Author: Michael Montgomery
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 0436284472
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
In February 1941, HMAS Sydney, a glamour ship of the Royal Australian Navy in World War II, returned from the Mediterranean to a tumultuous welcome in Australia. The Sydney had crowned her service in that theatre of operations with the Royal Navy by sinking the Italian ship Bartolomeo Colleoni, described as the fastest cruiser in the world. Nine months later the Sydney had disappeared off the coast of Western Australia following an action against the German raider Kormoran. Three hundred and eight men from the Kormoran were eventually requested, but the Sydney's entire complement of six hundred and forty-five men was lost, making her the largest ship in the whole course of the War to go down with all hands. Survivors from the Kormoran at first talked of rowing towards her in the hope of being picked up and then seeing her blow up, but when they were reunited with their officers their story began to change.... In Who Sank The Sydney Michael Montgomery has pieced together hundreds if items of evidence gathered in four years research to provide solutions to the hitherto unanswered questions surrounding what the American historian Hanson Baldwin has described as 'the most curious incident of the seas'. Why were there no survivors from the Sydney and how did all trace of the cruiser disappear so quickly? How was the raider able to destroy the much larger and much more heavily armed cruiser? Was a Japanese submarine involved? Why did the Navy disown a body found three months later in a Carley float from the Sydney? Since this book was first published in Australia in 1981 much more evidence has come to light to support Michael Montgomery's theories of a major cover-up in high places. In particular, he demonstrates that the Navy suspected the Japanese involvement almost immediately, and that on November 26ty Churchill sent Roosevelt a telegram which coursed him to break off negotiations with Japan. Pearl Harbour followed a fortnight later; was the Sydney thus the “Lusitania” of World War II?
Who Sank the Sydney?
Author: Michael Montgomery
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 0436284472
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
In February 1941, HMAS Sydney, a glamour ship of the Royal Australian Navy in World War II, returned from the Mediterranean to a tumultuous welcome in Australia. The Sydney had crowned her service in that theatre of operations with the Royal Navy by sinking the Italian ship Bartolomeo Colleoni, described as the fastest cruiser in the world. Nine months later the Sydney had disappeared off the coast of Western Australia following an action against the German raider Kormoran. Three hundred and eight men from the Kormoran were eventually requested, but the Sydney's entire complement of six hundred and forty-five men was lost, making her the largest ship in the whole course of the War to go down with all hands. Survivors from the Kormoran at first talked of rowing towards her in the hope of being picked up and then seeing her blow up, but when they were reunited with their officers their story began to change.... In Who Sank The Sydney Michael Montgomery has pieced together hundreds if items of evidence gathered in four years research to provide solutions to the hitherto unanswered questions surrounding what the American historian Hanson Baldwin has described as 'the most curious incident of the seas'. Why were there no survivors from the Sydney and how did all trace of the cruiser disappear so quickly? How was the raider able to destroy the much larger and much more heavily armed cruiser? Was a Japanese submarine involved? Why did the Navy disown a body found three months later in a Carley float from the Sydney? Since this book was first published in Australia in 1981 much more evidence has come to light to support Michael Montgomery's theories of a major cover-up in high places. In particular, he demonstrates that the Navy suspected the Japanese involvement almost immediately, and that on November 26ty Churchill sent Roosevelt a telegram which coursed him to break off negotiations with Japan. Pearl Harbour followed a fortnight later; was the Sydney thus the “Lusitania” of World War II?
