Sinking Doric Star exposes Graf Spee and consumes ammunition

At about 13,500 gross tons, Doric Star was a major merchant target and a prize Langsdorff could have presented as a substantial success. Sinking her, however, required shells and torpedoes that Graf Spee could not replenish through Altmark or any shore base. Doric Star also transmitted a distress signal that revealed the raider's return to the eastern South Atlantic and sent British hunting forces north. Graf Spee then remained in the area into 3 December before crossing toward South America. The target's value came with ammunition expenditure, position disclosure, and time lost after the attack.