HMAS Sydney found!!!!

[Antipodean Andy]

Sailors' shoes spotted next to HMAS Sydney | NEWS.com.au

IMAGES of sailors shoes resting on the seabed near the watery graves of the HMAS Sydney and the Kormoran were revealed today by shipwreck hunter David Mearns along with new images of the twisted wrecks.

Mr Mearns, contracted to find the shipwrecks by the Finding Sydney Foundation, revealed the images today in Fremantle after the reconnaissance phase of the mission wrapped up yesterday.

The wreck of the Kormoran was located by the search crew last month which led searchers to the wreck of the Sydney 67 hours later.


Gallery: Ocean floor remains of an epic sea battle

Mr Mearns showed pictures of large calibre shell fire to Sydney's B turret which would have killed sailors in the turret outright.

Salvos from the Kormoran would have been fired every four to six seconds after the Kormoran took just seconds to decamouflage.

"It appears the German testimony was truthful and accurate and that in the first minute or two of the action at least 50 per cent of Sydney's firepower in terms of her A and B turrets and in terms of her and also all of her directory control and gunnery was eliminated," Mr Mearns said.

Hatches on the X turret, which the Kormoran survivors credited with inflicting damage to the German raider before it was scuttled, revealed open hatches.

Mr Mearns said the men of X turret would have been shooting independently, without command, after the bridge was taken out early in the battle.

"It's a real testament to their bravery," he said.

One of Sydney's five lifeboats found on the ocean floor revealed possible damage from small calibre machine gun holes.

A diagram Mr Mearns discovered in Germany sketched after World War II by a German officer revealed the Germans' strategy in the battle against Sydney.

"The big guns of Kormoran were going for the big guns of Sydney, the small guns were going for the decks and also the torpedo tubes to make sure that Sydney's men couldn't get to man the torpedo tubes," Mr Mearns said.

"So there was a real strategy as to where they directed their fire."

Mr Mearns said the diagram showed how Sydney was defeated.

The first images of shoes, which Mr Mearns said would have been stored on the ship rather than worn at the time of the battle, were shown for the first time today.

"It touches your soul when you see these images," he said.

"Anything that there's an element of humanity that's what people will remember and we saw the shoes and we kept coming back to them."

[Kyt]

Interesting, in light of posts #16 and #17:

maltaStar.com

Lost and Found: Bring on another inquiry. In 1998, the inquiry of the sinking of the HMAS Sydney found after 66 years in the bottom of the seas about 150 km off the Western Australian coast produced more than 5000 pages of evidence in 19 volumes covering a total of 23km of shelf space. The Federal Government has just announced a fresh inquiry into the sinking of this warship. Experts believe the solar images from the deep will throw some light on how the warship and all 645 hands were lost without trace after a fierce battle. I have just found out that in fact the HMAS Sydney had spent almost a year in the Mediterranean and was refitted at the Malta Dockyard before returning to Australian waters in January 1941. The HMAS Sydney sank on the 14 November 1941. The names of the two Maltese on the ship, Salvatore Zammit and Samuel Psaila are commemorated at Plymouth UK Naval Memorial (panel 62 column1). They are not on the Australian WW2 Memorial Roll of Honour...

[Antipodean Andy]

It was Sydney's time in the Med that earned her reputation which, in turn, perhaps helped generate so many conspiracy theories - why could such an experienced crew be defeated by a German "merchant ship".

Interesting regarding the Maltese, Kyt. Would be worth following up and submitting to the AWM.