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 0436284472
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
In February 1941, HMAS Sydney, a glamour ship of the Royal Australian Navy in World War II, returned from the Mediterranean to a tumultuous welcome in Australia. The Sydney had crowned her service in that theatre of operations with the Royal Navy by sinking the Italian ship Bartolomeo Colleoni, described as the fastest cruiser in the world. Nine months later the Sydney had disappeared off the coast of Western Australia following an action against the German raider Kormoran. Three hundred and eight men from the Kormoran were eventually requested, but the Sydney's entire complement of six hundred and forty-five men was lost, making her the largest ship in the whole course of the War to go down with all hands. Survivors from the Kormoran at first talked of rowing towards her in the hope of being picked up and then seeing her blow up, but when they were reunited with their officers their story began to change.... In Who Sank The Sydney Michael Montgomery has pieced together hundreds if items of evidence gathered in four years research to provide solutions to the hitherto unanswered questions surrounding what the American historian Hanson Baldwin has described as 'the most curious incident of the seas'. Why were there no survivors from the Sydney and how did all trace of the cruiser disappear so quickly? How was the raider able to destroy the much larger and much more heavily armed cruiser? Was a Japanese submarine involved? Why did the Navy disown a body found three months later in a Carley float from the Sydney? Since this book was first published in Australia in 1981 much more evidence has come to light to support Michael Montgomery's theories of a major cover-up in high places. In particular, he demonstrates that the Navy suspected the Japanese involvement almost immediately, and that on November 26ty Churchill sent Roosevelt a telegram which coursed him to break off negotiations with Japan. Pearl Harbour followed a fortnight later; was the Sydney thus the “Lusitania” of World War II?
HMAS Sydney
Author: Tom Frame
Publisher: Hachette Australia
ISBN: 0733628745
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257
Book Description
The complete and authoritative account of the sinking of the HMAS Sydney, and the recent finding of her wreck. On 19 November 1941, the pride of the Australian Navy, the light cruiser Sydney, fought a close-quarters battle with the German armed raider HSK Kormoran off Carnarvon on the West Australian coast. Both ships sank ? and not one of the 645 men on board the Sydney survived. Was Sydney?s captain guilty of negligence by allowing his ship to manoeuvre within range of Kormoran?s guns? Did the Germans feign surrender before firing a torpedo at the Sydney as she prepared to despatch a boarding party? This updated edition covers the recent discovery of the wreck ? with the light this sheds on the events of that day 67 years ago, and the closure it has brought to so many grieving families. `Tom Frame has produced the most comprehensive and compelling account of the loss of HMAS Sydney to date. His judgements are fair and his conclusions reasoned. If you only read one book on this tragic event in Australian naval history, and want all the facts and theories presented in a balanced way, Tom Frame?s book is for you? - Vice Admiral Russ Shalders AO CSC RANR Chief of Navy, 2005-08.
Publisher: Hachette Australia
ISBN: 0733628745
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257
Book Description
The complete and authoritative account of the sinking of the HMAS Sydney, and the recent finding of her wreck. On 19 November 1941, the pride of the Australian Navy, the light cruiser Sydney, fought a close-quarters battle with the German armed raider HSK Kormoran off Carnarvon on the West Australian coast. Both ships sank ? and not one of the 645 men on board the Sydney survived. Was Sydney?s captain guilty of negligence by allowing his ship to manoeuvre within range of Kormoran?s guns? Did the Germans feign surrender before firing a torpedo at the Sydney as she prepared to despatch a boarding party? This updated edition covers the recent discovery of the wreck ? with the light this sheds on the events of that day 67 years ago, and the closure it has brought to so many grieving families. `Tom Frame has produced the most comprehensive and compelling account of the loss of HMAS Sydney to date. His judgements are fair and his conclusions reasoned. If you only read one book on this tragic event in Australian naval history, and want all the facts and theories presented in a balanced way, Tom Frame?s book is for you? - Vice Admiral Russ Shalders AO CSC RANR Chief of Navy, 2005-08.
The Search for HMAS Sydney
Author: Ted Graham
Publisher: UNSW Press
ISBN: 1742246915
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 328
Book Description
In November 1941 HMAS Sydney, the pride of Australia's wartime fleet, and its crew of 645 disappeared without a trace off the Western Australian coast. All that was known was Sydney had come under fire from the German raider HSK Kormoran, which also sank. After numerous unsuccessful searches from the mid 1970s onwards, the Finding Sydney Foundation was set up and in March 2008 one of Australia's greatest maritime mysteries was solved when both wrecks were finally discovered. The Search for HMAS Sydney pieces together the incredible story of Sydney, its crew and the families left behind. It details the innovative and powerful research procedures implemented by the Foundation to locate the wrecks of Sydney and Kormoran, their discovery and the detailed forensic analyses and commemorations that followed.
