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HMAS Sydney (D48)

Coordinates: 26°14′37″S 111°13′03″E / 26.24361°S 111.21750°E / -26.24361; 111.21750 (HMAS Sydney)
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HMAS Sydney in 1940. A spar projecting forward from the bridge and the single 4.0 inch (102 mm) AA guns amidships distinguished Sydney from other ships in her class.
History
Australia (RAN)
NameHMAS Sydney
Namesakelist error: <br /> list (help)
City of Sydney
HMAS Sydney (1912)
Ordered1931
BuilderSwan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Limited, Wallsend-on-Tyne[1]
Laid down8 July 1933
Launched22 September 1934
ChristenedHMS Phaeton[1]
Commissioned24 September 1935
RenamedHMAS Sydney (II) (before launching)
HomeportFremantle, Western Australia
FateSunk by Kormoran 19 November 1941
NotesWreck discovered in March 2008
General characteristics
Class and typeAmphion class cruiser[2]
Displacement6,830 tons
Length562 ft (171.3 m)
Beam56 ft (17.1 m)
Draught19.1 feet (5.8 m)
Propulsion4x Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boilers, Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines, Template:Auto shp on 4 shafts
Speed32.5 knots (60 km/h)
Range5,730 nmi (10,610 km) at 13 knots (24 km/h)
Complement645
Armamentlist error: mixed text and list (help)
Armourlist error: mixed text and list (help)
  • 3 in (76 mm) magazine box
  • 1 in (25.4 mm) main deck
  • 1 in (25.4 mm) turrets
Aircraft carried1x Supermarine Seagull V, later Supermarine Walrus
Aviation facilitiesRotating catapult & crane
For other ships with the same name, see HMAS Sydney.

HMAS Sydney was a light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1934 and 1941. Sydney had great success in the first years of World War II, but controversy and mystery surrounded the loss of the battle-hardened ship and her crew in November 1941.[3] She was sunk on 19 November 1941 with the loss of all 645 hands, which represented the greatest loss of life in an Australian warship, and the largest Allied vessel to sink with all hands during the war.[4]

She was classified by the RAN as a Modified Leander class cruiser, although these ships are sometimes known as the "Perth class" or the "Amphion class". As Sydney was originally intended for the Royal Navy, she was known as HMS Phaeton for part of her construction. The ship was bought by the Australian government and renamed before she was launched.

After years of searching, the wreckage of the German vessel that sank HMAS Sydney, the auxiliary cruiser Kormoran was found on 12 March 2008. On 17 March 2008 the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that the wreck of HMAS Sydney had also been discovered, on the previous day. Sydney was found 150 kilometres (81 nmi) from Shark Bay, Western Australia and 22.6 kilometres (12.2 nmi) from the Kormoran.

Description

Sydney was one of three light cruisers originally ordered in 1931–1932 for the Royal Navy as the "Amphion class", an improved sub-group of Leander class cruisers. The Amphion class had their machinery arranged in a redundant "unit" principle, with boiler room, engine room, boiler room, engine room configuration. The visible difference from this change was two widely separated funnels, while the original Leander class ships had a single large funnel. Ships in the class were 562 feet (171 m) long, 56 feet (17 m) wide, had a draught of 15 feet (4.6 m) and displaced 6,830 tons.[5]

A Supermarine Walrus being loaded onto a Leander class cruiser in Sydney Harbour in 1939

Armament included four twin-mounted BL 6-inch (152 mm) guns, four QF 4 in (102 mm) Mk.V L/45 anti-aircraft guns, three quadruple mount 0.50 inch (12.7 mm)) Vickers machine guns and eight 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes.[6] The ships carried a single catapult-launched seaplane (initially a Supermarine Seagull V then later a Supermarine Walrus[7]) that was crewed by members of No. 9 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force.

The design had a number of shortcomings, including guns not having shields, the single-mounted anti-aircraft guns not providing enough firepower and a lack of redundancy in the power supply to the Director Control Tower (in the latter case meaning that the main guns could not be aimed effectively if power were lost). In 1938, Commander Waller explained to the Australian Commonwealth Navy Board that "The primary gun control systems in HMAS Sydney are extremely vulnerable to gunfire and bombs, even of small calibre." These problems were fixed in HMAS Hobart, but the changes were not made to Sydney.[5]

History

Construction and commissioning

Sydney was laid down by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Limited at Wallsend-on-Tyne, England, on 8 July 1933 as HMS Phaeton. In 1934, before launching, she was purchased by the Australian Government and renamed in memory of the earlier Sydney.[5] She was launched on 22 September 1934 by Ethel Bruce, the wife of S. M. Bruce, High Commissioner to Britain and former Australian Prime Minister. A year later, following her sea trials she sailed to Portsmouth under Royal Navy Captain John Fitzgerald.[8] She was commissioned at Portsmouth on 24 September 1935.

