HMAS Sydney ( D48 ) HMAS " Sydney , named after the Australian city of Sydney , was one of three modified " Leander " - class light cruisers operated by the Royal Australian Navy ( RAN ) . Ordered for the Royal Navy as HMS " Phaeton , the cruiser was purchased by the Australian government and renamed prior to her 1934 launch . During the early part of her operational history , " Sydney " helped enforce sanctions during the Abyssinian crisis , and at the start of World War II was assigned to convoy escort and patrol duties in Australian waters . In May 1940 , " Sydney " joined the British Mediterranean Fleet for an eight - month deployment , during which she sank two Italian warships , participated in multiple shore bombardments , and provided support to the Malta Convoys , while receiving minimal damage and no casualties . On her return to Australia in February 1941 , " Sydney " resumed convoy escort and patrol duties in home waters . On 19 November 1941 , " Sydney " was involved in a mutually destructive engagement with the , and was lost with all 645 aboard . The wrecks of both ships were lost until 2008 ; " Sydney " was found on 17 March , five days after her adversary . " Sydney " s defeat is commonly attributed to the proximity of the two ships during the engagement , and " Kormoran " s advantages of surprise and rapid , accurate fire . However , the cruiser ' s loss with all hands compared to the survival of most of the German crew have resulted in controversy , with some alleging that the German commander used illegal ruses to lure " Sydney " into range , that a Japanese submarine was involved , and that the true events of the battle are concealed behind a wide - ranging cover up . Construction and acquisition . The ship was laid down by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Wallsend - on - Tyne , England , on 8 July 1933 for the Royal Navy as HMS " Phaeton " , named after the Greek mythological figure . However , in 1934 , the Australian government was seeking a replacement for the light cruiser , and negotiated to purchase " Phaeton " while she was still under construction . The cruiser was renamed after the capital city of New South Wales , and was launched on 22 September 1934 by the wife of Stanley Bruce , former Prime Minister of Australia and the serving Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom . " Sydney " was commissioned into the RAN on 24 September 1935 , drawing her ship ' s company from " Brisbane " , which had been decommissioned earlier that day . Following the announcement that Australia was purchasing a British - built cruiser , there was criticism , primarily from the Opposition of the day , stating that such a warship should be built using Australian resources and labour . Several reasons were given in reply for acquiring British - built cruisers instead of Australian - made : the ship was already close to completion , the pending threat of war meant that there was not enough time to train Australians in the necessary skills , and that of the two cruisers built in Australian shipyards , one ( ) had taken seven years to complete . Design . " Sydney " was one of three Modified " Leander " class light cruisers acquired by the RAN during the late 1930s . Although the first ship of the class to join the RAN , " Sydney " was the third ship in what came to be known as the " Perth " class : and operated with the Royal Navy for a short period before they were purchased by Australia in 1938 . Like most British cruisers , the " Leander " s were designed for long range patrols , scouting , and trade protection duties . " Sydney " s displacement ranged between 6 , 701 tons ( light ) and 8 , 940 tons ( full load ) , with a standard displacement of 7 , 198 tons : improved fabrication and welding techniques made her 52 tons lighter than her sister ships . She had a length of between perpendiculars and overall , a beam of , and a draught at standard displacement between forward and aft . The ship was propelled by four Admiralty 3 - drum boiler s , feeding Parsons geared turbines , which supplied to the four propeller shafts . Unlike the first five " Leander " s , which had a single machinery space ( consisting of all six boilers in one compartment and all six turbines in another ) , " Sydney " was designed with two redundant machine spaces , a design practice adopted from the United States Navy . The cruiser had two boilers and the turbines for the outer shafts forward , and two boilers and the turbines for the inner shafts aft ; as steam from any boiler could be routed to any turbine , the ship could continue operating if one space was damaged . Each space had its own exhaust funnel , giving the modified ships a different profile to the single - funnelled early " Leander " s ; an arrangement which contributed to naval historian Henry Lenton ' s description of the Modified " Leander " s as " the most handsome cruisers ever built by the Royal Navy , with a symmetry that was as attractive as it was functional . " " Sydney " and her sister ships were constructed from hull plating , with a armour belt over the machinery spaces ( the lengthening of this belt from to adequately cover both spaces negated the weight reduction from their reorganisation ) , and plates over the shell rooms and magazines . " Sydney " was the first Australian warship fitted with asdic ; a Type 125 unit in a retractable pattern 3069 dome . The retractable sonar dome , located near the bow , was a weak point in the hull . One of the cruiser ' s early commanding officers , Royal Navy Captain J . W . A . Waller , believed that the ship ' s single director control tower was a weak point in the design . The director control tower was the highest compartment on the ship , from where personnel would determine the range and optimum firing angle for a gun salvo , then transmit this information to the gun turrets : the actual firing could be controlled from the tower or the turret . Waller believed that the centralised system could be destroyed with a single hit , or the wiring linking the compartment to the turrets could be severed , forcing the four turrets to rely on independent control . Although Waller suggested that a second tower be installed aft to provide redundancy , it was deferred indefinitely as subsequent commanding officers did not share his concerns , and combat experiences of other " Leander " class cruisers showed that the system