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04 April 2008
David Mearns -
Search Director, The Finding Sydney Foundation
Immediately after
posting our search diary yesterday we were forced to recover the ROV
because of an alarm telling us it was low on oil that is used to
fill an important transformer housing. This recovery also allowed us
the opportunity to repair the problem we had yesterday which kept
the ROV frustratingly shackled into its protective garage. This made
taking good images of HMAS Sydney virtually impossible, and although
we had just enough decent pictures to release yesterday I was fully
expecting the imagery we collected today to be much, much better.
Fortunately, I was not to be disappointed.
In all I took over
340 still pictures in a single 12 hour dive today and the images are
remarkable for both their stunning clarity and their brutal
documentation of the punishment suffered by Sydney and her crew. I
have studied many historical accounts of the battle between Sydney
and Kormoran but none of these could fully prepare me for the
enormous damage withstood by Sydney. At the end of the dive I paused
to reflect on the horror experienced by Sydney’s officers and crew
as they fought to save themselves and their ship.
Of the many images
of Sydney’s wreck two struck me the most. The first was of a cluster
of large calibre shell hits on Sydney’s starboard side. Each
5.9-inch shell impacted against Sydney’s four-inch thick belt of
armour and hull plate that was protecting her vital engine room and
boiler spaces. Whilst the shells did not fully penetrate the hull
the damage and carnage they would have wreaked on the other side
would have been enormous. The truly amazing aspect of this picture
(shown below), however, is that each of the 4 shells - undoubtedly
fired separately, but by the same gun on Kormoran - all hit within a
cluster only 20-foot high. This image illustrates with terrifying
reality the rapidity and deadly precision of the German gunnery.
The second image
speaks volumes for the bravery of Sydney’s own gunners closed up in
“X” turret. The men in this turret - the forward of Sydney’s two
stern guns – have been credited by their German adversaries for
firing the shells that ultimately led to Kormoran’s demise. Because
Sydney’s bridge and director control tower were destroyed at the
start of the battle it is now clear that the men in “X” turret must
have been shooting independently in local control. Our pictures of
“X” turret not only show it pointing forward frozen in its final
shooting position but they also reveal the turret’s two forward
hatches swung wide open, possibly to allow better aiming and firing
by the gunners inside. Despite their heroics, the men in “X” turret
sadly met a similar fate to those in “A” and “B” as evident by the
shell hits on its base.
Our pictures also
reveal a serious amount of damage to Sydney’s stern which I believe
helps to explain the final sinking scenario. Based on the buckling
of the stern and the complete collapse of the main deck aft of “Y”
turret there can be little doubt that Sydney hit the seabed stern
first and that this damage resulted from the violent impact that
ensued. I further believe that the triggering mechanism for Sydney
to sink by the stern was the moment her bow broke away from the hull
at the surface. The next important task for us on our upcoming dive
is to locate Sydney’s bow, the position and condition of which
should tell us far more about the sinking.
Glenys McDonald
- Director, The Finding Sydney Foundation (Observer)
It has been an
incredible day, but a very sobering one, as we recorded excellent
video and still images of the wreck of HMAS Sydney.
The ROV re-entered
the water at 7am and went to depth. This time we were able to fly
free of the garage and therefore could go above the vessel and zoom
in and down. We examined in detail the port side of the ship and
John and I took copious detailed notes. The quality of the material
is excellent.
As the day unfolded
the extent of the damage to our beloved ship was alarmingly clear
and it may be distressing for some families. In addition, more
damage was sustained when the stern impacted with the sea floor.
After the detailed examination of the bow and port side, we
inspected the closest pieces of debris in the adjacent debris field.
We then examined
the starboard side. Although I knew that Sydney’s starboard side
came under Kormoran fire as she turned as if to ram and limped off
to the south east, I was horrified at the extent of the shell hits
to this side of the vessel. Several areas of the ship also bore the
scars of terrible fire damage. The damage we assessed matches
closely the description given by the Germans. Their concentrated
firepower was incredibly destructive and accurate.
Amongst this
terrible destruction some items stood out proud and alone – a
capstan, two bollards painted with stripes, a kedge anchor. It was a
very emotional and long day: so much destruction, so little chance
of survival. HMAS Sydney gave up many of her secrets today, may she
now rest in peace.
John Perryman –
Senior Naval Historian (Observer)
Following the
success of yesterday’s initial ROV reconnaissance on HMAS Sydney
(II) we determined that today we would re-visit the wreck and
conduct a more detailed survey along the length and breadth of both
her port and starboard sides.
At 09:15 the wreck
was sighted and the inspection began at the forward end of Sydney’s
port side. Today we were more interested in noting details such as
specific damage and what effect this may have had on crippling the
cruiser.