On 29 October 1935, she sailed for Australia, but was diverted to the Mediterranean following the Italian invasion of Abyssinia. There, she assisted in enforcing a League of Nations blockade against Italy until January 1936,[8] before sailing for Australia where she finally arrived on 2 August 1936.[9]

World War II deployment

Sydney's initial duties in World War II consisted of patrol and escort duties in the Indian Ocean.[9] However when Italy joined the war, she was deployed in the Mediterranean under Captain John Augustine Collins, joining the 7th Cruiser Squadron at Alexandria on 26 May 1940 after passing through the Suez Canal.[5] While serving in the Mediterranean, Sydney was credited with the sinking of the Italian destroyer Espero, a ship that fought tenaciously to the very end.[10][11]

Destruction of Bartolomeo Colleoni at Cape Spada

Sydney’s crowning glory was achieved on 19 July 1940, in the Battle of Cape Spada in the Greek Islands. With a British destroyer squadron in company, she engaged the high-speed Italian light cruisers Bartolomeo Colleoni and Giovanni dalle Bande Nere.[12] In the running battle which followed, Bartolomeo Colleoni was wrecked and later sunk by torpedoes from the destroyers, while the high speed of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere enabled her to escape a similar fate. During this battle, Sydney received the only damage of her Mediterranean campaign, when a shell penetrated one of her funnels.[13] This victory had important strategic effects: "...until the fall of Greece some nine months later, Allied control of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean was virtually unchallenged."[14]

On 27 July 1940, while covering a convoy to the Dardanelles, in company with HMS Neptune, Sydney was involved in the sinking of a small Greek tanker, Ermioni,[12] which was carrying fuel to the Italian garrison in the Dodecanese. During August and September, Sydney took part in various operations, including bombardments of Italian positions at Bardia in Libya,[15] and an airfield at Scarpanto in the Dodecanese.[12] Sydney then returned to Alexandria for repairs, maintenance and leave.

In October, Sydney and another Leander class cruiser HMS Orion, carried out a bombardment of Port Maltesana (Astipalea) in the Dodecanese. In November, Sydney ferried troops and stores to Crete;[12] on the night of 11-12 November, as part of Operation MB8, Sydney, Orion, HMS Ajax (another Leander) and two destroyers attacked an Italian convoy of four merchant ships and two escorts in the Strait of Otranto.[15] All the merchant ships were sunk, although the two escorts escaped.[12]

Sydney was refitted at Malta and departed the Mediterranean for Australia on 12 January 1941, performing escort duties en route. Sydney reached Fremantle on 5 February and underwent a further refit in Sydney Harbour, during which Collins handed over command to Captain Joseph Burnett. Sydney’s crew was honoured by her namesake city on 11 February, with school children given a holiday in order to see them on parade.[16] On 27 February, the ship left for its new base of Fremantle, from where she would carry out patrol and escort duties in the Indian Ocean, occasionally venturing into Asian and Pacific waters.

Final battle and disappearance

Main article: Battle between HMAS Sydney and German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran
The 645-strong crew on board HMAS Sydney in 1941

On 5 November 1941 at Albany, Western Australia, Sydney began escorting the troopship Zealandia,[17] which was bound for Singapore. Sydney and Zealandia arrived at Fremantle on 9 November. They were delayed by a labour dispute on board Zealandia, but left Fremantle on 11 November. On 17 November, Sydney handed over escort duties of Zealandia to HMS Durban at Sunda Strait,[17] then turned around to head back to Fremantle. Sydney was scheduled to arrive back in Fremantle in the afternoon or evening of 20 November. Axis submarines and surface raiders had already been active in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and it was expected that any Australian naval vessel on such a voyage might have to investigate reported sightings or suspicious vessels.

At about 4pm on 19 November, somewhere west of Shark Bay, Western Australia, Sydney sighted what she believed to be a merchant ship about 20 kilometres (11 nmi) away and challenged her. The other ship identified herself as the Dutch ship Straat Malakka.[18] She was, in fact, the German merchant raider Kormoran, disguised and sailing under a false flag. According to survivors from Kormoran, the ill-prepared Sydney closed to within 1,000 metres (1,100 yd), and was surprised and overwhelmed when the crew of the heavily armed raider opened fire at nearly point-blank range with concealed artillery and torpedoes.[15]

Memo from Frederick Shedden, Secretary to the War Cabinet, to Prime Minister John Curtin. The first formal advice to the Prime Minister that HMAS Sydney was believed lost.

Kormoran was also badly damaged in the ensuing battle and had to be abandoned and scuttled due to engine failure and a fire that was burning out of control.[19] Survivors from Kormoran were rescued by the ships Koolinda (31), Aquitania (26), Trocas (25) and HMAS Yandra (2), while a further 103 reached Carnarvon by lifeboat.[20] The Germans reported that Sydney was last seen down by the bow and on fire as she disappeared over the horizon.[15] The ship and her 645 crew members were never seen again.[3]

It was not until 25 November (six days later) that the fears of the Royal Australian Navy about likely loss of Sydney were heightened to the point that the Secretary to the War Cabinet was informed and he, in turn, informed the Prime Minister in writing.

Floating wreckage from Sydney

Memorial to HMAS Sydney, in Geraldton, Western Australia.

