You may remember in KTB #107, we asked if anyone know about BLAU 315.

This was a special sea-chart, classified ABOVE TOP-SECRET by the KRIEGSMARINE prior to and during World War II. This chart showed the SECRET HARBORS in FEUERLAND, the TIERRA del FUEGO area of South America, where many KRIEGSMARINE blockade breakers, raiders, long-range U-Boats as well as some other AXIS ships and sub. found safe shelter from the hunting of the ROYAL NAVY and later the US NAVY.

It was to one of these secret harbors that GRAF SPEE was headed when she ran into the ROYAL NAVY cruiser squadron which resulted in the famous BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE. GRAF SPEE was damaged and sent a radio-telegram to OKM, the High Command of the KRIEGSMARINE and asked permission to continue on toward the secret U-PLATZES in FEURELAND. OKM was worried that the ROYAL NAVY cruisers would follow GRAF SPEE to this area and discover the secret harbors, and so they replied that GRAF SPEE was not allowed to proceed to the U-PLATZES in FEUERLAND but had to go into harbor at Montevideo, Uraguay. The rest, as they say, is history.

Some of the information about the radio-telegrams comes to us from a former Adjutant on board GRAF SPEE and also from the former Navigation Officer of that POCKET BATTLESHIP, but most of the formerly SECRET information comes from our Chief of SHARKHUNTERS Intelligence, CAP'N CLOAK 'N DAGGER. To all, vielen dank!