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Commanding Officers

After being laid down in 1933 for the Royal Navy as PHAETON, SYDNEY was purchased (before launching) by the Australian Government in 1934 and renamed in memory of the earlier SYDNEY that destroyed the German cruiser EMDEN in 1914.

The ship commissioned at Portsmouth on 24 September 1935, under the command of Captain John U.P. FitzGerald RN, and spent the early part of her career on the Mediterranean station.

Arriving on the Australia Station on 2 August 1936 SYDNEY remained in home waters until the outbreak of war and was in Fremantle on the day war was declared. On 16 November Captain J.A. Collins RAN, assumed command from Captain John W.A. Waller RN, who had succeeded Captain FitzGerald in 1937.

SYDNEY remained on local patrol duties until April 1940 when she sailed from Fremantle as part of the escort for a large Middle East bound convoy. Parting company in the Indian Ocean, the cruiser arrived in Colombo on 8 May 1940.

On 19 May 1940 she proceeded to the Mediterranean and arrived in Alexandria on 26 May where she joined the 7th Cruiser Squadron of the Royal Navy. SYDNEY experienced her first action when, in company with HM Ships ORION and NEPTUNE, the French Battleship LORRAINE and destroyers DAINTY, DECOY, HASTY and STUART, she took part in the bombardment of Bardia on 21 June 1940.

On 28 June 1940 SYDNEY in company with other ships of the 7th Cruiser Squadron, encountered three Italian destroyers. The action which followed resulted in the sinking of ESPERO. Fought at dusk in the fast failing light, two of the destroyers succeeded in evading the British cruisers. In this action, a minor one, SYDNEY's part consisted chiefly in finishing off the crippled destroyer and rescuing 47 Italian survivors.

On 1 July 1940 SYDNEY returned to Alexandria, where she remained until 7 July when she proceeded as part of the covering force for Malta convoys. On the following day, she joined the Mediterranean Battle Fleet. Severe air attacks, four of them directed at SYDNEY, were all successfully beaten off by anti-aircraft fire. The following day, 9 July, she took part in the first full scale action with the Italian Fleet.

The British forces engaged in this action, which was fought off Calabria were as follows:

Battleships
HMS ROYAL SOVEREIGN
HMS WARSPITE
HMS MALAYA

Aircraft Carrier
HMS EAGLE

Cruisers
HMS LIVERPOOL
HMS NEPTUNE
HMS ORION
HMAS SYDNEY

Plus attendant destroyers.

Aircraft from HMS EAGLE first reported the Italian fleet to the north of the British Forces. The Commander in Chief, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham (WARSPITE), thereupon promptly altered course to the northward. At 1445, HMS NEPTUNE reported sighting four Italian cruisers, and at 1500 the entire fleet came into view, consisting of 2 battleships, 10 cruisers and 24 destroyers. Meanwhile the vanguard of the British Fleet, consisting of the four cruisers, LlVERPOOL NEPTUNE, ORION and SYDNEY under Vice Admiral J.C. Tovey (7th Cruiser Squadron), altered course to avoid becoming heavily engaged without the support of WARSPITE's heavy armament.

With the sun behind them, the Italian cruisers opened fire at 1515. The British cruisers, though outnumbered, engaged the enemy until 1545, when WARSPITE opened fire. The battleship's fire forced the enemy to turn away under cover of smoke, after which there was a lull in the battle. At this stage, the British cruisers were advancing north west towards the enemy, with WARSPITE astern. MALAYA and ROYAL SOVEREIGN, who had been some distance away, were fast approaching the scene of action and the British destroyers were concentrating for attack.

At about 1550, WARSPITE succeeded in straddling the Italian battleship GlULIO CESARE and a 15" shell hit forward near her foremost funnel. Soon after 1600, WARSPITE, which had been firing at extreme range, attempted to close the enemy. MALAYA opened fire, but her heavy salvoes all fell short. Meanwhile, the British cruisers had renewed the action and attempted to close the enemy who was rapidly drawing away to the north. By 1611, only one enemy ship remained within range, at something over 20,000 yards and at 1619, SYDNEY turned her attention to enemy destroyers laying smoke. Shortly afterwards, the British destroyers moved in to attack. By 1640, the battle was over and the last gun fired. A number of bombing attacks on the battle fleet developed between 1646 and 1930. SYDNEY came through unscathed, though a stick of bombs straddled the ship. HMS EAGLE, an obsolescent aircraft carrier, despatched nine of her seventeen embarked Swordfish to attack the Italian Fleet. In spite of heavy anti aircraft fire, all planes pressed home their attack and succeeded in launching torpedoes, but no hits were observed. All aircraft returned safely.

SYDNEY remained at sea with the Fleet until 13 July 1940 when she returned to Alexandria.

On 18 July 1940, SYDNEY with destroyer HAVOCK in company, sailed from Alexandria. Her orders were to support the destroyers HYPERION, ILEX, HERO and HASTY engaged on a submarine hunt off Crete, and destroy enemy shipping in the Gulf of Athens. The two ships arrived off Crete at sunset and passed through Kaso Strait shortly before midnight.

Early on the morning of 19 July SYDNEY and her attendant destroyer reached a point some 40 miles north of Cape Spada. The day had dawned calm and cloudless, with some light mist. At 0733, SYDNEY received a report from the destroyers indicating the presence of two enemy cruisers some 10 miles to the south west of their position, heading north.

Altering course and proceeding at maximum speed, SYDNEY and HAVOCK headed towards the enemy, and at 0820 sighted smoke on the horizon. A few minutes later two Italian cruisers, BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI and GIOVANNI DELLE BANDE NERE, were sighted on the starboard beam, at a range of some 23,000 yards, course ENE.

