HMS Ark Royal and HMS Renown would give the blockade a far heavier striking force. Ark Royal was a strike carrier developed in part to reach fleets sheltering in harbor, which makes her relevant if Graf Spee refuses to sail. An attack inside neutral Uruguayan waters would create a serious legal and diplomatic problem, so the possibility remains informed speculation rather than a known operational order. The comparison is with the Royal Navy's later conduct during the Altmark incident in Norwegian waters and against the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir, when strategic danger overrode diplomatic restraint. Those actions in 1940 show what the Royal Navy was willing to do, but they do not establish what orders existed in December 1939. Ark Royal and Renown's rapid movement toward Rio de Janeiro, arriving to refuel on 17 December and sailing again the same day, suggests that the ships had an urgent operational purpose.
Notable Point · 8:16-12:19
Ark Royal, Renown, and the limits of Montevideo's neutrality
Ark Royal and Renown are racing south, raising the unresolved question of whether neutral Montevideo could protect Graf Spee if she remained in port.