With the ROV now
free of its garage and operating independently, we were soon
unraveling some of Sydney’s long held secrets. During the morning we
found that ‘A’ turret had received two hits in a similar position to
where the front of ‘B’ turret had been struck, leaving two scars,
low between its twin gun barrels. The ROV was then maneuvered around
‘A’ turret, which had lost its entire top and right-hand-side of the
gun housing, leaving both 6-inch gun breeches and the rear of the
turret exposed. A closer inspection of ‘B’ turret revealed that it
had received a further hit in the base of the barbette on which it
rested. These hits were the first of many viewed by us throughout
the day and began to give us an insight to the accuracy of the
Kormoran’s gunners.
Further evidence of
the fierceness of the engagement came when we returned to the bridge
and forward superstructure. The base of the Director Control Tower
had received a direct hit which had punched through it from the
starboard side and exited through the port side leaving a gaping
hole. The compass platform and bridge was a shambles and the forward
screen below it had partially collapsed and was pushed back at an
angle of about twenty degrees. On viewing this level of destruction,
a hushed silence fell over the survey room as we continued to
maneuver the ROV towards the rear of the ship.
As we made our way
aft, down the port side, the situation was the same. There were
multiple hits on the ship’s side as well as on most of the
structures mounted on her main deck. It seems almost impossible that
any of Sydney’s wooden boats could have survived this onslaught and
it almost certainly explains the shrapnel studded Carley float now
on display at the Australian War Memorial, which was one of only a
few items ever recovered from Sydney.
When we came to ‘X’
turret which, according to the Kormoran survivors had fought on
valiantly and dealt the German raider a mortal blow, we were amazed
to find that as with ‘A’ and ‘B’ turrets she too had received two
well placed shell hits in the front of her gun housing low between
her gun barrels which were fully depressed. Draped over the top of
‘Y’ turret is what we believe to be the remnants of the after
funnel.
Approaching the
stern it became apparent that the main deck had collapsed, sloping
down to form a bowl-like feature as it met the extremity of the aft
end of the ship. We then maneuvered around the stern and began our
inspection of the starboard side.
Somewhat
surprisingly the starboard side of Sydney had received greater
punishment than the port side, which had been the side initially
engaged. There was evidence of consistent shell hits visible along
the entire ships side, ranging from as high as the lip of the main
deck to as low as the boot-topping which was level with the water
line.
As with the port
side, Sydney’s 21-inch torpedo tubes were missing leaving only the
ring gear, which once traversed them, remaining. Below this mounting
were four closely grouped shell hits visible immediately below the
main deck.
As we made our way
along the starboard side, we observed that the forward 4-inch high
angle gun was missing as were several of the 4-inch ready-use
ammunition lockers.
Soon we were back
in the mid ships area carefully negotiating our way around the
wrecked ships aircraft crane before coming upon the starboard side
of the forward superstructure. Again it was clear that this area had
been severely pounded, with gun platforms twisted, fittings gone and
multiple shell hits apparent. After a full day, our survey concluded
at ‘B’ and ‘A’ gun turrets at 20:15 in the evening.
One can only guess
the desperateness of Sydney’s situation following such severe
punishment. That some of Sydney’s crew were observed by their German
opponents to be fighting to the last is no small wonder and a
testimony to their courage and determination to press on. While the
survey told us much, for all of us it was a sobering insight into
Sydney’s final hours.
Dr. Michael
(Mac) McCarthy – Curator of Maritime Archaeology, WA Museum
(Observer)
On 19 March soon
after the wrecks were found and after they had been declared
historic (and a restricted zone was cast around them), I received a
phone call from Patrick Flynn inviting me to join the search team
for the ROV inspection phase. Having been officially involved with
HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran since 1981, I was naturally keen to
accept.
After advising my
Director of this development and of the fact that the Finding Sydney
Foundation was in the process of drafting a request for permission
to return to the sites, approval was received. Readers may be
surprised to know that even Museum staff cannot work historic wrecks
or enter restricted historic wreck zones without a permit nowadays!
Terry Bailey, the
Commonwealth Delegate of Minister Peter Garrett, then faxed a permit
to the FSF allowing Geosounder entry into the restricted zones. The
permit, while allowing non-disturbance recording, prohibits contact
with the wrecks and associated relics. Additionally the wrecks,
surrounds and relics are to be respected as ‘a gravesite’ and not be
disturbed in any way. This same non-disturbance brief was set back
in 1991 when a search of the area specified by the Kormoran’s
captain was first mooted.
The permit also
specified that a record of the activities was to be kept and
provided to the Minister’s delegate. From there it is to enter the
public domain. All notes, reports, track plots, film, sonar and
multi-beam images from the search, finding and inspection phases
will appear. Of special interest will be the underwater footage from
the ROV. This record is continuously backed up and updated with time
and sequential number by David Mearns’ nightshift offsider Robert
Bruinsma.
Today the ROV,
expertly flown by DOF Subsea’s Dave Norton and Bruce Berrman
(supported by Kaamil Douglas, Dean Glazebrook, Simon Hall, Brett
Murray and Peter Skinner), showed each shell hole and each battered
and twisted feature along the hull and on the deck in alarming
detail. Reaction as the damage unfolded became more and more
apparent on each pass and was one of great sadness. |
