ISSUE 126 DECEMBER 2007 What may the Sydney wreck reveal King-Hall Naval Conference Pictorial The Soviet Pacific Fleet: August 1945 “This ain’t the sea, it’s an arms race!” The RAN and Recruit Seaman Andrews – Part 2 JOURNAL OF THE AUSTAL Proven, Capable, Affordable MARITIME SECURITY SOLUTIONS Shipyards: Australia and USA Email: [email protected] Fax: +61 8 9410 2564 Tel: +61 8 9410 1111 WWW.AUSTAL.COM 3917-AUSTAL Headmark Ad.indd 1 10/5/07 9:09:23 AM 3 President’s Message Contents write this after a very successful approximately 800 delegates are Vernon Parker Oration and ANI expected to register for the 2008 What may the Sydney wreck reveal 4 Dinner. Mike Carlton gave a lively conference. Iand thought provoking analysis of the The broad theme of the 2008 Front page photograph: relationship between the Navy and Conference is Australia and its King-Hall Naval Conference Pictorial 13 the media and some thoughts on what Maritime Interests: At Home and HMAS Ballarat can be done to make that relationship in the Region. Its aim is to examine more effective for Navy. We are very maritime interests in the Indo-Pacific The Soviet Pacific Fleet: August 1945 17 grateful to him for accepting the region and their impact on the roles invitation to come and speak as part of and activities of maritime forces. his own demanding schedule. The ANI For more information visit <http:// is also very grateful to ADFA for the www.seapower2008.com > Australia’s Secret War Chapter IV 24 continuing provision of facilities for the As part of the final session of the Oration and Dinner. Conference, on 31 January 2008, Chris I hope that you are pleased to see Skinner, the current (2006-2007) The RAN and Recruit Seaman the latest version of Headmark before Maritime Advancement Australia Andrews… Part 2 28 Christmas. Our Editor has made the Award winner will present his findings point that this is a much better time from his study of ‘TheCollins Class to get an issue ‘on the streets’ than in Submarine – National Benefits and “This ain’t the sea, it’s an arms race!” 32 January. Please make it part of your Costs’. Afterwards, the winner of the Errata: Issue holiday reading! 2007-2008 Award will be announced 124 incorrectly The main activity in early 2008 and the Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral identified, on p26, will be the Sea Power Conference Russ Shalders will be asked to present Inaugural Platypus Address 36 HMAS Kaninbla as and I urge members to book in soon. the award to that person. HMAS Katoomba. The fifth biennial Royal Australian Many thanks to Navy Sea Power Conference will be If you haven’t caught up with the The Future of “Operational Email” 39 Vince Fazio for held at the Sydney Convention and Award, please go to the ANI website pointing out Exhibition Centre over the period for details – it is a valuable one (some this error. 29-31 January 2008. The conference $22,000 a year) and is open to ANY Visions from the Vault 43 is being organised by the Sea Power area of maritime endeavour which may Centre – Australia and will form part be of value to Australia. of the prestigious Pacific International Book Reviews 44 Maritime and Naval Exposition. All best wishes for Christmas and 2008. The RAN Sea Power Conference has become a significant event JAMES GOLDRICK in the national and international Christmas 2007 Style Notes for Headmark 47 maritime and security communities for its discussion on topical naval and maritime strategic issues, and ANI Events Program 48 ANI Online Guide 49 Issue Number 125 Printed by Everbest JACOBS AUSTRALIA Printing Company ATI KBR Australian Naval Institute Info 50 AUSTAL LOPAC ISSN 1833-6531 AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE CREDIT UNION P & O BOOZ ALLEN & HAMILTON FRIEND RAYTHEON AUSTRALIA ANI Membership Application Form 51 Design & DTP: EDS SAAB Diane Bricknell [email protected] Journal of the Australian Naval Institute 4 What may the Sydney wreck reveal RANBTML Y O EWIS History If HMAS Sydney is ever found what will the wreck reveal about her last fight with the raider Kormoran? Will the discovery answer some of the mysteries of Australia’s greatest naval loss? The story, as related by the German survivors, is well known. The light cruiser closed the raider to within fatal range. The Kormoran, flying a false flag, struck it, hoisted her true colours, and opened fire, hitting the cruiser with her third salvo in the bridge area. Sydney hesitated, and then replied. The two to the extreme. Did Kormoran open fire the Sydney ships fought each other for just under under the German flag as she should wreck to see an hour, the Sydney taking a torpedo have? Were Japanese forces1 involved – if there are hit, and the Kormoran began sinking, several weeks before they joined