Model builder William Terra from Maine, USA has created an incredible 1:20 replica of the famous German cruiser Admrial Graf Spee which served during World War II. The ‘pocket battleship’ was armed with six 28 cm (11 in) guns in two triple gun turrets, and was designed to outgun any cruiser fast enough to catch it. She had a top speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph).
Between September and December of 1939, the ship sank nine ships before being confronted by three British cruisers at the Battle of the River Plate on 13 December. Admiral Graf Spee inflicted heavy damage on the British ships, but she too was heavily damaged and was forced into port at Montevideo. Convinced by false reports of superior British naval forces approaching his ship, Hans Langsdorff, the commander of the ship, ordered the vessel to be scuttled (intentionally sunk). [Source: Wikipedia]
In William Terra’s model replica version, the boat measures about 9.1 meters (30 ft) and weighs approximately 318 kg or 700 lbs. Additional details as follows:
– The model is scratch build like a canoe using 2.54 cm – 10.16 cm (1-4 in.) bass wood strips and then covered with fiberglass
– The beam is 1.32 meters (52 in.)
– It can carry 2 persons
– The model is powered by a 15 hp (11.2 kw) outboard engine located under the rear gun turret
– It can sail 24 kilometer per hour (15 mph)
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Admiral Graf Spee
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