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HMS Exeter was one of the most famous British warships of the early part of the war.  Her fame was due mostly to her brave role in the 1939 Battle of the River Plate, in which two British cruisers and one New Zealand cruiser of the South American station engaged the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee.  Exeter, although seriously outgunned by the German warship, bore the brunt of the action allowing the smaller cruisers Ajax and Achilles to close with Graf Spee for torpedo attacks.  Exeter was nearly sunk, while Admiral Graf Spee suffered only superficial damage in the battle.  However, the battle was ultimately a success, as the German captain Langsdorff scuttled his ship in Montevideo harbor somewhat inexplicably (a post about Graf Spee will be up some day).  

Exeter was deployed to the Pacific in 1941, but was lost to the Japanese during the disastrous battles of the Java Sea.

 
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