|
The Battle Of The River Plate (film)
''The Battle of the River Plate'' (a.k.a. ''Pursuit of the Graf Spee'' in the United States) is a 1956 British war film in Technicolor and VistaVision by the writer-director-producer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. The film stars John Gregson, Anthony Quayle, Bernard Lee and Peter Finch. It was distributed worldwide by Rank Film Distributors Ltd. The film's storyline concerns the Battle of the River Plate, an early World War II naval engagement in 1939 between a Royal Navy force of three cruisers and the German pocket battleship . Plot In the early months of the Second World War, Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' sends out merchant raiders to attack Allied shipping. The heavily armed German pocket battleship the ''Admiral Graf Spee'' sinks a British merchant vessel, the '' Africa Shell''. The ''Africa Shell's'' crew is brought aboard the ''Admiral Graf Spee''. The ''Admiral Graf Spee'' docks with its supply ship and more captured British seamen are brought aboar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Film Poster
A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. They normally contain an image with text. Today's posters often feature printed likenesses of the main actors. Prior to the 1980s, illustrations instead of photos were far more common. The text on film posters usually contains the film title in large lettering and often the names of the main actors. It may also include a tagline, the name of the director, names of characters, the release date, and other pertinent details to inform prospective viewers about the film. Film posters are often displayed inside and on the outside of movie theaters, and elsewhere on the street or in shops. The same images appear in the film exhibitor's pressbook and may also be used on websites, DVD (and historically VHS) packaging, flyers, advertisements in n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of The River Plate
The Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser , commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Commodore Henry Harwood, comprising the light cruisers , (on loan to the New Zealand Division) and the heavy cruiser . ''Graf Spee'' had sailed into the South Atlantic in August 1939, before the war began, and had begun commerce raiding after receiving appropriate authorisation on 26 September 1939. Harwood's squadron was one of several search groups sent in pursuit by the British Admiralty. They sighted ''Graf Spee'' off the estuary of the River Plate near the coasts of Argentina and Uruguay. In the ensuing battle, ''Exeter'' was severely damaged and forced to retire; ''Ajax'' and ''Achilles'' suffered moderate damage. Damage to ''Graf Spee'', although not extensive, was critical because her fuel system was crippled. ''Ajax'' an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Hunter (actor)
Ian Hunter (13 June 1900 – 22 September 1975) was a Cape Colony-born British actor of stage, film and television. Biography Hunter was born in the Kenilworth area of Cape Town, Cape Colony where he spent his childhood. In his teen years, he and his parents returned to the family in England to live. Sometime between that arrival and the early years of World War I, Hunter began exploring acting. But in 1917, aged 17, he joined the army to serve in France for the remainder of the First World War. On his return Hunter studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based in the Royal Albert Hall, London. Within two years he did indeed make his stage debut. He decided to work in British silent films taking a part in '' Not for Sale'' (1924) directed by W.P. Kellino for Stoll Pictures. Hunter made his first trip to the U.S. because Basil Dean, the British actor and director, was producing Richard Brinsley Sheridan's ''The School for Scandal'' a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Woodhouse
Admiral Sir Charles Henry Lawrence Woodhouse KCB (9 July 1893 – 23 September 1978) was an officer of the Royal Navy. Naval career Woodhouse joined the Royal Navy in 1906. He served in World War I and specialized in gunnery. In 1935 he was appointed Assistant Director of Naval Equipment at the Admiralty. He captained in the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939. In October 1940 he became Director of the Local Division at the Admiralty and in April 1942 he assumed command of . In March 1944 he went on to be Director of Naval Ordnance at the Admiralty. After the War he became Rear-Admiral, Aircraft Carriers and in 1948 he was made Commander-in-Chief, East Indies The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...; he retired in 1950. In popular culture In the 1956 film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Harwood
Admiral Sir Henry Harwood Harwood, KCB, OBE (19 January 1888 – 9 June 1950), was a British naval officer who won fame in the Battle of the River Plate. Early life Following education at Stubbington House School, Harwood entered the Royal Navy in 1904 and specialised in torpedoes. He served in the First World War. In 1919, he served on the battleship ), 1st Battle Squadron. By 1929 he had been promoted to captain and become the commanding officer of the destroyer and Senior Officer of the 9th Destroyer Division. In 1931 and 1932, Harwood attended the Imperial Defence College. Upon completion of the course in March 1932, he became flag captain of the heavy cruiser whilst at the same time serving as Chief Staff Officer to the Rear-Admiral Commanding the 1st Cruiser Squadron. From July 1934 until 1936, Harwood served on the staff of the Royal Naval War College at Greenwich (). In September 1936, Harwood was appointed commodore and given command of the South American ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SS Doric Star
SS ''Doric Star'' was a British cargo liner operated by the Blue Star Line from 1922 to 1939, when she was intercepted and sunk by the German pocket battleship '' Admiral Graf Spee'' off the coast of South West Africa, becoming the seventh victim of the commerce raiding sortie of ''Graf Spee''. Prewar Designed and built in the Port Glasgow yards of Lithgows, the vessel entered service under the name ''Doricstar'' before her name was changed to ''Doric Star'' in 1929. She was owned by Eastman's of London and managed by the Blue Star Line. In 1934, ''Doric Star'' underwent significant alterations which were carried out by Palmers Shipbuilding & Iron Company, Jarrow-on-Tyne. The refit saw her receive a new Maierform bow, which increased her overall length to . Her registered ownership changed in 1939, when she was acquired by the Union Cold Storage Company of Liverpool but continued to be managed by the Blue Star Line. Second World War Background Following the outbreak of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MS Africa Shell
