German survivor tells of his horror at Sydney carnage

[Kyt]

German survivor tells of his horror at Sydney carnage | theage.com.au

GERMAN survivors from the raider Kormoran have given Australian investigators graphic accounts of their World War II battle with the cruiser HMAS Sydney.

Members of the team assisting commission of inquiry

head Terence Cole travelled to Germany as part of their investigation into the loss of the Sydney and its 645 crew in a battle with the Kormoran off Western Australia in November 1941.

The Germans, now elderly but with strong and clear memories of the battle, described their fear as the Sydney approached looking powerful and beautiful in the early evening light.

And they strongly denied claims made in Australia that they fired on the Sydney before raising their battle flag, that they murdered survivors or that a Japanese or German submarine was involved in the battle.

They said their captain, Theodore Detmers, was an honourable man, the war was terrible and they felt great sorrow for the Australians and the Germans who died.

Sydney was found on the seabed early this year near the wreck of the raider.

In 1941, the Kormoran was disguised as the Dutch merchant ship Straat Malakka and its guns were hidden behind hinged metal flaps.

Former officer Heinz Messerschmidt said Captain Detmers always had a feeling Kormoran would one day meet a ship from what he called "the grey funnel line" and he trained the gun crews constantly so that it would take just six seconds for them to open fire.

Mr Messerschmidt said the crew scrounged from the army two 37-millimetre quick-firing anti-aircraft guns that were placed on either side of the raider's bridge.

"At short range such guns are horribly effective," Mr Messerschmidt said.

Sydney was spotted at about 4pm on November 19 and some of the crew thought it was a sailing vessel because of its high masts. They quickly realised it was a cruiser and were ordered to battle stations.

They could see Sydney preparing to launch an aircraft but it was then swung back on board. Detmers said then it appeared the cruiser was about to leave.

Mr Messerschmidt said he could see sailors walking slowly on the cruiser's deck. "Some stood at the rail watching us."

But soon after 5pm the cruiser closed in with its guns and torpedo tubes pointed at the raider.

"The situation was becoming very tense. I knew that one shot from the cruiser into the mine deck would kill us all."

Sydney used a lamp to flash a signal for the Kormoran to send its recognition signal.

"We were terrified," Mr Messerschmidt said.

Detmers told the crew he did not know the signal and said they would have to fight.

He ordered the Dutch flag pulled down and the German battle ensign raised. That happened within seconds.

Detmers said: "It's now or never!" and then gave the order to lower the flaps and open fire.

"Everything happened at once," Mr Messerschmidt said.

One of the quick-firing guns fired first. "I could see shells from the 37-millimetre cannon with a covering arc of fire hitting and wiping out the many men on the bridge."

The aircraft then blew up with a terrific explosion. "It was horrible to see it unfold," said Mr Messerschmidt. "I saw men running to Sydney's torpedo tubes being shot down."

Then Kormoran fired a torpedo which hit Sydney.

By then only one of Sydney's turrets was firing and its shells crippled the Kormoran.

"The last time I saw Sydney she appeared just like a fire shower — like the sun setting," Mr Messerschmidt said.

The raider, too, was mortally damaged and Mr Messerschmidt set explosive charges which blew it up. He said he never saw any Australian survivors in the water.

"Both us and the Australian men on Sydney were all caught up in a cruel war," he said. "We fought hard and with decency within the rules of war."

[Antipodean Andy]

Very sobering but the story is coming together.