Publisher: UNSW Press
ISBN: 1742246915
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 328
Book Description
In November 1941 HMAS Sydney, the pride of Australia's wartime fleet, and its crew of 645 disappeared without a trace off the Western Australian coast. All that was known was Sydney had come under fire from the German raider HSK Kormoran, which also sank. After numerous unsuccessful searches from the mid 1970s onwards, the Finding Sydney Foundation was set up and in March 2008 one of Australia's greatest maritime mysteries was solved when both wrecks were finally discovered. The Search for HMAS Sydney pieces together the incredible story of Sydney, its crew and the families left behind. It details the innovative and powerful research procedures implemented by the Foundation to locate the wrecks of Sydney and Kormoran, their discovery and the detailed forensic analyses and commemorations that followed.
Beware Raiders!
Author: Bernard Edwards
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1783379278
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
A British naval historian recounts the victories and defeats of two of the most infamous German Navy vessels during World War II. Bernard Edwards’s Beware Raiders! tells the fascinating story of two German ships and the havoc they caused amongst Allied shipping in World War II. One was the eight-inch gun cruiser Admiral Hipper—named for World War I’s German fleet Admiral Franz von Hipper—fast, powerful, and Navy-manned. The other was a converted merchant man, Hansa Line’s Kandelfels armed with a few old scavenged guns manned largely by reservists, and sailing under the nom de guerre Pinguin. The difference between the pride of the Third Reich’s Kriegsmarine’s fleet and the converted cruiser was even more evident in their commanders. Edwards emphasizes the striking contrast between the conduct of Ernst Kruder, captain of the Pinguin, who attempted to cause as little loss of life as possible, and the callous Iron Cross–decorated Wilhelm Meisel of the Admiral Hipper, who had scant regard for the lives of the men whose ships he had sunk. Contrary to all expectations, as Edwards reveals in his thrilling accounts of the missions performed by each ship, the amateur man-of-war reaped a rich harvest and went out in a blaze of glory. The purpose-built battlecruiser, on the other hand, was hard-pressed even to make her mark on the war and ended her days in ignominy.
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1783379278
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
A British naval historian recounts the victories and defeats of two of the most infamous German Navy vessels during World War II. Bernard Edwards’s Beware Raiders! tells the fascinating story of two German ships and the havoc they caused amongst Allied shipping in World War II. One was the eight-inch gun cruiser Admiral Hipper—named for World War I’s German fleet Admiral Franz von Hipper—fast, powerful, and Navy-manned. The other was a converted merchant man, Hansa Line’s Kandelfels armed with a few old scavenged guns manned largely by reservists, and sailing under the nom de guerre Pinguin. The difference between the pride of the Third Reich’s Kriegsmarine’s fleet and the converted cruiser was even more evident in their commanders. Edwards emphasizes the striking contrast between the conduct of Ernst Kruder, captain of the Pinguin, who attempted to cause as little loss of life as possible, and the callous Iron Cross–decorated Wilhelm Meisel of the Admiral Hipper, who had scant regard for the lives of the men whose ships he had sunk. Contrary to all expectations, as Edwards reveals in his thrilling accounts of the missions performed by each ship, the amateur man-of-war reaped a rich harvest and went out in a blaze of glory. The purpose-built battlecruiser, on the other hand, was hard-pressed even to make her mark on the war and ended her days in ignominy.
Bitter Victory
Author: Wesley Olson
Publisher: Uwa Pub
ISBN: 9781876268916
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 436
Book Description
On November 11, 1941, HMAS Sydney sailed from the port of Fremantle, Western Australia, on a routine escort mission. Though scheduled to return on the afternoon of November 20, it failed to arrive. Three days later, the Australian cruiser was instructed to break wireless silence. There was no response. The following morning, November 24, search aircraft were dispatched. They were unable to locate the ship. That afternoon however, the Navy Office learned that German naval men had been recovered from a raft in the Sunda Strait-Fremantle Shipping lane. They claimed their ship had been sunk by a cruiser. In the days that followed, more German survivors were found, and all told the same story: they had been involved in an action with a Perth Class cruiser on November 19 and their ship, the auxiliary cruiser Kormoran, was set on fire and had to be abandoned. The cruiser they were involved with, later identified as Sydney, was last sighted as a glow on the horizon. Sydney and its entire complement of 645 officers and men were never seen again. The disappearance of Sydney has baffled the Australian government, historians and the public alike for over fifty years, and although many attempts have been made to unravel the sequence of events, three basic questions have always remained: Why did Sydney sink? How did it disappear without a trace? And why were there no survivors? Wesley Olson's book, Bitter Victory, re-opens the case. By examining every piece of available evidence and carefully reconstructing the event through reports and eye-witness accounts, Olson has produced both a compelling narrative and the most persuasive explanation yet for the tragedy of HMAS Sydney.
