room in a Buenos Aires hotel, Langsdorff shot himself in full dress uniform while lying on the ship's battle ensign.

Immediately after her scuttling, the wreck of Admiral Graf Spee rested in shallow water, with much of the ship's superstructure remaining above water level. Many items had been removed before the scuttling by the Germans and the wreck was partially broken up in situ in 1942–1943.

Many recovered pieces and parts of the ship have been displayed in museums, but very few have surfaced on the open market.


Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

Please see my TERMS OF BUSINESS regarding Deliver Charges and Insurance regarding additional insurance cover, should you require it, BEFORE the item is dispatched.

The responsibility lies with the customer to check with your Customs restrictions that this item can be imported into your country.

Code: 50958