was more robust than expected . Armament . " Sydney " s main armament consisted of eight 6 - inch ( 150 mm ) breech - loading Mk XXIII guns mounted in four Mk XXI twin turrets : " A " and " B " forward , " X " and " Y " aft . All eight guns could be fired in salvo , elevated to an angle of 60° and depressed to −5° , and fire eight rounds a minute at targets up to away . Four 4 - inch ( 100 mm ) quick firing Mk V guns , mounted on single , high angle , Mk IV mountings , were fitted to a platform around the aft funnel . These were primarily used to target aircraft at heights up to , but could also be used against surface targets , with a maximum range of . Their replacement with eight Mk XIX high - angle / low - angle guns in four twin mounts , which was to occur in the late 1930s , was prevented by the outbreak of World War II . The guns could have been swapped out during a maintenance docking , but the demand for cruisers and " Sydney " s fortune in never sustaining major damage meant that the additional time in dock could not be justified . For close - range anti - aircraft defence , the 4 - inch guns were supplemented by twelve Vickers Mk III machine guns , which were arranged in three Mk II quadruple mountings , one on each side of the forward superstructure , and the third on top of the aft superstructure . A mixture of 0 . 303 - inch ( 7 . 7 mm ) machine guns were used for close defence work , and could be fitted to pedestals at various points on the ship , primarily around the bridge and on the three searchlight platforms ( one either side of the forward funnel , the third raised above the aft superstructure ) . At launch , " Sydney " carried fourteen Lewis machine guns and two Vickers machine gun s , but by the start of World War II , the Lewis guns had been reduced to nine , and the Vickers guns removed completely . Eight torpedo tubes were fitted in two QR Mk VII quadruple mounts to the deck below the platform for the 4 - inch guns . Only eight Mark 9 torpedoes were carried . " Sydney " was fitted with a single depth charge rail at the stern , which held five Mk VII depth charges . Four 3 - pounder ( 47 - mm , 1 . 9 - in ) quick - firing Hotchkiss guns were carried as saluting gun s . These were removed during the August 1940 refit . " Sydney " was fitted with a , cordite - powered revolving catapult between the two funnels , which was used to launch a Supermarine Walrus ( sometimes described as a Seagull V ) amphibious aircraft . The Walrus was operated by Royal Australian Air Force personnel from No . 5 Squadron RAAF ( which was redesignated No . 9 Squadron RAAF in 1939 ) . The 7 - ton electric crane used to recover the aircraft also served to deploy most of the ship ' s boats . Operational history . Early history . " Sydney " completed working up trials before sailing from Portsmouth on 29 October 1935 . Almost immediately after departing , " Sydney " was instructed to join the Royal Navy ' s Mediterranean Fleet at Gibraltar and assist the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in enforcing economic sanctions against Italy in response to the Abyssinian crisis . During January 1936 , the cruiser underwent maintenance in Alexandria and visited medical facilities in Cyprus : cases of rubella and mumps had been circulating through the ship ' s company since late 1935 . In March , " Sydney " was reassigned the 1st Cruiser Squadron , where she and the heavy cruiser continued to enforce sanctions and participate in fleet exercises with Royal Navy units . Following the resolution of the Abyssinian crisis , " Sydney " departed for Australia on 14 July ; reaching Fremantle in late July before visiting Melbourne on 8 August and arriving in her namesake city three days later . After reaching Australian waters , " Sydney " spent most of her time on fleet exercises and training cruises . In 1938 , the cruiser was one of several RAN units prepared to respond to the Munich crisis , but all ships stood down after the potential war was averted . From 17 to 19 April 1939 , " Sydney " was one of eight warships involved in a joint forces trade protection exercise off the south - east Australian coast . In early August 1939 , " Sydney " was in Darwin , prior to visiting the Netherlands East Indies . However , in response to the events which prompted the start of World War II , " Sydney " was ordered to sail to Fremantle on a war footing , where she arrived on 22 August . Start of World War II . Following the declaration of war , " Sydney " was instructed to carry out patrol and escort duties in Australian waters . Captain John Collins took over command of " Sydney " on 16 November . On 28 November , " Sydney " joined the Australian heavy cruisers and in an unsuccessful four - day search for the German pocket battleship " Admiral Graf Spee " , which was known to be operating in the Indian Ocean . " Sydney " was relieved by on 13 December , and sailed to Cockatoo Island in Sydney for a maintenance docking . The work was completed in late January 1940 , and as a shakedown cruise " Sydney " joined " Canberra " and the British ships " Leander " and in escorting the Suez - bound Anzac convoy US 1 ; " Sydney " broke off after the convoy left the east coast of Australia and returned to Sydney . Returning to Fremantle on 6 February , " Sydney " relieved " Australia " as the cruiser responsible for patrol and escort duties on the west coast . On 19 April , " Sydney " joined the escort of Anzac convoy US 2 off Albany , and remained with the convoy until it reached the Cocos Island on 28 April and was replaced by . The Australian cruiser set course for Fremantle , but on 1 May was assigned to the East Indies Station and rerouted to Colombo , where she arrived on 8 May . Arriving in Colombo on 8 May , " Sydney " was immediately tasked with meeting Anzac convoy US 3 off the Cocos Islands and escorting it across the Indian Ocean . The cruiser departed on 12 May , but while en route , she was instructed to make for the Mediterranean . Arriving back in Colombo on 18 May , " Sydney " replenished before sailing at high speed to Aden , where she arrived four days later . The Australian cruiser , accompanied by HM Ships and , departed the next day , with the ships crossing the Suez Canal during the night of 25 – 26 May , and arriving in Alexandria that afternoon at 15 : 30 . " Sydney " was originally marked for operations in the Red Sea , but after observing the