MS Africa Shell, was a British coastal oil tanker operated by the Shell Company of East Africa Ltd. The ship's life was short, lasting only a matter of months from her introduction into service in 1939, until she was intercepted and sunk by the German pocket battleship '' Admiral Graf Spee'' in the Mozambique Channel, off the coast of Portuguese East Africa, becoming the sixth victim of ''Graf Spee's'' commerce raiding sortie. History Pre-war service ''Africa Shell'' was designed and built in the Greenock yards of George Brown Ltd. Her engine came from the Dutch engineering company Werkspoor N.V., Amsterdam. Following her construction ''Africa Shell'' entered into service in the late Spring of 1939. Second World War Background Following the outbreak of war between Germany and the Allies in September 1939, Adolf Hitler ordered the German Navy to begin commerce raiding against Allied merchant traffic. Under the command of Kapitän zur See Hans Langsdorff, '' Admiral G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deutschland-class Cruiser
The ''Deutschland'' class was a series of three ''Panzerschiffe'' (armored ships), a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the '' Reichsmarine'' officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. The ships of the class, , , and , were all stated to displace in accordance with the Treaty, though they actually displaced at standard displacement. The design for the ships incorporated several radical innovations, including the first major use of welding in a warship and all- diesel propulsion. Due to their heavy armament of six guns and lighter weight, the British began referring to the vessels as "pocket battleships". The ''Deutschland''-class ships were initially classified as ''Panzerschiffe'', but the '' Kriegsmarine'' reclassified them as heavy cruisers in February 1940. The three ships were built between 1929 and 1936 by the Deutsche Werke in Kiel and the ''Reichsmarinewerft'' in Wilhelmshaven, seeing much service with the German Navy. All ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merchant Raider
Merchant raiders are armed commerce raiding ships that disguise themselves as non-combatant merchant vessels. History Germany used several merchant raiders early in World War I (1914–1918), and again early in World War II (1939–1945). The captain of a German merchant raider, Felix von Luckner, used the sailing ship SMS ''Seeadler'' for his voyage (1916–1917). The Germans used a sailing ship at this stage of the war because coal-fired ships had limited access to fuel outside of territories held by the Central Powers due to international regulations concerning refueling of combat ships in neutral countries. Germany sent out two waves of six surface raiders each during World War II. Most of these vessels were in the range. Many of these vessels had originally been refrigerator ships, used to transport fresh food from the tropics. These vessels were faster than regular merchant vessels, which was important for a warship. They were armed with six 15 cm (5.9 inch) naval gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the and the , of the , the German armed forces from 1935 to 1945. In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, the grew rapidly during German naval rearmament in the 1930s. The 1919 treaty had limited the size of the German navy and prohibited the building of submarines. ships were deployed to the waters around Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) under the guise of enforcing non-intervention, but in reality supported the Nationalists against the Spanish Republicans. In January 1939, Plan Z, a massive shipbuilding program, was ordered, calling for surface naval parity with the British Royal Navy by 1944. When World War II broke out in September 1939, Plan Z was shelved in favour of a crash building program for submarines ( U-b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pocket Battleship
The ''Deutschland'' class was a series of three ''Panzerschiffe'' (armored ships), a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the ''Reichsmarine'' officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. The ships of the class, , , and , were all stated to displace in accordance with the Treaty, though they actually displaced at standard displacement. The design for the ships incorporated several radical innovations, including the first major use of welding in a warship and all-diesel propulsion. Due to their heavy armament of six guns and lighter weight, the British began referring to the vessels as "pocket battleships". The ''Deutschland''-class ships were initially classified as ''Panzerschiffe'', but the ''Kriegsmarine'' reclassified them as heavy cruisers in February 1940. The three ships were built between 1929 and 1936 by the Deutsche Werke in Kiel and the ''Reichsmarinewerft'' in Wilhelmshaven, seeing much service with the German Navy. All three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hundred years, has changed its meaning over time. During the Age of Sail, the term ''cruising'' referred to certain kinds of missions—independent scouting, commerce protection, or raiding—fulfilled by frigates or sloops-of-war, which functioned as the ''cruising warships'' of a fleet. In the middle of the 19th century, ''cruiser'' came to be a classification of the ships intended for cruising distant waters, for commerce raiding, and for scouting for the battle fleet. Cruisers came in a wide variety of sizes, from the medium-sized protected cruiser to large armored cruisers that were nearly as big (although not as powerful or as well-armored) as a pre-dreadnought battleship. With the advent of the dreadnought battleship before ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_poster.jpg "Click for more on -> Film Poster")
.svg "Click for more on -> Kriegsmarine")
