HMAS Sydney Photos (Full Version)

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bbbf -> HMAS Sydney Photos (4/4/2008 1:14:58 AM)

First photo's of the wreck of Sydney.

http://www.findingsydney.com/gallery.asp



goodboyladdie -> RE: HMAS Sydney Photos (4/4/2008 9:17:41 PM)

They are some sad phototgraphs. Every time I read about HMAS Sydney I find myself asking why this happened?



Adnan Meshuggi -> RE: HMAS Sydney Photos (4/5/2008 12:09:45 PM)

Well, Sydney´s Captain made an mistake and Kormoran mess the day of HMAS Sydney.

For the Aussies mabye a day of shame, for the germans a great succsess.
An light cruiser send to the bottom of the sea with ww1-5inch-guns, no armor and no chance if the aussies had made their job correctly.

For the poor seamen on the Sydney its sad. For the australian navy its nothing to be proud of.   I can´t remember another single duell with such unfair conditions and the "weaker" part kick the a** of the stronger force.

As you can read the Afterwardiscussion allways tried to make Kormoran superior or equal, but that´s only to cover the facts. The sailors (nobody survived) should be remembered as some more losses of a brutal war. And nobody should disrespect them. But also nobody should try to make the "victory" of Kormoran less worthy. (even if Kormoran did not survive either - but many of the crew survived) 

Even HMS Gloworm and its proud and brave attack of Admiral Hipper 1940 was more balanced. So the Gloworm will be remembered as a brave ship and the Sydney as an lousy looser. Maybe this ist unfair - but thats history.



rtrapasso -> RE: HMAS Sydney Photos (4/5/2008 5:21:23 PM)

quote:

An light cruiser send to the bottom of the sea with ww1-5inch-guns, no armor and no chance if the aussies had made their job correctly.


Shouldn't have happened - agreed - they shouldn't have closed to 1000 yards...

There was at least (apparently) 1 torpedo hit on the Sydney, and they were 5.9" guns on the Komoran, not 5 inch guns.



Adnan Meshuggi -> RE: HMAS Sydney Photos (4/8/2008 5:38:32 PM)

oh well - the metric system rules.  :)

Yes - it is 15cm for the guns. the old 1915-15cm-submarine-guns. Low firerate, short range, quick overheating.

for the torpedos, these old 455mm-torpedos from ww1 had no great impact. But, as far as i know Sydney was struck by two of them.

kormoran recived only one critical hit - this was fatal. heavy fires in the engine room. As el cid once explained, merchant ships - even with a highly trained crew are no warships.



John Lansford -> RE: HMAS Sydney Photos (4/8/2008 5:56:11 PM)

Except Kormoran was a heavily armed merchant cruiser, and at the range she engaged Sydney at even her light AA guns were very effective.  From the accounts I read Sydney was caught with her pants down and the Kormoran's crew had the range from the first salvos.  Her 37mm and 20mm AA guns kept Sydney's crew from manning her secondary guns and torpedo tubes, while the 5.9" hammered the bridge and control areas.  At that range they didn't miss either.   One of Sydney's main gun turrets fired on local control and hit Kormoran in the engine room or this fight would have ended up as one of the greatest David vs Goliath engagements on the ocean ever.



Adnan Meshuggi -> RE: HMAS Sydney Photos (4/8/2008 6:59:00 PM)

Well, the big failure of Sydney was, that they did not hold on Kormoran at distance. So Kormoran could hit Sydney with the 20 and 37mm-guns.

As i know it, Sydney fired with its 10,5cm Flak-gun and they tried to man the torpedo-weapons. Also the main guns fired to high, so they did not hit the kormoran.

But i think Kormoran was hit twice, but one hit was deadly (fire out of control in the engine room and near the torpedo-room)

Sure, if (the good old if) kormoran had survived it had been the greatest succsess of an merchant ship.

My point was, that after the war it was tried to explain the failure of sydney with "21cm guns" of Kormoran.

The main failure (as i see it) was the arrogance of Royal australien navy officers (Kormoran tried to look like a stupid dutch merchant). Sadly, 650+ sailors lost their life. (from australien perspective). Or you say, great succsess for the merchant raider kormoran.

It is history and i am happy that they now know what happened and the people now can mourn at the right place. At last it is 67 years after it happened.



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