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HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran found

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  • HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran found

    On the 19th November 1941 the German merchantraider HSK Kormoran and the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney met in battle which ended in mutal destruction. While most of the German crew could save themselves (including a few POWs taken before the battle) the Sydney was lost with all hands which caused much controversity in Australia, as nobody wanted to believe that she could have taken down by a simple modified simple merchantship. Now both wracks have been found and there is hope to reconstroct the event of the battle and find the cause for the of the Sydneys and her crew.


    (I am not used if I used the correct English terms for the shipclasses, so please correct me if you find me wrong)

  • #2
    HMAS Sydney found
    Last Update: Monday, March 17, 2008. 2:34pm AWDT

    By Grady Winfield

    After 66 years of mystery and heartache the wreckage of HMAS Sydney II has been found. HMAS Sydney was sunk in November 1941 after engaging in battle with German raider HSK Kormoran, killing all 645 men on board.

    The Finding Sydney Foundation launched its search mission on March 3rd with charted Search Vessel Geosounder, lead by renowned shipwreck investigator David Mearns.

    Before departing the Geraldton Port David Mearns declared he was confident the team would find both the Sydney and Kormoran wreckages saying "we have the right team, the right equipment and the right boat, now we just have to find it."

    And find it they did. With a search area larger then the Australian Capital Territory both wrecks were found within 24 hours of each other in waters more then 2,500 metres deep.

    The Kormoran was first located 100km of the coast of Steep Point in the Midwest of Western Australia on Friday the 14th of March. Just 10 nautical miles south and 24 hours later it was confirmed that the Sydney had been found.

    The discovery of the Sydney is a momentous occasion for many local historians who have dedicated much of their life to finding the resting place of HMAS Sydney. One of those historians is Tony Parasiliti who said many historians didn't believe they would live to see this day.

    "We didn't think that we'd see a day like this in our lifetime but its here now and it's great."

    Mr Parasiliti is well versed in the events that lead to the sinking of the Sydney after writing to the Australian Navy in 1997.

    "I wrote to the navy about the events of the 19th of November because I was always fascinated about how such a big ship could have been lost and not ever found. The navy responded with a four or five page letter of condensed pages and they gave me a blow by blow description of what actually happened on that day. The positioning of the ships, the winds, the type of ammunition that was fired into the Kormoran and that made me ask, why can't they find the ship?"
    "The Kormoran fired about three torpedo's during the salvos which lasted just over an hour and they fired about 450 to 600 shells into the Sydney, some missed others didn't. The Sydney fired about six torpedos."

    The discovery of HMAS Sydney has once again raised questions as to why all men on died the vessel died, especially given that the wreckage is sitting upright and the hull looks largely intact.

    "It just seems really amazing; we heard this morning that the ship came down upright. Someone would have at least had a chance to jump off the ship or get into a life raft but there doesn't seem to be any of that."


    "It's probably the first time that a cruiser has been sunk by a raider and questions really have to be asked about that too, by rights the Sydney should have put the Kormoran down. They were by far the more superior of the two boats but having said that the Kormoran was heavily armed."

    The discovery of HMAS Sydney provides closure for the 645 families who have been waiting for answers on the destiny of their loved ones for the past 66 years. For many relatives of the lost men today is a sad day. Les Blomb's father Lesley Michael Lawrence Blomb died on the Sydney and Les said today is a day of mixed feelings.

    "I'm feeling happiness and sadness, a lot of sadness. My father was a first class stoker on the Sydney but I didn't know him because I wasn't born at the time. The Sydney went down in October and I wasn't born until the March. My mother never remarried, I think partly because she always thought he'd walk through the door."

    "I feel great at the moment that they have found it but I've still got a lot of questions. There's still the question of what happened to the men because I still can't think for the life of me how all those 645 men went down when there were so many survivors off the Kormoran."

    Discussions are now being held as to the future of the wreckages, with many historians, politicians and family members expressing their desire to have the wreckage left in the ocean as a war grave
    Last edited by Knaur Amarsh; 17 Mar 08,, 21:30. Reason: correction
    When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep? - George Canning sigpic

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    • #3
      The Kormoran of course surprised the Sydney and was able to fire off several torpedoes and begin shelling before the Sydney knew what was going on. As the recent example of the USS Cole shows, surprise counts for a lot.
      The survivors from the Kormoran reported their last sighting of the Sydney was at night and her wooden decks were ablaze from stem to stern, so in all likelyhood the ships boats were destroyed before the decision was made to abandon ship.
      Both sites have already been designated as war grave sites.

      R.I.P.
      In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

      Leibniz

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Parihaka View Post
        ...Both sites have already been designated as war grave sites.

        R.I.P.
        Excellent, imo. I hope they can figure out what happened without disturbing too much the resting site of those lost. I'm sure all the hands lost went down "fighting." They deserve a wee bit more respect than merely "Hey, look what I found!", I think.
        If you know the enemy and yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. - Sun Tzu

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        • #5
          645 Souls...........RIP
          sigpicFEAR NAUGHT

          Should raw analytical data ever be passed to policy makers?

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          • #6
            Originally posted by T_igger_cs_30 View Post
            645 Souls...........RIP
            719

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Tarek Morgen View Post
              719
              Not haggling over something like this.........I thought it only gave the losses for the Sydney...........however many souls it was from both sides ..........RIP
              sigpicFEAR NAUGHT

              Should raw analytical data ever be passed to policy makers?

              Comment


              • #8
                There are still many family & friends of Sydney survivors alive in Australia. This has come as a great relief to them. I am sure there will also be comfort to families of the Kormoran's dead.

                What made it so hard for the families of the Sydney was the lack of any survivors & thus a limited understanding of what happened. With the majority of the Kormoran's crew surviving, they were at least able to explain what had happened to their comrades. Apparently the hull pf the Sydney is largely intact, so some definitive answers may finally be possible.

                May they all rest in peace.
                sigpic

                Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

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                • #9
                  I thought I had read the HSK Kormoran was armed as well as a light cruiser, although it has been over 20 yrs since I read the book.

                  According to wiki(for what it's worth)...

                  German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
                  6 x 5.9 inch (150 mm) guns


                  Granted I'm just an ignorant civie...

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                  • #10
                    but no armor whatsoever, and the guns have to be hidden until the last moment (well at least in this battle, this proved as advantage)

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Bigfella View Post
                      There are still many family & friends of Sydney survivors alive in Australia.
                      ...the Sydney was lost with all hands...
                      Something's not adding up here.
                      If you know the enemy and yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. - Sun Tzu

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                      • #12
                        Conspiracy theories involving government and navy cover ups and even one that suggested a Japanese submarine was involved have been around for years and evidence gathered from inspection of Sydney's hull will hopefully help us understand how and why the cruiser was sunk with all hands. Until new evidence is gathered there seems little point in further speculating about the causes. Now is the time to show respect to the sailors of both ships who lost their lives and to help surviving family members find closure. Unfortunately many, like one of my uncles, whose son was on Sydney, have not lived to see the day when the ship's resting place would be finally found.

                        RIP all who died on HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran.

                        Tas
                        Learn from the past. Prepare for the future.

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