The Australian War Memorial houses a Carley float, clearly damaged by shrapnel, discovered at sea nine days after the sinking at 24°07′S 110°58′E / 24.117°S 110.967°E / -24.117; 110.967.[21] Until the discovery of the ship, this was the only substantial relic of the sinking.

On or about 6 February 1942, another Carley float, containing the body of a white male adult, was found off Christmas Island about 2,500 kilometres (1,300 nmi) from the scene of the battle. Neither the body nor the origins of the float were able to be identified, although it is possible that both came from Sydney.[22] 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 9 mm bullet or a fragment of shrapnel in his skull. However, the body has not been positively identified and no link with Sydney has yet been shown. Researchers are currently undertaking DNA investigation on the remains and suspected, surviving relatives.[23]

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.

HMAS Sydney is located in Australia
HMAS Sydney
HMAS Sydney
class=notpageimage|
Approximate location of the Sydney wreckage

Discovery of Kormoran and Sydney

Main article: Search for HMAS Sydney and German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran
HMAS Sydney's "A" turret, with its gun housing destroyed

The Finding Sydney Foundation announced that the wreck of the Kormoran had been found on 12 March 2008, during a $3.9 million private[24] and government-funded search for Sydney launched at the beginning of March.[25] The search team was headed by David Mearns, a veteran American shipwreck hunter. The ship was found 112 nautical miles (207 km) west of Steep Point, lying in 2,560 metres (8,400 ft) of water.[26]

File:HMAS Sydney wreck, 64.jpg
The collapsed stern section of the Sydney

On 16 March 2008, the wreck of HMAS Sydney was reportedly found at 26°14′37″S 111°13′03″E / 26.24361°S 111.21750°E / -26.24361; 111.21750 (HMAS Sydney), approximately 100 nautical miles (190 km) west of Steep Point and 12.2 nautical miles (22.6 km) from the Kormoran wreck.[26] Prime Minister Kevin Rudd confirmed the following day that the wreck was that of the Sydney, at a depth of 2,470 metres (8,100 ft). On 3 April 2008, the Finding Sydney Foundation published the first underwater pictures of the Sydney taken using an ROV. The images show that the bow had sheared off, leading Mearns to speculate that:[27]

It seems increasingly likely that Sydney’s bow, severely damaged and weakened by the torpedo strike, broke away with Sydney pointed on a heading of 140 degrees, and still possibly underway. All the evidence indicates that the weather and sea conditions worsened on the evening of November 19th and rough seas may have played a factor in Sydney losing her bow and finally sinking.

The wreck of the Sydney will be protected under the 1976 Historic Shipwrecks Act[28] and be treated as a war grave.[29]

Notes

Wikinews has related news:
  1. ^ a b Edwards, 2002, secondary sources, p114
  2. ^ Keegan 1977, secondary sources, p234
  3. ^ a b Frame 2004, secondary sources, p168
  4. ^ The Japanese aircraft carrier Chiyoda was lost with all 1470 hands. After the Japanese heavy cruiser Chokai was sunk, some crew were rescued by a destroyer, Fujinami. This destroyer was later sunk with the loss of all of Chokai's survivors. It has been claimed that the Japanese battleship Fuso was lost with all hands in 1944, but the evidence is not at all clear. HMS Neptune, another Leander class cruiser, was lost with all but one crew member only a few weeks after Sydney.
  5. ^ a b c d Stevens 2005, secondary sources
  6. ^ Royal Australian Navy, primary sources
  7. ^ London 2003, secondary sources, p275
  8. ^ a b Frame 2004, secondary sources, p145
  9. ^ a b McKernan 2006, secondary sources, p147
  10. ^ Johnston 1942, secondary sources, p39-40
  11. ^ Pratt 1979, secondary sources, p406
  12. ^ a b c d e Swain 2001, secondary sources, p10-14
  13. ^ Johnston 1942, secondary sources, p14
  14. ^ Australian War Memorial, secondary sources
  15. ^ a b c d United States Naval Institute, secondary sources, p416-418
  16. ^ Royal Australian Navy, primary sources
  17. ^ a b Plowman 2007, secondary sources, p130-131
  18. ^ Grove 2002, secondary sources, p21
  19. ^ Action Report 1941, primary sources, p3
  20. ^ Grove 2002, secondary sources, p11
  21. ^ Hardstaff 1995, secondary sources
  22. ^ Gibbs 1997, secondary sources
  23. ^ "ID for sailor's remains getting closer". The New Zealand Herald. June 25, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  24. ^ "Sponsors". HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd. 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  25. ^ Finding Sydney Foundation, 16 March 2008, primary sources
  26. ^ a b Finding Sydney Foundation 17 March 2008, primary sources
  27. ^ Finding Sydney Foundation 5 April 2008, primary sources
  28. ^ "Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976". Australian Commonwealth Government. 1976. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
  29. ^ ABC News, secondary sources

References

Primary sources consulted
Secondary sources consulted
Tertiary sources consulted

Further reading

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