Search for HMAS Sydney and German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran

A search for the wrecks of the Australian warship HMAS "Sydney" and the German merchant raider "Kormoran", that sank each other during World War II, ended successfully in March 2008. On 19 November 1941, the two ships fought a battle in the Indian Ocean, off Western Australia. On 16 March 2008, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that the "Kormoran", an auxiliary cruiser operated by the "Kriegsmarine", had been found. According to media reports, it is convert|240|km|nmi west of Shark Bay, at a depth of convert|2560|m|ft. [cite news | url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/cracking-a-70year-puzzle/2008/03/17/1205602293113.html|title = Cracking a 70-year puzzle| date = 18 March 2008 | publisher = The Sydney Morning Herald | accessdate = 2008-03-18] The following day Rudd announced that the wreck of the "Sydney", a light cruiser belonging to the Royal Australian Navy, had been found, convert|22|km|nmi south-east of the "Kormoran". [cite news | url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/17/2190983.htm|title = Wreck of HMAS Sydney found| date = 17 March 2008 | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation | accessdate = 2008-03-17] "Sydney" is reported to be at a a depth of convert|2468|m|ft. [cite news | url = http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/03/172191670.htm|title = The end of a 66-year mystery| date = 17 March 2008 | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation | accessdate = 2008-03-18]

As a result of the battle, "Sydney" was lost with all 645 hands. Most of the crew from "Kormoran" were rescued and became prisoners of war. The battle, sinkings and location of the wrecks were controversial.

The major obstacle in locating the two ships was the scarcity of details about the location of the battle. As a result, hypotheses about the wrecks' locations varied from deep water many kilometres off Dirk Hartog Island, to sites nearer to Carnarvon, Western Australia, and as far south as the western side of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands.

History

Wartime

The search for the two ships began on 24 November 1941 after HMAS "Sydney" failed to respond to radio messages. Royal Australian Air Force aircraft patrolled off the West Australian coast and all high powered radio stations in Australia were instructed to continuously broadcast to "Sydney". After the British tanker "Trocas" rescued survivors from "Kormoran" at approximately coord|24|33|S|111|48|E|type:landmark_region:AU, Convert|120|mi|km west-north-west of Carnarvon on 24 November, six merchant ships in the area were instructed to search for survivors and four auxiliary Royal Australian Navy vessels were dispatched from Fremantle, Western Australia. While 315 survivors from "Kormoran" were rescued by 30 November, the only confirmed trace of "Sydney" found by the searchers was a single empty life raft. [Gill (1957). Pages 451-453.]

Post-war

In 1997, a joint standing committee held a parliamentary inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the sinking of "Sydney". The enquiry was the largest in Australia’s history, receiving submissions from hundreds of parties. The committee made a number of findings and recommendations, including: [cite web|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jfadt/sydney/Reportinx.htm|title=HMAS Sydney II and the Kormoran:Parliamentary Inquiry reports on the loss of HMAS Sydney|year=1997|publisher=Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade]
*No documents had been maliciously destroyed
*The "Kormoran"'s torpedoes were an important factor in the battle
*It was common practice at the time to close on unknown ships to prevent their crews scuttling them
*There was a total lack of evidence of Japanese involvement
*Attempts should be made to identify the unknown sailor on Christmas Island
*HMAS Sydney Foundation Trust should coordinate a search for the wrecks.
*It recommended a new memorial in Fremantle, that the Royal Australian Navy set up a naval history research grant scheme in the name of "Sydney" and its crew, and services of commemoration in Fremantle, Sydney and at the wreck site.

