 In September 1917 , the second Mackensen @-@ class battlecruiser was named Graf Spee , and was christened by Spee 's widow Margarete . Construction of the ship had not been completed by the time of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 , and she was broken up for scrap by 1921 . In 1934 Germany named the new heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee after him ; as with the earlier vessel , a member of Spee 's family christened the ship , this time his daughter . In December 1939 , Admiral Graf Spee was scuttled by her crew after the Battle of the River Plate off the coast of Uruguay . Between 1959 and 1964 the Federal German Bundesmarine operated the training frigate Graf Spee . 