performance of an Australian five - destroyer flotilla assigned to the British Mediterranean Fleet , Admiral Andrew Cunningham decided to " keep the Australian cruiser for himself " and attached " Sydney " to the Royal Navy ' s 7th Cruiser Squadron . Mediterranean operations . " Sydney " was in Alexandria harbour on 10 June 1940 , and that evening learned of Italy ' s intention to declare war at midnight . By 01 : 00 on 11 June , all ships in harbour had departed to search for Italian warships in position to attack Alexandria , and secure the sea lines of communication in the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean . The Australian cruiser was involved in the westbound sweep , and sailed as far as the Gulf of Taranto during the four - day operation . Apart from an unsuccessful depth charge attack on a suspected submarine during the afternoon of 13 June , " Sydney " did not encounter any enemy vessels . On 21 June , " Sydney " fired in anger for the first time , joining the British cruisers and , the French battleship " Lorraine " , and a force of destroyers in shelling the Italian port of Bardia . " Sydney " focused her fire on a military camp throughout the twenty - two - minute bombardment . During this operation , the Australian ship ' s Walrus amphibian performed bombardment spotting for the squadron , but was fired on by three biplanes : although reported at the time as Italian Fiat CR . 42 s , the attackers were later determined to be British Gloster Gladiator s . The pilot flew the damaged aircraft to Mersa Matruh , and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his skill in doing so , but the unrepairable Walrus was the only casualty of the operation . The next day , a retaliatory airstrike against the ships , by then having returned to Alexandria , failed to do damage . That same day , Germany and Vichy France signed the Second Armistice at Compiègne : although French warships ( which had until that point operated with the Allies ) were ordered to return to France and disarm , the British government was unwilling to allow them to fall into Axis hands . " Sydney " and the British warships in Alexandria turned their guns on the French , but unlike the situation in Mers - el - Kébir , which deteriorated into a naval battle , British Admiral Cunningham and French Admiral René - Emile Godfroy peacefully negotiated to disarm the ships at Alexandria . " Sydney " and other elements of the 7th Squadron sailed from Alexandria on 27 June , escorting a Malta convoy . Late on 28 June , the ships engaged a force of three Italian destroyers . Although two Italian vessels were able to withdraw , the third , " Espero " was disabled . At 20 : 00 , " Sydney " ( which had little opportunity to fire during the engagement ) was detailed to recover any survivors and sink the destroyer while the rest of the force continued on to Malta . However , while from " Espero " , the Italian ship fired two shells , both of which fell in line with but short of the cruiser . " Sydney " opened fire , and after four salvos struck the destroyer with no shots fired in return , resumed the approach . " Espero " sank at 20 : 35 , and " Sydney " remained in the area for almost two hours to collect survivors despite the risk of submarine attack , before she was ordered to withdraw to Alexandria . The cruiser rescued 47 Italians ( three of whom died from wounds during the return voyage ) , and left a fully provisioned cutter in the water to be used by other Italian survivors after " Sydney " had departed . On the evening of 7 July , " Sydney " departed from Alexandria as part of a fleet including four other light cruisers , three battleships , an aircraft carrier , and sixteen destroyers , divided into three groups . The three groups were to rendezvous on 9 July at a point east of Cape Passero and from Malta , at which point the destroyers would escort two convoys outbound from Malta , while the other vessels would attack targets of opportunity around Sicily . However , early on 8 June , the British submarine reported that she had unsuccessfully attacked an Italian fleet including two battleships . Throughout the day , the fleet had to defend itself from multiple Italian air raids : at one point " Sydney " and the other cruisers of the 7th Squadron attacked what they thought was a high - flying bomber , but was later determined to be the planet Venus . Aerial reconnaissance located the Italian force during the afternoon , which was made up of at least two battleships , accompanied by multiple cruisers and destroyers . The sightings of such a large force of warships , combined with the heavy air attack , led Admiral Andrew Cunningham to conclude that the Italians were also covering a major convoy , and decide to reposition his fleet between the Italians and Taranto , the projected destination . Contact with the Italian fleet was lost during the night , but regained in the morning of 9 July . By 14 : 00 , the Allied fleet had positioned itself in the Italians ' path , and Cunningham ordered them west , to close on the projected position of the enemy and engage . " Sydney " spotted smoke at 14 : 45 , and made visual contact with a force of five cruisers just after 15 : 00 . The Allied cruiser squadron , supported by the battleship altered their course northward , and at 15 : 20 , " Sydney " opened fire on an Italian " Zara " class cruiser , distant , but both the Allied and Italian cruiser forces were unable to successfully hit their opposing numbers . " Sydney " remained unsuccessful until the late part of the engagement , when she successfully shelled a smokescreen - laying destroyer . The naval component of what came to be known as the Battle of Calabria concluded around 17 : 00 , with Cunningham unwilling to pursue the Italian fleet through the smokescreen they had created . The Allied ships instead broke off for Malta , while enduring several heavy but ineffective air attacks ; during the safe delivery of Malta Convoy MA 5 and the return to Alexandria on 13 July , " Sydney " sustained no damage , but expended all her anti - aircraft ammunition . " Sydney " s participation in the battle earned the ship a battle honour : " Calabria 1940 " . The Australian cruiser spent five days in Alexandria for resupply and maintenance , before departing for Crete with the British destroyer . They arrived at sunset on 18 July , and the next morning , the two ships were