Formed in 2001, the non-profit organisation HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd planned an attempt to locate the wrecks since receiving a government grant in August 2005. [ [http://www.findingsydney.com/news6.asp In Search of HMAS Sydney] ] It had a memorandum of understanding with shipwreck hunter David Mearns, who believed that he could find the wrecks using the latest sonar technology and recently-revealed details recorded by the commander of "Kormoran", Theodor Detmers. [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Sunk-but-not-forgotten/2005/02/22/1109046919501.html Sunk, but not forgotten - National - www.smh.com.au ] ] On 14 August, 2005, the then Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, announced that the Australian government would grant A$1.3 million to HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd. [ [http://smh.com.au/articles/2005/08/14/1123957949752.html PM offers reward to find sunken warship - National - smh.com.au ] ] Another was provided by the West Australian State Government, [http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/wa/geraldton/200509/s1463335.htm WA Govt chips in for Sydney search. 19 September 2005. Geraldton News ] ] and $250,000 by the New South Wales State Government. [ [http://www.findingsydney.com/news7.asp Finding the HMAS Sydney II Appeal - News ] ] The organisation planned to secure an additional $8 million in private funding before attempting a thorough search. The search was planned to be conducted in deep water off Shark Bay. A rival group 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 was 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 Convert|80|km|nmi 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 (a theory that subsequently proved to be incorrect when the wrecks were located).

Independent researcher Warren Whittaker, writing in "The Weekend Australian" in July 2006, reiterated his belief that HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd was looking in the wrong area. [ [http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/Sydney_search/Weekend%20Australian%20Article/Article_as_published_.html Warren Whittaker, "Wrong turn in the hunt for an old wreck".] (Originally published in "The Australian", 22 July 2006; online version from Whittaker's website, with footnotes added.) Access date: 21 March 2007. ] Whittaker believed that hindcasting, based on the known movements of flotsam and lifeboats from "Kormoran", suggested wrongly that Detmers' account of the last known location of his ship is incorrect and that both ships would be located just west of Abrolhos Islands.

In March 2007, HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd reported that Whittaker's proposed site had been surveyed by a Perth-based company, Geo Subsea Pty Ltd, on a "pro bono" basis, and no trace of "Kormoran" or "Sydney" had been found. [http://www.findingsydney.com/news8.asp HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd, 2007, "Search for HMAS Sydney Underway 'Southern' Kormoran Site Investigated"] Access date: 25 March 2007. ] Geo Subsea used a hull-mounted multibeam echo sounder (MBES) system, capable of scanning the seabed for three km on either side of the search vessel MV "Geosounder", at depths of up to Convert|5000|m|ft. David Mearns was quoted as saying that the site "was ideal for searching with Geosounder’s MBES because the average depth is only Convert|850|m|ft and the seabed is relatively flat and featureless with a gentle slope of only 1.4 to 2 degrees. If a ship the size of "Kormoran" (157 metres long and 9,400 GRT), which was the biggest auxiliary cruiser used by the Kriegsmarine in WWII, had exploded and sunk on the site it would clearly show up in the MBES images for all to see."

In June 2007, British maritime researcher Timothy Akers, a former employee of David Mearns, claimed to have located the wreck of the "Sydney" along with other wrecks from a Japanese Battle Group in the vicinity, using high quality satellite imagery he purchased. [Cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21816706-2,00.html |title=Claims sunken WWII RAN ship finally found |publisher=News Limited |first=Vincent |last=Morelli |date=2007-03-29] However, this claim was disputed, and Ted Graham, the chairman of the Perth-based volunteer company HMAS Sydney Search, dismissed the possibility the wreck could be located using satellite imagery. [Cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/hmas-sydney-find-nonsense/2007/06/03/1180809320635.html | title=HMAS Sydney find 'nonsense'|publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=2007-06-03]

On 11 August 2007 a group of amateur wreck hunters claimed that they had located the wreck of HMAS "Sydney" off Cape Inscription on the northern end of Dirk Hartog Island by using a grappling hook and underwater video camera. [Cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/we-found-wreck-of-the-sydney/2007/08/10/1186530627312.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 | title=We found wreck of the Sydney |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=2007-08-11 |first=Paul |last=Murray] A survey conducted by HMAS "Leeuwin" on 17 August found that the wreck off Dirk Hartog Island is only approximately Convert|30|m|ft long and Convert|5|m|ft high, and therefore not matching "Sydney"'s length of over Convert|170|m|ft. In light of this, the possibility of the discovery being that of the Sydney was ruled out. [Cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22263805-2,00.html | title=Navy sinks HMAS Sydney hopes |publisher=news.com.au |date=2007-08-18]

