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Battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran

Battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran
Part of World War II
Battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran:Hmas sydney 1940

Battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran:Kormoran

HMAS Sydney (top) and HSK Kormoran in 1940.
Date November 19, 1941
Location Exact location unknown; off Western Australia, Indian Ocean.
Result Both ships lost, German victory in terms of the respective losses and psychological impact.
Combatants
Australia Nazi Germany
Commanders
Joseph Burnett Theodor Detmers
Strength
One light cruiser, HMAS Sydney. One auxiliary cruiser, HSK Kormoran.
Casualties
Sydney disappeared, believed sunk with the loss of all 645 hands. Kormoran severely damaged and scuttled, with the loss of more than 70 crew members.

On November 19, 1941, during World War II, the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney and the German auxiliary cruiser HSK Kormoran fought each other in the Indian Ocean, off Western Australia. The two ships destroyed each other and Sydney was lost with all 645 hands. Most of the crew from Kormoran were rescued and became prisoners of war. Neither wreck has been found and the battle and sinkings remain the subject of much controversy.


Contents

The ships

HMAS Sydney was a 9,000 ton, modified Leander-class light cruiser launched in 1934. Its armament included eight 6-inch (152 mm) guns and four 4-in (102 mm) guns. In 1940, Sydney was credited with sinking a modern Italian cruiser during the Battle of Cape Spada, and two Italian destroyers in other engagements. After its return from the Mediterranean, command of Sydney passed from the celebrated Captain John Collins to the relatively inexperienced Captain Joseph Burnett.

Kormoran, a freighter which had been converted into a covert, long-range raiding ship, was under the command of Fregattenkapitän (Commander) Theodor Detmers. The German vessel was posing as the Dutch freighter Straat Malakka. Although Kormoran lacked only the armour protection and speed of a proper warship, it had substantial concealed armament, including six 150mm (5.9 in) guns and torpedo tubes. It had been in service for just over a year and had sunk ten merchant ships in the South Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and the South Pacific.

The battle

At about 4pm on November 19, at a point off the coast between Carnarvon and Geraldton, HMAS Sydney — returning to Fremantle after escorting the troopship Zealandia to Sunda Strait — sighted a merchant ship about 20 km (12 mi) away and challenged it. The other ship identified itself as the Dutch ship Straat Malakka. It was Kormoran. According to accounts by crew members of the Kormoran, the Sydney chased and overhauled the raider, while exchanging signals and attempting to verify its identity. Detmers maintained the charade as long as possible, knowing that he had a better chance in a battle at close range where Sydney's modern guns, fire control and armour protection would be less of an advantage, and hoping for the advantage of surprise. Burnett demanded a password from Kormoran, by which time Sydney had approached within about 1,000 metres of Kormoran. Under these circumstances Detmers had no choice other than to open fire, and his crew went into action.

According to the crew of the Kormoran, the Australian warship did not appear to be fully prepared for battle, although its main guns were trained on Kormoran. They reported that Sydney was hit 50 times by the raider's 150 mm (5.9 in) heavy guns — a simultaneous barrage of 20mm anti-aircraft gunfire would have caused severe casualties on its bridge and open decks; the Germans reported that Sydney was also hit by at least one torpedo.

Gunners on the Sydney responded and Kormoran took several 6-inch hits in the engine room and caught fire amidships. The two ships drifted apart and Sydney was last seen by the crew of Kormoran in flames on the horizon. Some time after the Australian ship disappeared from view, the Germans heard several loud explosions, and believed these to be fire reaching magazines on Sydney . Neither HMAS Sydney nor any of its 645 officers and men were seen again.

However, Sydney had inflicted enough damage to ensure that Kormoran could not be saved. With the engine room destroyed, 20 dead and the fire rapidly approaching the mine storage deck, Detmers had little choice but to abandon ship. Explosive charges were placed and the surviving crew took to the boats, with Detmers the last to leave. A further 40 men, mostly wounded, lost their lives when a lifeboat capsized in the rough seas. Shortly after midnight the charges went off, followed 25 minutes later by the mines. The entire stern and midships section was engulfed in a gigantic sheet of flame that shot 300 metres into the night sky as Kormoran went down by the stern.