ordered to patrol the Gulf of Athens for Axis warships and shipping , while providing support for a four - ship destroyer force ( HM Ships , , , and ) conducting an anti - submarine sweep north of Crete . Believing that these two tasks were incompatible , and that protecting the destroyers was the more important , " Sydney " s commander , Captain John Collins , ordered the two ships to move south of their patrol area while maintaining radio silence . At 07 : 20 on 19 July , the destroyer force spotted and was spotted by a pair of Italian light cruisers ; " Giovanni dalle Bande Nere " and " Bartolomeo Colleoni " , which opened fire seven minutes later . The British destroyers turned to an north - east heading and set off at , broadcasting news of the attack to the silent " Sydney " while closing the gap between the two forces . Using the wireless signals to track the four destroyers , " Sydney " and " Havock " made to intercept the destroyers and their cruiser pursuit , and was able to close at least half an hour earlier than if they had followed their original instructions : when " Sydney " opened fire on " Bande Nere " at 08 : 29 , both sides were surprised by the appearance of the cruiser . Within minutes , " Sydney " had successfully damaged " Bande Nere " , and when the Italians withdrew to the south , the six Allied ships pursued . At 08 : 48 , with " Bande Nere " hiding behind a smoke screen , " Sydney " shifted her fire to " Bartolomeo Colleoni " , which was disabled by 09 : 33 . Collins ordered the destroyers to torpedo the ship and rescue survivors : " Hyperion " , " Ilex " , and " Havock " did so , while " Hero " and " Hasty " supported " Sydney " in continuing pursuit of " Bande Nere " . At 10 : 37 , the chase ended , as the faster Italian cruiser had outrun the Allies , visibility was reduced by smoke and haze , and ammunition aboard the pursuing ships was low : " Sydney " had ten shells left for her forward turrets . The six ships returned to Alexandria around 11 : 00 on 20 July after fending off several air attacks ( one of which damaged " Havock " ) , and were met by cheering from all ships in the harbour . The only damage to " Sydney " during what came to be known as the Battle of Cape Spada was caused by a shell at 09 : 21 , which knocked a hole in the forward funnel , and wounded a sailor through splinter damage . For his actions , Collins was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath , while other officers and sailors from " Sydney " received two Distinguished Service Order s , two Distinguished Service Crosses , five Distinguished Service Medals , and twelve Mentions in Despatches between them . " Sydney " herself was awarded the battle honour " Spada 1940 " . After refuelling and rearming , " Sydney " and departed Alexandria on 27 July to join the covering force for a southbound convoy from the Aegean . The ships were attacked five times that afternoon by aircraft , but " Sydney " escaped with only minor damage and shrapnel wounds . The two cruisers broke away from the convoy the next day to locate and sink the Italian tanker " Ermioni " , which was supplying the Dodecanese Islands . The two cruisers located " Ermioni " just before dusk : " Sydney " provided anti - submarine protection while the tanker ' s crew were convinced to transfer to the British warships , after which " Ermioni " was shelled by " Neptune " . The two ships returned to Alexandria on 30 July , and " Sydney " departed the same day in company with for a three - day patrol . Back in Alexandria , " Sydney " underwent a refit , during which a high , thick wall of armour plating was constructed around the 4 - inch gun platform , while the ship ' s company repainted the ship from standard grey to a naval camouflage pattern . The refit was completed by 12 August , when " Sydney " , " Neptune " , and five destroyers set off to interdict Axis shipping along the north African coast and the Aegean Sea . The operation was cancelled after no ships were located during the first two days , and " Sydney " was tasked with assisting a destroyer squadron during shore bombardments at Bomba and Bardia . At the end of the month , the cruiser joined the escort of Malta convoy MB 5 . On the return voyage , " Sydney " and several other vessels were tasked with attacking Italian facilities . Canvas and timber were used to alter the cruiser ' s profile to resemble an Italian " Condottieri " class cruiser , allowing her to manoeuvre close to Scarpanto during the night of 3 – 4 September . At dawn , " Sydney " and the British destroyer " Ilex " attacked the Italian Makri Yalo Airbase at Scarpanto ; the cruiser fired 135 shells in 25 minutes , while the destroyer fended off five E - boat s , sinking two . On completion , the two ships rejoined the fleet , but were again mistaken for Italian warships and nearly fired on before " Sydney " raised the White Ensign and cut down her disguise . Admiral Cunningham congratulated " Sydney " with the message " Well Done . You are a stormy petrel . " , which was adopted as a nickname for the cruiser . On her return to Alexandria , the Australian cruiser underwent another short refit , which was completed late in the month : on 24 September " Sydney " supported during the interception of a French merchant ship , then completed a two - day patrol west of Cyprus . Late on 28 September , " Sydney " joined the heavy escort of a Malta - bound troop convoy . During the return voyage , " Sydney " and left the fleet on 1 October for a sweep of the Aegean Sea , which was concluded with a brief bombardment of Maltezana before returning to Alexandria two days later . The entire Mediterranean fleet sailed from Alexandria on 8 October to provide cover for several Malta Convoys , and attempt to draw the Italian fleet into battle . The convoys reached their destination safely , and the operation was uneventful for " Sydney " ; the only contact with Italian forces was an engagement during the early morning of 12 October between the British cruiser and seven Italian torpedo boats and destroyers , of which " Ajax " sank three and damaged a fourth . From 25 October , " Sydney " , " Orion " , and the destroyers and were engaged in a sweep of the Aegean for Axis vessels , reaching as far north as the Dardanelles . No major incidents occurred until 28 October , when the Italians invaded Greece : the four ships were recalled to Alexandria , where they