MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Montevideo: Graf Spee's eagle rises from deep

Salvage experts recovered a massive bronze eagle emblem on Friday from the wreckage of a Nazi battleship scuttled off the coast of Uruguay at the outset of World War II.

The ship ? the Graf Spee ? was a symbol of German military strength in the war. It sank nine vessels in the Atlantic Ocean before being badly damaged in December 1939 during the battle of the River Plate, one of the war's first naval clashes.

After making port in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo, the ship was sunk with explosives by its captain to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

"This is a very unique piece in the world," said Hector Bado, leader of the recovery effort, adding the bronze eagle weighed up to 400kg.

The barge brought the eagle back to port on Friday with a yellow tarpaulin covering the swastika at its base - out of consideration for those who still hold strong feelings against the symbol of Nazi Germany, Mr Bado said.

The eagle was taken to a customs warehouse, but not before curious cruise ship guests had had a chance to disembark and get some snapshots.

The recovery was the second major one by the international team of divers. In 2004, the group raised the Graf Spee's range finder, a component that held the first radar antenna installed on a warship.

The Graf Spee was once a symbol of German naval might. In the early days of World War II it roamed the South Atlantic, sinking as many as nine Allied merchant ships.

But during the Battle of the River Plate it received several direct hits and took refuge in Montevideo harbour.

Uruguay, under diplomatic pressure from Britain, ordered the Graf Spee out to sea. And there she was scuttled by her captain, Hans Langsdorff.

Capt Langsdorff committed suicide in a Buenos Aires naval camp three days later.