Plan for giant Nazi eagle to fund Uruguayan military

Uruguay could sell a $64m giant Nazi bronze eagle salvaged from the German battleship Graf Spee to help fund the nation's armed forces.

Video released last week shows how salvagers in 2006 pulled the 2.7m-high eagle adorned with Nazi insignia from the wreckage of the Graf Spee warship that was scuttled after clashing with Britain's Royal Navy in 1939, reports El Pais.

Uruguay's Supreme Court ruled that the statue belongs to the state, although businessman Alfredo Etchegaray who recovered it 11 years ago is entitled to 50percent of profits.

Footage shows how a crane fitted aboard a boat struggled to raise the 300kg eagle off the Uruguayan coast.

It has since been stored inside a guarded naval warehouse in Uruguay.

The German government warned that if sold the eagle may be used by neo-Nazis. But Israel has not registered opposition to any sale.

The Graf Spee was scuttled by its captain after retiring to the neutral Uruguayan port of Montevideo in 1939.