arrived that evening . Shortly after , the two cruisers were joined by HM Ships and and met the main force of the Mediterranean fleet west of Crete on 30 October . Over the next few days , the warships patrolled around Crete and along the Greek mainland , and provided cover for the first supply convoy to Crete . On 5 November , " Sydney " and departed from Port Said with military equipment to be used to establish an Allied advanced base at Souda Bay , Crete . After delivering the equipment , which included almost 1 , 000 soldiers , the equipment for a Bofors battery , cases of food , and several trucks , the cruisers rejoined the main fleet . The Mediterranean Fleet remained on patrol for several days , and during the night of 11 – 12 November , while the bulk of the fleet supported the world ' s first all - naval - aircraft attack on the Italian fleet anchored in Taranto , " Sydney " , " Ajax " , " Orion " and the destroyers and attempted to transit the Strait of Otranto as a diversion . Despite the mission of " looking for trouble " , the northbound passage through the strait passed without incident . The return was not so uneventful : at 01 : 20 , a convoy of four merchantmen with two escorting destroyers was spotted by " Sydney " s lookouts . The Allied warships manoeuvred in close , and opened fire at 01 : 27 : " Sydney " directing her fire onto a freighter away . During the 23 - minute engagement , the cruiser successfully contributed to the destruction of three merchant ships and damaged a destroyer , avoided a torpedo , and unsuccessfully fired two in return . At 01 : 57 , the undamaged Allied force departed the strait , and met the main fleet before midday . From 15 to 20 November , " Sydney " and three other cruisers transported 4 , 000 Allied soldiers and their equipment from Alexandria to the Piraeus as reinforcements for the Greek military . On returning to Alexandria , " Sydney " deployed with the majority of the Mediterranean fleet to cover multiple convoys across the sea : the Australian cruiser spent the remainder of the month operating throughout the eastern and central Mediterranean , and was bombed by Italian aircraft on 24 November at Souda Bay , but escaped damage . " Sydney " started December in the Aegean , where she escorted convoys and shelled the port of Valona , then proceeded to Malta for a refit and repairs to her rudder , which lasted until the end of the year . During this refit , the cruiser was fitted with degaussing equipment . The ship rejoined the fleet on 8 January 1941 , when she was instructed to head home after proceeding along the north coast of Africa and linking up with any Australia - bound merchant ships she encountered . The recall was attributed to the need to bring " Sydney " in for a major refit and give her crew leave , a plan to spread combat experience throughout the RAN by trading the cruiser with her sister ship , , and a need to protect Australia against the German merchant raiders operating in the area , particularly following the attacks on Nauru . Before leaving , 100 of the ship ' s company were removed on 11 January , so they could be sent to England to help man the new N class destroyers . The next day , the ship sailed for Aden via the Suez Canal . " Sydney " and the troopship left Aden on 16 January to join Convoy SW 4B , which " Sydney " escorted until relieved by four days later . The Australian cruiser was instructed to attack any Italian ships at Mogadiscio , but as there were no large merchant ships in port and " Sydney " was forbidden to attack the harbour itself , she then proceeded to the Seychelles to refuel . On 24 January , " Sydney " was one of several warships which responded to an attack on the merchantman " Mandasor " by the German merchant raider " Atlantis " . Despite a three - day search , " Sydney " did not come into contact with " Atlantis " . " Sydney " resumed her voyage home , and arrived in her namesake city after sunset on 9 February . The cruiser anchored in Watsons Bay for the night , then sailed into the inner harbour the next morning and tied up alongside at Sydney Cove to a heroes ' welcome . On 11 February , a holiday was declared for school students in Sydney , so they could join the thousands of people who witnessed the ship ' s company perform a freedom of entry march . As well as the battle honours for the battles at Calabria and Cape Spada , " Sydney " was granted the " Mediterranean 1940 " battle honour for her various actions during the Mediterranean naval campaign . During the eight - month deployment , the only fatality in the ship ' s company was a death due to illness . Australian waters . Following a short refit , " Sydney " sailed for Fremantle on 27 February , where she was assigned to escort and patrol tasks in the Indian Ocean . This primarily involved meeting convoys off the southern Australian coast and escorting them on the next leg of their journey , either westbound to the Middle East and Europe , or northwards to the Dutch East Indies . In April , " Sydney " escorted the troopship " Queen Mary " from Fremantle to Jervis Bay , before embarking Admiral Ragnar Colvin and a party of advisors from all three branches of the Australian military and transporting them to Singapore by 19 April for a secret conference between the British Commonwealth , the Netherlands East Indies , and the United States of America . The cruiser returned to Fremantle before month ' s end , after which Collins handed command over to Captain Joseph Burnett on 15 May . Shortly after , the cruiser escorted the transport SS " Zealandia " during a troop transport run to Singapore . " Sydney " escorted the troopship to Sunda Strait , where responsibility was handed over to the British light cruiser . In early June , " Sydney " met " Zealandia " and " Danae " on the troopship ' s return voyage , and took over escort duties from Sunda Strait back to Fremantle . After replenishing in Fremantle , " Zealandia " joined a multiple ship convoy to the east coast of Australia , which was also escorted by " Sydney " . The convoy departed on 24 June and made for Sydney , after which the cruiser joined the escort of a Pacific convoy before returning for maintenance . This concluded on 8 August , when " Sydney " escorted the troopship " Awatea " to New Zealand , then Fiji . On her return to Sydney at the end of August , the cruiser joined the troopships " Queen Mary " and " Queen