2 Days after U-33's sinking of HMS Vampire, the Graf Spee patrols the area around Azore Islands. Nearly 10 days 2 hours after her first convoy victims, Graf Spee spots another convoy. But it's escorted by a Leander class torpedo cruiser/ light cruiser, bristling with torpedoes and 6in. guns. The new tribal class destroyer HMS Maori also escorts - these destroyers are also like gunships : Packed with 4 torpedoes and 8 4.7" guns, these ships are destroyer killers, and sometimes even cruiser killers. Hans knew the odds, but decides to engage.
At 11:22 AM, Graf Spee fires first. Her 11" shells hit the deck of Maori, causing large fires. Immediately HMS Ajax turns her broadside, and fires her lethal spread of 8 6" shells. They hit... Hard. Immediately Ajax's high explosive rounds start fires all through the control tower of the ship.
Maori fires, but her shells only bounce off the Panzerschifee.
The merchants turn away, one of them even firing its puny 75mm gun.
Graf Spee fires at Maori, which is in effective torpedo range, and scores a perfect shot on her:
Her magazines exploded. Graf Spee, now fires at Achilles.
Again Achilles hits Graf Spee with not only a full salvo of 6" guns, but two torpedos as well.
Langsdorffs decision on taking her on was quite bad. Graf Spee now had a 45* list to port.
After firing a final salvo from her 11" guns, Langsdorff orders scuttling charges places and opening the sea valves. 5 of her 11" shells hit Achilles, and badly damaging her to the point of being written off.
