Artifacts

In December 1939, little military action was occurring on land in Western Europe. The war at sea, however, was a different story. One of the most sensational naval encounters of all time came in December of 1939. This was the Battle of the River Plate, a running battle between the German pocket battleship, Admiral Graf Spee, and the British cruisers Ajax, Exeter, and Achilles.

On August 21, 1939, Graf Spee sailed from Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Her mission was to raid Allied merchant shipping in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean. From September to December, Graf Spee sank nine British merchant ships, but, adhering to the rules of contemporary mercantile warfare, Graf Spee’s captain, Hans Langsdorff was careful to save the crew of all victim ships.

The British Royal Navy formed seven hunting groups in the Atlantic and one in the Indian Ocean to search for Graf Spee. On December 13, 1939, a hunting group that included the British cruisers Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles found Graf Spee. These cruisers engaged Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate, and although they appeared to sustain greater damage than their foe, they forced Graf Spee into the neutral harbor of Montevideo, Uruguay for repairs early in the morning of December 14.

While working on the aircraft recognition project, Garber overheard a remark by Admiral John H. Towers claiming that the Navy needed an improved moving target for the training of anti-aircraft gunners. After hearing this remark, Garber began to think about appropriate gunnery targets. A kite might work. It would be cheap and easy to produce. But, if it was stationary in the air, it would be an easy mark even for a novice. The Navy needed a target that could do aerobatics, dodge bullets, and simulate the movement of an aircraft in flight.

As a reminder of the tyranny, injustice and evil advanced by brutal despots, the World War II Victory Museum opened a new permanent exhibit presenting the stories of three of the most despised world leaders of our time. “Rising Tyrants” tells of the rise to power of Italy’s Benito Mussolini, the Soviet Union’s Josef Stalin and Germany’s Adolf Hitler. This exhibit is located in the museum’s “Gathering Storm” gallery, which is devoted to the era and events leading to World War II.