Elizabeth " during the first leg of their voyage ( Anzac convoy US 12A ) , escorting them until rendezvousing with " Canberra " in the Great Australian Bight . " Sydney " then sailed to Melbourne , and remained until 19 September , during which her camouflage was repainted in a new pattern . The cruiser then escorted the four - ship Anzac convoy US 12B to Fremantle : heavy seas while crossing the Great Australian Bight caused " A " turret to become jammed on a port facing . This was repaired in Fremantle , and the convoy proceeded to Sunda Strait , where " Sydney " handed the merchant ships over to the British cruisers and " Danae " on 3 October and set course for Fremantle . On the night of 5 – 6 October , a mysterious ship that responded to challenge signals near Rottnest Island then disappeared led the Naval Officer in Charge Fremantle to believe that the approaches to the harbour had been mined . " Sydney " was diverted to intercept " Queen Mary " before the troopship reached Fremantle , and ordered to remain with her until a channel was swept and found free of mines . After reaching port on 7 October , " Sydney " officially assumed patrol and escort duties in Western Australian waters . The next few weeks were uneventful for " Sydney " , and between 18 and 29 October , the cruiser visited Geraldton and Bunbury . On 2 November , the Australian cruiser sailed to meet " Zealandia " off Albany . The troopship was on a second troop transport run to Singapore ; delivering the 8th Division . The two ships returned to Fremantle , and on 11 November , they departed for Sunda Strait . " Zealandia " was handed over on 17 November to for the next leg , and the Australian cruiser turned for home : she was scheduled to arrive in Fremantle late on 20 November . Final battle and loss . On the afternoon of 19 November 1941 , " Sydney " was off the coast of Western Australia , near Carnarvon , and heading south towards Fremantle . Around 15 : 55 , the cruiser spotted a merchant ship on a northbound course , which quickly turned away from the coast at . " Sydney " increased speed to and made to intercept . As she closed the gap , " Sydney " began to signal the unidentified merchantman , first by signal light , then after no reply was forthcoming and the distance between the two ships had decreased , by a combination of light and signal flag . The merchant ship hoisted her callsign , but as she was ahead and just port of " Sydney " , the flags were obscured by the funnel . A request from the cruiser that the merchant ship make her signal letters clear , which the signals officer did by lengthening the halyard and swinging the flags clear . The callsign was that of the Dutch ship " Straat Malakka " , but she was not on " Sydney " s list of ships meant to be in the area . Further flag signals were exchanged between the ships , with " Sydney " asking the Dutch ship ' s destination and cargo . At 17 : 00 , a distress signal was transmitted by " Straat Malakka " , indicating that she was being pursued by a merchant raider . Following this , " Sydney " pulled alongside the merchant ship from astern ; pacing the merchantman on a parallel course , approximately away . " Sydney " s main guns and port torpedo launcher were trained on the ship , while she sent the interior portion of " Straat Malakka " s secret callsign . Fifteen minutes later , at around 17 : 30 , the merchantman had not replied , and " Sydney " sent a signal ordering her to show the secret callsign . " Straat Malakka " had not replied because she was the in disguise , and when asked to reveal a callsign the Germans did not know , they responded by decamouflaging and opened fire . Prompted by the raider ' s unveiling , " Sydney " also fired ( accounts are divided as to which ship fired first ) , but while her first salvo either missed or passed through " Kormoran " s upper superstructure with minimal damage , four of the raider ' s six guns ( the other two guns were on the port side and could not fire to starboard ) were able to destroy the cruiser ' s bridge and gun director tower , damage the forward turrets , and set the aircraft on fire . " Sydney " did not fire again until after the raider ' s sixth salvo : " Y " turret fired without effect , but " X " turret was able to put multiple shells into " Kormoran " , damaging machinery spaces and one of the raider ' s guns , while igniting an oil tank . During this , " Kormoran " maintained heavy fire , and around the time of the eighth or ninth German salvo , a torpedo launched at the start of the engagement hit " Sydney " just forward of " A " turret and near the ASDIC compartment ( the weakest point on the ship ' s hull ) , ripping a hole in the side and causing the bow of the cruiser to angle down . Down by the bows , the cruiser swung hard to port , and passed behind " Kormoran " ; during the turn , shells from the raider knocked " B " turret off " Sydney " . By 17 : 35 , " Sydney " was heading south and losing speed , wreathed in smoke from multiple fires . Her main armament was disabled ( the two aft turrets had jammed on a port facing and could not be swung around ) , and her secondary guns were out of effective range . The cruiser continued to be hit by shells from " Kormoran " s aft guns as the distance between the ships increased . The Germans reported that around 17 : 45 , all four torpedoes from " Sydney " s starboard launcher were fired , but as " Kormoran " was manoeuvring to bring her port broadside to bear , they all missed . In fact , only two torpedoes from " Sydney " s port launcher were ever fired , which must have happened some time earlier . The raider ' s engines broke down after this turn , but she continued to fire on " Sydney " at a high rate despite being immobilised , although many of the shells would have missed as the distance between the two ships increased . " Kormoran " ceased fire at 17 : 50 , with the range at , and launched another torpedo at 18 : 00 , but missed " Sydney " . The Australian cruiser continued on a south - south - east heading at low speed ; observers aboard " Kormoran " doubted that " Sydney " was under control . Although disappearing over the horizon shortly later , the glow from the damaged , burning warship was consistently seen by the Germans until about 22 : 00 , and sporadically until midnight . At some point during the night , " Sydney " lost buoyancy and sank : the bow was torn off as she submerged