Blooper

After HMS Cumberland had joined Ajax and Achilles replacing Exeter, the three ships portrayed in following scenes were still the same three initial cruisers, with HMS Jamaica playing a role of HMS Exeter.

When the crew of the Ajax cheers the Achilles in long shot, the crew (including both bridges) are wearing dark blue naval uniforms, but when it switches to close ups of both bridges, they are in tropical white uniforms.

When the petty officer runs forward on Exeter after she is hit in the bow, he reacts to the explosion of another shell before the hit occurs. He then completely disappears between frames and a repair party suddenly appears. It can also be seen that the ship is not moving through the water during these scenes.

When the lifeboat returning Captain Dove from the just-sunk Africa Shell is lifted from the water to the Graf Spee with the crane, the underside of the lifeboat is dry. It should be dripping wet.

When the British first spot the Graf Spee through binoculars, a prominent cloud of smoke is billowing from the battleship's funnel. But the full frame shot of the ship shows no smoke at all.

When Captain Dove is first brought aboard the Graf Spee, the anti-aircraft gunners are wearing US-pattern steel helmets, not the German "coal-scuttle" Stahlhelm. This is noticeable in various other scenes as well, and is due to the fact that the Graf Spee is being played by the USS Salem.

A symbolic scene, when a crane lowers a lifeboat with Captain Dove into an aircraft hangar of "Admiral Graf Spee", and the roof closes over it, could not happen, because such hangars were typical for US ships only, and "Graf Spee" had no aircraft hangar.

In the opening scenes the German sailors are carrying American Thompson M1A1 sub-machine guns instead of German weapons such as the MP38 or MP40.

In one shot on the bridge of the Ajax a seaman is seen wearing a hat with H.M.S Ajax across the front, this is also visible on the bridge shots of Achilles and Exeter. During WW2 only H.M.S would be on seaman's hats so that no ship could be identified by spies.

The German Navy had no capacity to refuel and resupply alongside and underway. The seamanship required was exclusive to the US and its allies at least through the 1970's.

Commodore Harwood was promoted to Rear Admiral as a result of the action off Montevideo. However, he wears the insignia of a Rear Admiral from the beginning of the film. This is not correct and is not a goof because in 1939 commodores in the Royal Navy wore the same sleeve lace as rear admirals. Harwood was wearing the broad gold lace stripe with the thinner stripe and curl above used by both rear admirals and commodores at that time.

When Benard Lee is on the deck of the "Graf Spee", one of the main battery turrets plainly has a U.S. Navy "E" on it.

There are no hoses attached to the oxygen masks of the crew of the spotter plane.

The American reporter asks the telephone switchboard operator to get "NBC, CBC, ABC" on the line. Although NBC and CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) existed in 1939, when this movie was supposed to take place, ABC wasn't formed until 1943.

Little attempt is made to 'age' Montevideo to the period of the film and it looks far more like the mid-fifties, when it was filmed, than 1939.

By the time of filming, one of the turrets on INS Delhi (HMNZS Achilles) had been removed and HMS Cumberland was a trials ship without any guns.

The "Admiral Graf Spee" is, quite obviously, a Des Moines class American heavy cruiser of the post-war period, the USS Salem. The actual "Graf Spee" had six main guns instead of nine, three each in one forward and one aft gun turret. She was also a much smaller and lighter ship.

When Graf Spee is leaving Montevideo, there are some cars visible on her deck.

At dawn on Wednesday 13th December, the Sun is seen rising from behind land. Near the River Plate, the Sun would be rising over the open Atlantic (to the East).

As the Admiral Graf Spee sails out of the port at around 8pm, the sun is shown setting over the ocean, and the radio commentator also mentions this. However the river and port face east towards the Atlantic, not west.

Just after the Graf Spee is spotted, Chief Yeoman is ordered to signal the Exeter with a signal lamp.

However, he quite plainly points the lamp at the superstructure behind the bridge where there is no way the following ship could see it.