Discovery of the wrecks

"Kormoran"

On 16 March 2008, it was announced that the Finding Sydney Foundation had located "Kormoran"'s wreck on 12 March at coord|26|05|49.4|S|111|04|27.5|E|region:AU_type:landmark|name=HSK Kormoran, approximately Convert|112|nmi|km off Steep Point, Western Australia in Convert|2560|m|ft of water. Sonar images show that the ship split into two large parts after it sank. [cite press release |title=Kormoran-sized clue in the hunt for HMAS "Sydney" II |publisher=The Hon. Warren Snowdon MP, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel |date=2008-03-16 |url=http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/Snowdontpl.cfm?CurrentId=7503 |format= |language= |accessdate=2008-03-16 |quote= ] [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Kormoran wreck found off WA |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/16/2190745.htm |work= |publisher=ABC News |date=2008-03-16 |accessdate=2008-03-16 ]

"Sydney"

On 17 March 2008 Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd confirmed [cite press release|url=http://presspass.findingsydney.com/blogs/official_finding_sydney_foundation_media_releases/archive/2008/03/17/press-conference-transcript-17th-march-2008.aspx|title=Announcement on the Finding of the HMAS Sydney and German Vessel, Kormoran|date=2008-03-17|accessdate=2007-03-18|publisher=Government of Australia] that the wreck of HMAS "Sydney" had been found at coord|26|14|37|S|111|13|03|E|type:landmark_region:AU|name=HMAS Sydney, and that the ship was largely intact. It is reported by the search team that the wreck was found Convert|12|nmi|km away from that of the "Kormoran". [cite press release|title=HMAS Sydney II Is Found|date=2008-03-17|url=http://presspass.findingsydney.com/blogs/official_finding_sydney_foundation_media_releases/archive/2008/03/17/hmas-sydney-ii-is-found.aspx|publisher=HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd|accessdate=2008-03-17] Mr Rudd indicated that both wrecks were being listed for interim protection orders under the 1976 Historic Shipwrecks Act. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=HMAS Sydney wreckage found |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hmas-sydney-found-pm/2008/03/17/1205602238554.html | work=|publisher=The Age, Fairfax Digital |date=2009-03-17 |accessdate=2008-03-17 ]

Condition of the wrecks

After discovering the "Kormoran", shipwreck hunter David Mearns described sonar images which indicate that the hull had split into four large pieces, with the two biggest pieces lying on the seabed about Convert|1200|m|ft from each other.

A group of sonar targets that initially had been identified as debris believed to be marking the site of the main battle later turned out to have been a field of large rocks.

Underwater photographs released by the Finding Sydney Foundation indicate that the "Sydney" lies upright and largely intact. [cite news|url=http://www.findingsydney.com/gallery.asp|title=HMAS Sydney photo gallery|publisher=Finding Sydney Foundation]

Footnotes

References

*
*
* [http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=145&ContentID=63113 "The West Australian" (website) "Sydney hunt digs up the Kormoran" (March 16, 2008)] . Access date: March 16, 2008.
* [http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Sunk-but-not-forgotten/2005/02/22/1109046919501.html Sydney Morning Herald article (February 23, 2005) on expedition by David Mearns to find the wreck of "Sydney"]

External links

* [http://www.findingsydney.com/ HMAS Sydney II Search Appeal] – The HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd (Sydney Search) website.
* [http://www.abc.net.au/tv/hmassydney/ TV Documentary: The Hunt for HMAS Sydney]
* [http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/03/17/mckechnie.aus.hms.sydney.aubc Ship found after 66 years]