and descended almost vertically , while the rest of the hull glided forward as she sank , hitting the bottom upright and stern first . " Sydney " s shells had crippled " Kormoran " ; the German crew abandoned ship after it was determined that below - deck fires could not be controlled before they reached the gun magazines or the mines in the cargo hold . The raider was scuttled at midnight , and sank slowly until the mine deck exploded half an hour later . Aftermath . " Sydney " s failure to reach Fremantle on 20 November was not initially cause for concern , as several factors might have delayed the cruiser , none of which were sufficient reason to break the order to maintain wireless silence . However , with no sign of the cruiser by 23 November , shore - based wireless stations began transmitting orders for " Sydney " to break silence and report in . A raft of German survivors was recovered by a British tanker on 24 November , at which point a large - scale air and sea search began . During this search , which lasted until the evening of 29 November 318 of " Kormoran " s 399 crew were found , but apart from a carley float and a lifebelt , nothing from " Sydney " or the 645 aboard was recovered . Australian Prime Minister John Curtin officially announced the loss of the cruiser during the afternoon of 30 November . " Sydney " s destruction was a major blow to Australian morale and military capability : her ship ' s company made up 35 % of the RAN ' s wartime casualties . The cruiser ' s loss did not have the same impact internationally ; two British capital ship s were destroyed during the same fortnight , and Japan entered World War II with attacks on Pearl Harbor and Singapore three weeks later . The German survivors were taken to Fremantle and interrogated . Attempts to learn what had happened were hampered by the German officers instructing their sailors to obfuscate the enemy with false answers , people describing events they did not witness but heard of later , and difficulty in keeping groups separated in order to check their stories against each other . Despite this , Australian authorities were able to piece together the broad details of the battle , which was verified by a group of German sailors who had been taken to Sydney instead : their interviews showed the same commonalities and inconsistencies as those in Fremantle , and the interrogators concluded that the true story was being recounted . Interrogations were concluded in December , and by the end of January , " Kormoran " s crew had been moved to prisoner - of - war camps in Victoria , where they remained until their repatriation to Germany in early 1947 . On 6 February 1942 , a Carley float containing a dead body was spotted just off Christmas Island and towed ashore . Examination of the raft and its occupant led the island ' s inhabitants to believe that they were from " Sydney " . Although a 1949 investigation conducted by the Royal Navy stated the raft was not from HMAS " Sydney " , and while some historians agreed , others concluded that the raft and the body originated from " Sydney " . The body was exhumed in October 2006 and reburied at Geraldton Ceremony in November 2008 , after DNA was extracted . As of 2009 , attempts to compare the DNA with relatives of " Sydney " personnel had yet to identify the unknown sailor . Controversy . The battle between " Sydney " and " Kormoran " is seen as controversial : the disbelief that a modified merchant ship could so successfully defeat a cruiser combined with the lack of Australian survivors led some to believe that the German account was false . Rumours that the battle was not what it seemed had been around since " Sydney " failed to reach Fremantle on schedule in 1941 , but several historians ( including Tom Frame and Wesley Olson ) credit Michael Montgomery and his 1980 book " Who Sank The Sydney ? " with igniting the controversy . The main claims made by supporters of an alternative view of the engagement include : that the Germans fired on " Sydney " before raising their battle ensign , or after using a flag of surrender or signals of distress to lure the cruiser in , that a Japanese submarine was partially or completely responsible for sinking " Sydney " , that the involvement of the Japanese was covered up to lure the United States into the war , and that Australian survivors were killed in the water to eliminate witnesses . Other claims , less widely - heard , include a belief that " Sydney " was not at action stations and thus not prepared for " Kormoran " s attack , distress calls from the cruiser were heard by Australian shore facilities but ignored , and that survivors were captured then executed by the Japanese . These claims have been proven false by historians and researchers ; the 1998 inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs , Defence , and Trade concluded that the German accounts were a " feasible " interpretation of the battle , but there was no reliable evidence to support any of the alternative claims , while the 2009 report for the Cole Inqiry found nothing to substantiate any of the theories raised . In addition , most researchers have speculated as to why " Sydney " was so close to an unknown vessel , with various levels of blame assigned to Captain Burnett for the demise of his ship . Theories to explain Burnett ' s actions include that he was inexperienced or incompetent , deceived by " Kormoran " s disguise , the idea that he was under conflicting orders instructing that raiders be attacked at range but enemy supply ships be captured , or that he was trying to clearly identify the merchantman . Search and rediscovery . Despite the approximate position of " Kormoran " being known ( most German accounts giving the battle coordinates as ) , the required search area for both ships was immense . Calculating a search area was complicated by the fact that several people distrusted the German location , and believed the ships would be found further south and closer to shore . Several attempts to bring supporters of the ' northern ' and ' southern ' positions to a consensus and narrow down the potential search area were unsuccessful . Multiple searches were carried out by the RAN between 1974 and 1997 ( using the survey ship and later the trials ship ) , but efforts were restricted to the continental shelf , and were usually in response to civilian claims that they had found " Sydney " at a