Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
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On December 13th, 1939, the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee arrived at the estuary of the River Plate with the aim of hunting down British merchant ships. However, these plans were doomed to fail as the ship became the target of a British squadron under the command of Commodore Henry Harwood. The lone German ship was better armed and armored than any of the British cruisers, but the squadron had the advantage of numbers: 3 vs 1. Knowing that they would be badly damaged, the British forces, still commenced their attack. Who would win and why did the Germans end up scuttling the Graf Spee?
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00:00 British cargo liner is off South Africa
00:26 The Doric Star is stalked by a heavy cruiser
01:39 Captain William Stubbs and his crew surrender
03:14 British Commodore Henry Harwood orders to start the hunt
04:54 The British squadron detects Graf Spee
06:10 Battle of the River Plate begins
08:10 Captain Bell’s ship is on the brink of destruction
09:55 Graf Spee keeps pushing on
11:29 Richard Jennings tries to save Exeter!
14:12 Captain Bell decides to ram Graf Spee
15:43 Graf Spee enters the port of Montevideo
16:40 Captain Langsdorff decides to scuttle the heavy cruiser
17:21 The British forces win the battle!
Yarnhub uses the Unreal® Engine. Unreal® is a trademark or registered trademark of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. Unreal® Engine, Copyright 1998 – 2024, Epic Games, Inc. All rights reserved.
Wishlist and Follow our game on Steam store.steampowered.com/app/3606970?utm_source=0179
Download World of Warships today wo.ws/49FEVlP and join the naval battle! Register now using code YARNHUB and receive a huge starter pack including 500 Doubloons, 1,000,000 Credits, 7 days Premium Account time, and a free ship!
On December 13th, 1939, the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee arrived at the estuary of the River Plate with the aim of hunting down British merchant ships. However, these plans were doomed to fail as the ship became the target of a British squadron under the command of Commodore Henry Harwood. The lone German ship was better armed and armored than any of the British cruisers, but the squadron had the advantage of numbers: 3 vs 1. Knowing that they would be badly damaged, the British forces, still commenced their attack. Who would win and why did the Germans end up scuttling the Graf Spee?
Hit join to become a member and get exclusive perks youtube.com/channel/UC-f2WBfSCZiu0bOBydjot3w/join
Support us on Patreon patreon.com/yarnhub
Check out our exclusive merch yarnhub-shop.fourthwall.com
Join us on Discord discord.gg/yarnhub-1087778019822813334
00:00 British cargo liner is off South Africa
00:26 The Doric Star is stalked by a heavy cruiser
01:39 Captain William Stubbs and his crew surrender
03:14 British Commodore Henry Harwood orders to start the hunt
04:54 The British squadron detects Graf Spee
06:10 Battle of the River Plate begins
08:10 Captain Bell’s ship is on the brink of destruction
09:55 Graf Spee keeps pushing on
11:29 Richard Jennings tries to save Exeter!
14:12 Captain Bell decides to ram Graf Spee
15:43 Graf Spee enters the port of Montevideo
16:40 Captain Langsdorff decides to scuttle the heavy cruiser
17:21 The British forces win the battle!
Yarnhub uses the Unreal® Engine. Unreal® is a trademark or registered trademark of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. Unreal® Engine, Copyright 1998 – 2024, Epic Games, Inc. All rights reserved.








![Laconia Incident
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September 12th, 1942. Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartenstein, commander of U-156, sinks the British armed merchant cruiser RMS Laconia. Unbeknownst to him, the ship is loaded with civilians and Italian prisoners of war. As survivors struggle amidst the wreckage, the German captain declares a temporary truce and moves in to rescue them. But everything goes wrong when an American B-24 Liberator emerges from the clouds. What began as a mission of mercy collapses into a deadly fight to survive.
Sources:
Primary:
McLoughlin, Jim, David Gibb, and Chris Bullock. “A Laconia Survivor’s Memoir.” ABC Listen, May 11, 2006. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/a-laconia-survivors-memoir/3334540
McLoughlin, Jim, and David Gibb. One Common Enemy: The Laconia Incident: A Survivor’s Memoir (Large Print 16pt). ReadHowYouWant, 2012.
U-156. Kriegstagebuch: 4. Unternehmung [War Diary: 4th Patrol]. August 20, 1942–November 16, 1942. Record Group 242, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
Secondary:
Hood, Jean. Wreck: Extraordinary True Stories of Disaster and Heroism at Sea. Conway, 2008.
Peillard, Léonce. The Laconia Affair. Bantam Books, 1983.
Peillard, Léonce. U-Boats to the Rescue: The Laconia Incident. Coronet Books, 1976.
Tougias, Michael J., and Alison O’Leary. Abandon Ship!: A True World War II Story of Disaster and Survival. Christy Ottaviano Books-Little Brown and Hachette, 2023.
IWM. “Bawden, Edward (Oral History).” Imperial War Museums. Accessed January 28, 2026. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80004582
IWM. “Interview with Tadeusz Walczak.” Imperial War Museums. Accessed January 28, 2026. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80016864
Hit join to become a member and get exclusive perks https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-f2WBfSCZiu0bOBydjot3w/join
Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/yarnhub
Check out our exclusive merch https://yarnhub-shop.fourthwall.com
Join us on Discord https://discord.gg/yarnhub-1087778019822813334
00:00: U-156 Stalks British Cruiser
00:54: Torpedoes Sink RMS Laconia
02:44: Survivors Swim for Life
03:54: Italian Prisoners Discovered
05:12: Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartenstein Launches Rescue
08:30: Lt. James D. Harden spots Red Cross Flag
10:13: B-24 Liberator Attacks U-boat
12:02: Lifeboats Cut Loose
14:04: Survivors Drift To Land
Yarnhub uses the Unreal® Engine. Unreal® is a trademark or registered trademark of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. Unreal® Engine, Copyright 1998 – 2026, Epic Games, Inc. All rights reserved. Laconia Incident](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/C3KdI8RhpSU/mqdefault.jpg)

