Huge commemorations in Auckland tomorrow as the Navy remembers its finest hour.

It will be the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the River Plate.

In 1939 the mainly New Zealand crew of HMS Achilles engaged the German pocket battleship the Admiral Graf Spee off the coast of Uruguay.

It was so badly damaged, the captain scuttled it.

The four surviving veterans, all in their 90s will take part in events including a parade on Queen St at 11am which will re-create the 1940 homecoming parade.