certain location . Other searches were conducted by RAAF aircraft carrying magnetometer s ; again , these were only in response to possible location claims . These searches failed to find either ship . American shipwreck hunter David Mearns first learned of the battle in 1996 , and began to study it as a prelude to a search for the ships in 2001 . Mearns , with the aid of other researchers , focused on primary sources ( rediscovering several archive files and diaries in the process ) , and came to the conclusion that the German accounts were true , and that the ship would be found at the northern position . After attracting the interest of the RAN , Mearns entered into a partnership with HMAS Sydney Search , a not - for - profit company set up to administer and help fund an expedition to locate " Sydney " and " Kormoran " . State and Federal government grants totalling just under A $ 5 million , coupled with private and corporate donations , were used to fund a 45 - day search from the end of February to early April 2008 . Mearns ' plan was to inspect a search box around the German location with a deep - water , towed side - scan sonar to locate " Kormoran " , after which the search team would be able to narrow down the search area for " Sydney " . After locating one or both vessels , the search ship ( survey vessel SV " Geosounder " , chartered from the subsea exploration company DOF Subsea Australia ) would return to port and replace the sonar with a remotely operated vehicle ( ROV ) to photograph and video the wrecks . After problems with equipment and weather , " Geosounder " commenced the search , and located " Kormoran " on 12 March 2008 at . Using the newly discovered wreck and the accounts of the Germans describing " Sydney " s heading , speed , and last sighting after the battle , a search box for the cruiser was calculated : the dramatic change in size was because there was a lot of information regarding " Sydney " s position and heading in relation to " Kormoran " , but the raider ' s location consisted of only broad coordinates . " Sydney " was located on 17 March 2008 just after 11 : 00 , only hours after " Kormoran " s discovery was made public . News that the cruiser had been found was announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 18 March . " Sydney " s wreck was located at at below sea level , south - east of the raider . The bow of the cruiser had broken off as the ship sank , and was located at the opposite end of a debris field stretching less than north - west from the hull , which was sitting upright on the ocean floor . On discovery , both wrecks were placed under the protection of the " Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 " , which penalises anyone disturbing a protected shipwreck with a fine of up to A $ 10 , 000 or a maximum five years imprisonment . Both wrecks were placed on the Australian National Heritage List on 14 March 2011 . After the side - scan sonar aboard " Geosounder " was switched out for the ROV ( again delayed by technical issues and more bad weather ) , the survey ship returned to " Sydney " s wreck site on 3 April , and performed a detailed study of the ship and her debris field . Inspections were also carried out on " Kormoran " and the believed battle site ( the latter found to be outcrops of pillow lava ) , before Mearns declared the search over on 7 April . Awards , memorials , and legacy . " Sydney " was granted the battle honour " " Kormoran " 1941 " in recognition of the damage done to " Kormoran " . This was one of only three honours awarded during the 20th century for the sinking of a single ship , and the second to a ship named " Sydney " ( the other had been awarded to the previous " Sydney " for her defeat of the German light cruiser SMS " Emden " at the Battle of Cocos ) . The main memorial for the loss of " Sydney " is located at Geraldton , Western Australia , on top of Mount Scott . Planning for the memorial commenced in late 1997 , after a speech by " Sydney " researcher Glenys McDonald at the local Rotary club . The first , temporary memorial ( consisting of a large boulder , a flagpole , and a bronze plaque ) , was installed prior to 19 November 1998 , and was used in a remembrance ceremony that year . During the playing of the Last Post , a large flock of seagulls flew over the participants and headed out to sea in formation : this became a major feature of the permanent memorial . The permanent memorial included four major elements : a stele of the same size and shape of the ship ' s prow , a granite wall listing the ship ' s company , a bronze statue of a woman looking out to sea and waiting in vain for the cruiser to come home , and a dome ( dubbed the " dome of souls " ) onto which 645 stainless steel seagulls were welded . The memorial ( minus the stele , which had not been completed in time ) was dedicated on 18 November 2001 , and was used the next evening for a commemoration ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the ship ' s loss . In May 2009 , the memorial was recognised by the Australian government as being of national significance . Other memorials commemorating the loss of " Sydney " include an oak tree planted at the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance , and an avenue in Carnarvon lined with 645 trees . The service of " Sydney " , along with the other ships of the same name , is commemorated by a stained - glass window at the Garden Island Naval Chapel , and by the mast of the first at Bradleys Head , New South Wales . The names of those killed aboard " Sydney " are inscribed at the Australian War Memorial . The " HMAS Sydney Replacement Fund " was established to help finance the acquisition of a replacement ship . The AU£ 426 , 000 raised was contributed to the purchase of Australia ' s first aircraft carrier in the late 1940s ; the " Majestic " - class carrier was named upon her commissioning into the RAN in December 1948 . This " Sydney " operated during the Korean War , then was modified into a troop transport and served in the Vietnam War , before her sale for scrap in 1973 . The Supermarine Seagull V aircraft that operated from " Sydney " between 1937 and 1938 , still survives as part of the collection of the Royal Air Force Museum in London . Footnotes . A significant minority of sources give the cruiser ' s length overall as . This corresponds to the five unmodified " Leander " class cruisers .