Searchers zero in on HMAS Sydney

By Carmelo Amalfi
HMAS Sydney could be found within the next few days after Australian searchers discovered its German nemesis HSK Kormoran off Shark Bay, nearly 67 years after the World War Two ships sank off WA.
The German raider, which was scuttled after a fiery battle with the Australian light cruiser on November 19, 1941, was found near 26 degrees south, 111 degrees east.
Debris believed to be from HMAS Sydney was found nearby.
The WA searchers led by British-based shipwreck hunter David Mearns said they were closer to finding the final resting place of the Sydney and its 645 crew now that Kormoran's sinking position had been established using high quality sonar imagery.
Kormoran's wreckage consists of several pieces of hull among a dense debris field located in the northeast section of the 1768 square nautical mile search box about 150km west of Shark Bay. The ship's remains were found in about 2560m of water.
Mr Mearns said the wreckage fit perfectly with the testimony of the German survivors who were rescued and imprisoned after the battle: "The vessel suffered a catastrophic explosion after its cache of some 320 mines stored in the after cargo holds four, five and six detonated. This section of the vessel's hull has been obliterated."
He said there were four big pieces of hull left on the seafloor. The two biggest pieces are located hundreds of metres outside the main debris field and approximately 1200m from each other on a line running roughly north-south.
"The biggest piece of hull measures approximately 106m long by at least 20m wide and has been identified as the forward half of the ship that extends roughly from the engine room to the stem," he explained as news of the discovery was released to the public on March 16.
"It is sitting upright on the seabed with a height of approximately 13m. The distant locations of these pieces indicate they sank after the explosion and/or took different glide planes in their descent to the seabed."
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced the discovery by the WA Finding Sydney Foundation at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on Sunday.
"We are one step closer as a nation to hopefully finding Sydney," Mr Rudd said. "This is an important part in solving a 65-year-old puzzle."
Mr Mearns said as Kormoran left the battle intact, having drifted north with the prevailing current and winds after losing engine power, it was logical to conclude this debris could not have come from Kormoran.
"This debris," he said, "must have come from HMAS Sydney as we know she had been gravely damaged by a torpedo hit and was being heavily shelled by Kormoran."
He said in such a situation, Sydney would have been losing pieces of its structure and other parts of the ship, as was described by the German eyewitnesses in 1941: "The approximate north-north-east to south-south-west trend of this debris trail fits with the Sydney's course as it altered course south to avoid Kormoran's fire."
Mr Mearns, who has discovered more than 40 shipwrecks, said confirmation of Kormoran's sinking position had allowed him to refine the most probable sinking position of Sydney and outline a new search area for her wreck. This search is underway.
"Compared with the extremely large search area for Kormoran, the initial search area for Sydney is relatively small and covers several hundred square nautical miles," he explained.
"Key to this initial search area are certain assumptions made about how far Sydney could have travelled away from the scene of action given the grave damage she had suffered, now proven by the extent and size of her wreckage found at the scene of action, and how long she could have remained afloat in such extreme conditions."
According to Kormoran survivors, Sydney was blasted by Kormoran early in the engagement which included losing the top of the housing of her 'B' gun turret.
She also suffered a torpedo hit beneath her two forward turrets. It is likely that this wreckage could have been shed from HMAS Sydney as a result of the battle and lie near the initial engagement.
"Based on the location of Kormoran and the high quality sonar imagery collected by the Williamson and Associates sonar team, I am confident that if the wreck of Sydney lies within our search area we will find her.
"He said should the initial search prove unsuccessful, the search area would be enlarged until the HMAS Sydney wreck is found.
Chief of the Navy Vice Admiral Russ Shalders told reporters in Canberra: "What has now been found will allow us to proceed towards finishing something that has been a mystery, Australia’s major maritime mystery.
"It will be a long, hard and difficult and highly technical search from this point onwards and so we should not hope that this will be resolved quickly.
The Navy looks forward to the day that we can find the Sydney and perhaps more importantly find out why the battle turned out the way it did."
Federal Minister for Defence Science and Personnel Warren Snowdon said yesterday the Federal Republic of Germany had been advised of the discovery of the HSK Kormoran.