WWII any answers her survivors taking to their lifeboats. with the Pearl Harbor attacks? Were to questions TheSydney , on fire, and having taken Sydney survivors machine-gunned in surrounding a tremendous battering, moved off, the water to prevent their speaking out her final probably not under effective control. about “war rules” being broken? moments. Will The ship was never seen again, and To answer such questions, and there be any there appear to have been no survivors also to bring closure to the relatives of clues, as to how the Australian cruiser Top: Sydney after her return from from the cruiser, although a body in the Sydney ship’s company, there has fought the battle, from the condition battle in the a Carley float, presumed from the been much pressure over the decades of the external hull? Sydney engaged in Mediterranean ship, was later recovered and buried at to find the wreck of the cruiser. But a lengthy fight with a heavily-gunned (RAN) Christmas Island. These remains have can finding the ship give any answers? raider. According2 to the Kormoran’s been recovered and are, at the time of Spurred on by pictures of the Titanic gunnery officer, Lieutenant Fritz writing, being analysed. and other vessels on the ocean floor, Skeries, the German initially scored: There are many controversies many people seem to think the finding 5.9” armament hits on the bridge associated with the action. Why did of Sydney’s remains will answer and [gunnery] director tower; the Sydney not stand off at the extreme questions. But is this going to be the further hits on the bridge and range of Kormoran where she would case? amidships; have had the disguised raider under 2 Gill, G. Hermon. Royal Australian Navy fire from her own more effective Will an inspection of Sydney 1939-1942. Melbourne: Collins, 1957. (454) weapons? Why did she not deploy her tell us much about the battle? Gill had access to Detmers’ Action Report, embarked Walrus aircraft for overhead In the main, we want to examine which has been much reproduced – for example, see inbetween pages 45-46 of the inspection? Some allegations made Proceedings of the 2001 Wreck Location over the years range from the possible 1 See for example, titles such as Who Sank Seminar, where Detmers gives these the Sydney? and Somewhere Below. numbers in his concluding paragraphs. Journal of the Australian Naval Institute Issue 126 5 number of strikes due to inability to avoid fire, for a period, as the battle continued, although this must be offset by the strikes Kormoran was receiving herself, thus reducing her firepower, and offset by the opening range. When initial firing commenced the distance between the two ships was approximately 1,600 yards. This is an incredibly close Kormoran as she 5 a hit on the Sydney’s embarked 55 minute battle that the Australian distance when one considers that the would have looked disguised (RAN) aeroplane; ship was being constantly hit by gun Sydney, when engaged the previous effective fire fromKormoran ’s anti- fire from the raider.6 Sydney, crippled, year in combat with two Italian aircraft machineguns and 3.7-cm guns limped off to the south-east, on fire, cruisers, the Bartolomeo Colleoni and against Sydney’s bridge, torpedo tubes with “glare’ and “flickerings” showing Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, opened and anti-aircraft batteries her presence until around midnight, fire at 20, 000 yards, and obtained a torpedo strike under Sydney’s A some eight hours after the action a hit on one of them within six and B turrets, and then commenced. minutes.7 Indeed, a German historian, many more hits fired by a large Will there indeed be much left of commenting later on the Kormoran number of salvoes from the Kormoran’s the ship at all? Given the number of engagement, said “no guns could miss main guns, causing the separation of a hits inflicted byKormoran , and the at such a range”.8 So the Sydney began turret from the cruiser and setting the fact that the Australian vessel was on receiving terribly destructive “armour- ship on fire. fire for a long time, we can expect a piercing delayed action fuse”9 shells According to Skeries, Kormoran, battered, twisted, charred remnant of which exploded inside the ship. over the course of the conflict, fired a once-proud warship. Indeed, out of Throughout the action the range 450 rounds from her main armament, 450 rounds fired by the main guns, how opened, with the German vessel and several hundred from her anti- many can we expect to have hit? Given prudently trying to escape. At the final aircraft batteries. (Sub-Lieutenant that Sydney’s ability to manoeuvre was shot it was 6.25 pm, with the range Bunjes, also on board the raider, degrading steadily during the battle, we now 11, 000 yards.