Detmers and about 320 of his crew were rescued and spent the remainder of the war in an Australian prisoner of war camp, from which they were not released until 1947.

Wreckage from Sydney

The Australian War Memorial houses the only substantial trace of Sydney which was ever found: a Carley float liferaft, clearly damaged by gunfire, discovered at sea several days after the sinking.

On or about February 6, 1942, another Carley float, containing the body of a white male adult, was found off Christmas Island about 2,500 km from the scene of the battle. Neither the body or the origins of the float were able to be identified, although it is possible that both came from Sydney. Documents regarding the body and the location of this man's grave appear to have been lost during the Japanese occupation of the island, and several searches in a cemetery failed to locate the remains. In October 2006, an archaeological investigation rediscovered the body of the unidentified man. It was also reported that examination of the remains had revealed a 9mm bullet in his skull. However, the body has not been positively identified and no link with Sydney has yet been shown.

In March 1943, a lifebuoy from Sydney was found near Comboyuro Point, Moreton Island, Queensland, although it is possible that this was lost before the battle with Kormoran.

Controversy

Battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran:Survivors from HSK Kormoran. being rescued by Merchant ship Centaur
Enlarge
Survivors from HSK Kormoran. being rescued by Merchant ship Centaur

In Australia, many people found it difficult to believe that a converted merchant ship could sink a modern cruiser. Many also found it difficult to believe that a senior officer like Burnett took his ship within 1,000 metres of an unidentified and possibly dangerous vessel during wartime, without preparing for action and with such disastrous results. It was also seen as strange that the bulk of the crew of Kormoran survived, while there were no survivors from Sydney. The dearth of evidence and the fact that the only survivors were German, has allowed the battle between Sydney and Kormoran to become the subject of much controversy, speculation and conspiracy theory.

It has been suggested that the crew of the Kormoran killed Australian survivors and/or that the Germans were assisted by a Japanese submarine. According to such theories, if there was any Japanese involvement, it would have remained secret as a state of war did not exist between Australia and Japan at the time. Tensions between Japan and the Allied powers were building at the time, and the engagement occurred about two weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor, after which Australia and Japan commenced hostilities. There is evidence that Japanese agents provided information which was useful to German raiding ships. However, there is no evidence that the crew of the Kormoran committed war crimes or that Japanese naval personnel were directly involved in the sinking of Sydney.

"Both at the 1997 Forum and subsequently, the statement of differing views has become a dialogue of the deaf rather than a fruitful exchange within the norms of historical discourse." Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade: Reports: Inquiry into the loss of HMAS Sydney

Attempts to find the wrecks

The major obstacle in locating the two ships is the scarcity of details about the location of the battle. Guesses vary from deep waters many kilometres off Dirk Hartog Island to the western side of the Abrolhos Islands, to sites nearer to Carnarvon.

At present a non-profit organisation, HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd is planning an attempt to locate the wrecks. It has a memorandum of understanding with shipwreck hunter David Mearns, who also led the expedition which found the wreck of HMS Hood in the North Atlantic in July 2001. Mearns believes he can find the wrecks using the latest sonar technology and recently-revealed details recorded by Detmers.[1]. On August 14, 2005, the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, announced that the Australian government would grant A$1.3 million to HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd.[2]. Another $500,000 has been provided by from the Western Australian state government,[3] and $250,000 by the New South Wales government.[4]The organisation plans to secure an additional $8 million in private funding before attempting a thorough search. The search will be conducted in deep water off Shark Bay.[5] A rival group has announced plans to search in shallower waters closer to the coast.

In late 2005, University of Western Australia Press published Seeking the Sydney: A Quest for the Truth by Glenys McDonald. The main innovation of the book is McDonald's extensive oral history interviews with residents of the coastal area nearest to the battle. According to McDonald, many residents of Port Gregory, about 80km north of Geraldton, reported seeing signs and sounds of a naval battle, at about the time that Sydney and Kormoran engaged each other, suggesting that the sinkings may have occurred much further south than the accounts of either Detmers or the Australian government.

References

Categories


Military attacks against Australia | 1941 in Australia | Military history of Australia during World War II | Naval battles of Germany

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