At 0829, SYDNEY opened fire on the leading cruiser GIOVANNI DELLE BANDE NERE. At 0832, both cruisers replied to SYDNEY's fire. None of the enemy shells scored a hit, though some salvoes succeeded in straddling. Within six minutes of opening fire, hits appeared to have been registered on GIOVANNI DELLE BANDE NERE on which ship SYDNEY continued to concentrate her fire. At 0838, HYPERION, HASTY, HERO and ILEX were sighted to the south east, at a distance of some six miles. At this time, the enemy attempted to escape to the south west and by 0846, SYDNEY, with the destroyers in line abreast and in fairly close order, was chasing the enemy at full speed, the destroyers having also opened fire.

By 0848, GIOVANNI DELLE BANDE NERE was obscured by smoke, and SYDNEY therefore shifted her fire to BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI at a range of 18,000 yards. At 0851, the two enemy cruisers suddenly altered course to port and at 0853, appeared to be turning to starboard, eventually coming back to their original south westerly course, having left a large smoke cloud behind them. The Italian cruisers were faster than SYDNEY, and were slowly growing away at a speed in the region of 30 knots. At 0902, SYDNEY again opened fire on GIOVANNI DELLE BANDE NERE at 21,000 yards and fired until 0908, when heavy smoke again forced a shift of target to the rear cruiser.

By 0919, SYDNEY's fire on BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI appeared to be taking effect and the range had closed to 17,500 yards. Meanwhile, both cruisers continued to reply with fairly accurate fire and at 0921, SYDNEY was hit in the foremost funnel. Only one minor casualty resulted. The range was now closing rapidly and at 0923, BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI was finally put out of action, some 5 miles off Cape Spada. The surviving cruiser rounded Agria Grabus Island to the north, and retired at full speed to the south west, hotly pursued by SYDNEY who was almost directly astern.

A 0933, Captain Collins ordered the destroyers to finish off BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI with torpedoes, SYDNEY ceasing fire at 0938, when the range was 7,500 yards. The destroyers HYPERION and ILEX then fired torpedoes at BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI and the destroyer HAVOCK stood by to rescue survivors. BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI finally sank at 0959. Meanwhile, SYDNEY, in company with HERO and HASTY, continued the pursuit of GIOVANNI DELLE BANDE NERE who had continued on southward at full speed. The fleeing cruiser kept up a desultory inaccurate fire, but SYDNEY did not reply until 0958 at a range of 20,000 yards. The chase continued until 1011 when the fast opening range and haze conditions made overhauling unlikely.

At 1037, the chase was abandoned, and SYDNEY headed for Alexandria as fuel and ammunition needed replenishing. Before reaching Alexandria, SYDNEY and the destroyers suffered repeated air attacks. HAVOCK sustained a direct hit. On 20 July all British ships reached Alexandria safely.

HMAS SYDNEY II arriving in Alexandria
(click to view full size image)

During August SYDNEY took part (as a covering force) at the second bombardment of Bardia. In September, she spent her longest period in harbour since entering the Mediterranean, when she docked in Alexandria on the 8th, and remained in port until 24 September 1940. In October, operating with the Mediterranean Fleet, she took part in a sweep of the Adriatic. In November, she was engaged in protecting the convoys to Greece and in operations in the Straits of Otranto, when an Italian convoy was successfully attacked during the hours of darkness of the night of 12/13 November. December 1940 saw SYDNEY again covering convoys to Greece and Malta and further operations in the Adriatic and Straits of Otranto, as part of the Mediterranean Fleet. On 23 December 1940 she put into Malta for a refit, sailing again on 8 January 1941.

On 11 January 1941 SYDNEY sailed from Alexandria for the last time and reached Fremantle, following convoy duties, on 5 February 1941. After a refit at Garden Island, she took up patrol and convoy duties off the Australian coast under the command of Captain J. Burnett RAN. In April 1941, she paid a brief visit to Singapore, and for the remainder of her career, operated chiefly in Australian waters, with some periods of Indian Ocean escort duties, NZ convoys, and a visit to Noumea.

On 19 November 1941, the career of SYDNEY came to an end, following her engagement with the German Armed Merchant Cruiser KORMORAN.

Returning from convoy duties to Java, SYDNEY was proceeding south down the north west coast of Australia. What took place aboard the cruiser is pure conjecture, but it is likely she sighted what appeared to be a harmless merchantman about 1600 on 19 November 1941, some 130 miles west of Shark Bay, Western Australia.

Feigning innocence and claiming to be the Dutch ship STRAAT MALAKKA, KORMORAN by various subterfuges, avoided replying to SYDNEY's repeated signals requesting identification. Finally, when concealment of her true identity was no longer possible, and with the advantage of surprise, the raider opened fire with all armament at a range, according to Captain A.T.H. Detmers in command of KORMORAN, of 'somewhat more than a mile'.

It is likely that the raider's first salvo destroyed SYDNEY's bridge, with the result that her primary control was immediately put out of action. SYDNEY's own guns opened fire almost simultaneously, and hits were scored on the enemy's engine room, starting a fire which eventually caused KORMORAN's abandonment and loss. Early in the action the raider succeeded in torpedoing SYDNEY abreast the forward turrets, thus jamming their training. SYDNEY herself fired four torpedoes at the raider from local control, but scored no hits.

There were no survivors from SYDNEY's complement of 645. Survivors from KORMORAN reported that SYDNEY was last seen, heavily on fire and down by the bows, as a burning glow on the horizon. The survivors of KORMORAN were interned in Australia until after the war.