Without a doubt, the biggest story in history this week has been the finding of the HMAS (His Majesty's Australian Ship) Sydney off the west coast of Australia on March 16th. This is HUGE news in Australia, but I haven't seen much about it around here in the Midwest.
The intact hull of the HMAS Sydney, sunk in the battle with the German raider Kormoran on November 19, 1941, has been found. All 645 men aboard her died. It was found about 100 nautical miles off Australia's west coast in the Indian Ocean, about 12 nautical miles from the wreck of the Kormoran and 8 nautical miles from the battle site.
A major search effort has been made since 2001. The wreckage of the Kormoran was found two days earlier on March 14th.
The battle took place about 500 miles north of Perth and both ships sank. There were 317 survivors of the Kormoran's 397 man crew. But there were no survivors on the Sydney. It just disappeared, putting the whole country into shock. The Sydney's loss was the largest ship lost in the war in which there were no survivors.
This amounted to one-thirds of the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) losses in the entire war. Only a Carley Float (life boat) was found.
Today, there is a new HMAS Sydney, a guided missile frigate. There is also an HMAS Sydney Memorial on Mount Scott, Geraldton, Western Australia.
Definitely Glad This Vessel was Found. --Cooter
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