Graf Spee's design meets a three-cruiser melee

Langsdorff commands from high in Graf Spee's exposed tower because the protected position offers too little visibility for a fast-moving cruiser action. With no spotter aircraft and British aircraft available, his preferred option of avoiding contact has already failed. Graf Spee concentrates six 11-inch guns in two triple turrets, a treaty-conscious weight-saving arrangement well suited to overwhelming one cruiser or merchant ship. Against three separated targets, however, each turret can engage only one threat and any turret failure removes half the principal armament. The 5.9-inch secondary battery contributes less than its nominal weight suggests because its fire is described as inaccurate and its high-explosive shells ineffective against light cruisers. Later German heavy cruisers had four conventional turrets and could distribute their fire more effectively in a confused melee.