• played by heavy cruiser which retained its USN bow number, 139, for the film. This was explained by Captain Langsdorff as part of its camouflage to confuse other ships. One of three heavy cruisers of the , she is now a museum ship in Massachusetts. • Supply ship played by the fleet oiler • , flagship, played by • played by • played by herself (at the time in service with the Indian Navy as ) • played by herself when she joins the British squadron after the battle, (and by HMS
Jamaica in the final scenes off Montevideo) • German freighter
Tacoma, which took the crew off
Admiral Graf Spee before scuttling, played by •
Gunboat Uruguay, boarding the
Tacoma, was played by a British
Ton-class minesweeper • used for the firing of some of the guns, and to depict the explosions on the foredeck of
Exeter, and as
Admiral Graf Spee during the replenishment scene with
Altmark, as well as the scene on the deck of
Admiral Graf Spee showing the flag-draped coffins of dead German sailors laid out for burial in Montevideo • Destroyers and used as camera ships. The latter remained in service for many decades after the film, not being scrapped until 2016 after being transferred to the South Korea Navy in 1978. Most of the action of the battle and prior to it takes place on real ships at sea. The producers had the advantage of having elements of the
Mediterranean Fleet of the
Royal Navy available for their use, and USS
Salem to play the part of
Admiral Graf Spee, although she had a different number of main turrets. The producers did make use of a model of
Salem (with details only on the side being shot) in a -deep tank at
Pinewood Studios for scenes depicting hits during the battle, and also for the blowing-up of
Admiral Graf Spee, which was assembled from multiple takes from different angles. The
US Navy would not allow any Nazi insignia to be displayed on
Salem so the wartime German flag being hoisted and flown was filmed on a British ship. This is also the explanation as to why the crew of
Admiral Graf Spee are seen wearing US Navy pattern helmets rather than German "Coal Scuttles" – whilst the filmmakers wanted to achieve an accurate impression and use German helmets they were refused permission. This aspect is sometimes described as a "goof" on the part of the filmmakers, but was in fact a circumstance beyond their control. Mention is made of
Graf Spees sister ships,
Admiral Scheer and
Deutschland.
Admiral Scheer capsized after an air raid in 1945 and the remains of the wreck buried under a new harbor.
Deutschland was renamed
Lutzow in 1940 and sunk as a target in 1947. Two of the original ships, HMNZS
Achilles and HMS
Cumberland were available for filming 15 years after the events depicted.
Cumberland was a disarmed trial ship without her 8-inch gun turrets at this time and was refitted with
lattice masts, but is recognizable as the last of the three-funneled heavy cruisers to remain in service. (In the final scenes,
Jamaica represented
Cumberland as one of the British trio waiting off Montevideo). This use of real warships was in line with an Admiralty policy of co-operation with film-makers, which saw the corvettes
HMS Coreopsis and reactivated in 1952 for the film version of
The Cruel Sea; the cruiser and the minelayer used in the 1953 film
Sailor of the King, and the destroyer and frigate used in the 1955 film
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst.
Achilles had been sold to the newly formed Indian Navy in 1948, becoming INS
Delhi. The flagship HMS
Ajax was her
sister ship, and would have looked identical to
Achilles, while the original HMS
Exeter was a two-funnelled half-sister of
Cumberland. HMS
Sheffield and HMS
Jamaica, which played
Ajax and
Exeter, had higher
superstructures and more guns, which were mounted in triple turrets. Though different from the ships they represented, both these light cruisers had played a major part in the wartime campaign against the large German surface raiders which began at the Battle of the River Plate, including in 1941, in 1942, in 1943, and in 1944. ==Historical details==