German survivors stated that they saw fire still lighting up the sky on the horizon until almost midnight. OCLC 32234178. HMAS SYDNEY was only six years old when she was lost — and had been commanded by only four men. [T R H Cole; Australia. Sydney’s crew, in the hope that DNA samples may enable a final identification to be made from these ‘possibles’. Regrettably these circumstances led to the circulation of many rumours, accusations and conspiracy theories, which have no basis in fact and supporting evidence. In the ensuing action the Kormoran's disguise was sufficient to entice the Sydney into close range where she was able to overwhelm her with gunfire and torpedoes. She sank after an engagement with HSK KORMORAN, a German armed raider that was disguised as the Dutch merchant vessel MV STRAAT MALAKKA. Get this from a library! Read another story from us: Always in Action – The HMAS Australia II with Amazing Photos. She did not arrive as expected and the District Naval Officer, Western … The Germans used nine ‘Hilfskreuzers’ (auxiliary cruisers) … None of these have ever been proven, though. There, they were interrogated extensively about the sinking of HMAS Sydney. A starboard view of HMAS Sydney taken in August 1941. Some of the conspiracy theories allege that the German ship was flying a surrender flag to lure Sydney close enough, and that Kormoran attacked without flying her battle ensign – either of which would have constituted a war crime. The two ships met off the Western Australian coast in the afternoon of 19 November 1941. Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (JCFADT) (22 March 1999). More information about this seller | Contact this seller 10. [187] [188] The JCFADT inquiry received over 400 submissions and compiled over 500 pages of oral testimony. The German survivors were picked up by various Australian vessels on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of November, and spent the rest of the war in prisoner of war camps. An official portrait of the ship's company, date unknown. The Kormoran was also sunk in the action. The ship and its entire company of 645 were lost. The tragic loss of HMAS Sydney II along with its entire crew of 645 was the first and most significant in a succession of Australian naval losses that directly threatened the security of Australia and the surrounding seas, having occurred only 17 days before the Japanese launched their attacks in Southeast Asia and the Northern Pacific. On 17 March 2008 the Australian Government announced that the wreckage of both HMAS Sydney and the German raider Kormoran had been found, approximately 112 nautical miles off Steep Point, Western Australia. Second, the location of the wreckage of Sydney (and Kormoran, which was also sunk) remained a mystery until decades after the war, in 2008. Places of Pride, the National Register of War Memorials, is a new initiative designed to record the locations and photographs of every publicly accessible memorial across Australia. There were no survivors from HMAS Sydney's 645 officers and men. Parliamentary Inquiry reports on the loss of HMAS Sydney. Australian War Memorial, Canberra. Page 296 and Capt. The vessel had originally been a merchant ship and had been modified for war, but her armor and guns were inferior to those of Sydney. A second search in 2006 was successful, and the body was exhumed. Second, the location of the wreckage of Sydney (and Kormoran , which was also sunk) remained a mystery until decades after the war, in 2008. A damaged but empty carley float, an invertible life raft often used on warships, was picked up by HMAS Heros on November 28, but a far more intriguing discovery was made in February the following year: another carley float was found. The Australians responded in kind, but according to the German survivors, their first salvo missed. The souls of the men of the HMAS Sydney 11 were commemorated with a ceremony over their final resting place. During the abandoning of the ship, one of the life rafts sank, and all but three men on it drowned. Department of Defence. Canberra: The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. T. Frame, HMAS Sydney, Loss and Controversy, 1998, (paperback ed.). TRAN.031.0001 RCOMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO THE LOSS OF HMAS SYDNEY II Before The Han TRH Cole AO RFD QC Held at level 5, 55 Market Street, SydneyCounsel Assisting: CMDR JT Rush RFD QC RANR LCDR PW Kerr RANR On Monday, 16 March 2009 at 10am (Day 31).16/3/09 (31) 2181 Transcripl producea by Merrill Legal Solulions Your generous donation will be used to ensure the memory of our Defence Forces and what they have done for us, and what they continue to do for our freedom remains – today and into the future. 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