At the close, the map gives a total of 2,712 merchant ships of 3,000 gross tons and above. That size threshold defines the group being compared with Graf Spee's sinkings. The suggested comparison asks how many vessels on the raider's kill list belonged to that group. It puts her physical impact against the scale of the shipping the Royal Navy had to protect.
Notable Point · 7:17-7:57
Graf Spee's sinkings against a total of 2,712 merchant ships
A total of 2,712 merchant ships of at least 3,000 gross tons puts Graf Spee's sinkings in the context of the Royal Navy's protection task.