Publisher: Uwa Pub
ISBN: 9781876268916
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 436
Book Description
On November 11, 1941, HMAS Sydney sailed from the port of Fremantle, Western Australia, on a routine escort mission. Though scheduled to return on the afternoon of November 20, it failed to arrive. Three days later, the Australian cruiser was instructed to break wireless silence. There was no response. The following morning, November 24, search aircraft were dispatched. They were unable to locate the ship. That afternoon however, the Navy Office learned that German naval men had been recovered from a raft in the Sunda Strait-Fremantle Shipping lane. They claimed their ship had been sunk by a cruiser. In the days that followed, more German survivors were found, and all told the same story: they had been involved in an action with a Perth Class cruiser on November 19 and their ship, the auxiliary cruiser Kormoran, was set on fire and had to be abandoned. The cruiser they were involved with, later identified as Sydney, was last sighted as a glow on the horizon. Sydney and its entire complement of 645 officers and men were never seen again. The disappearance of Sydney has baffled the Australian government, historians and the public alike for over fifty years, and although many attempts have been made to unravel the sequence of events, three basic questions have always remained: Why did Sydney sink? How did it disappear without a trace? And why were there no survivors? Wesley Olson's book, Bitter Victory, re-opens the case. By examining every piece of available evidence and carefully reconstructing the event through reports and eye-witness accounts, Olson has produced both a compelling narrative and the most persuasive explanation yet for the tragedy of HMAS Sydney.
Royal Australian Navy, 1939-1942
Author: G. Hermon Gill
Publisher: Canberra : Australian War Memorial
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Publisher: Canberra : Australian War Memorial
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The Sinking of HMAS Sydney
Author: Doctor Tom Lewis
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1923004336
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 429
Book Description
HMAS Sydney was the pride of the fleet during the Second World War. A light cruiser and one of Australia’s main combat vessels. On the 19th November 1941, off the coast of Western Australia, The Sydney engaged in a fierce and bloody battle with the German raider Kormoran. Following this action, The Sydney failed to return to port. An extensive search and rescue carried out, but the warship had disappeared with all 645 men on board. Whilst the battle lasted little more than an hour, this single ship engagement remains Australia’s greatest naval disaster. More Australian servicemen died in the battle between the German raider Kormoran and the light cruiser HMAS Sydney than perished in the Vietnam War. It was not until 2008 that the wreck was discovered. The passage of time between the sinking and the discovery led to numerous mystery and conspiracy theories, all of which started replacing the truth. Now, with an explanation of how those on board lived, fought, and died, this book tells the full story.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1923004336
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 429
Book Description
HMAS Sydney was the pride of the fleet during the Second World War. A light cruiser and one of Australia’s main combat vessels. On the 19th November 1941, off the coast of Western Australia, The Sydney engaged in a fierce and bloody battle with the German raider Kormoran. Following this action, The Sydney failed to return to port. An extensive search and rescue carried out, but the warship had disappeared with all 645 men on board. Whilst the battle lasted little more than an hour, this single ship engagement remains Australia’s greatest naval disaster. More Australian servicemen died in the battle between the German raider Kormoran and the light cruiser HMAS Sydney than perished in the Vietnam War. It was not until 2008 that the wreck was discovered. The passage of time between the sinking and the discovery led to numerous mystery and conspiracy theories, all of which started replacing the truth. Now, with an explanation of how those on board lived, fought, and died, this book tells the full story.
Cruiser
Author: Mike Carlton
Publisher: Random House Australia
ISBN: 1864711337
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 722
Book Description
Of all the Australians who fought in the Second World War, none saw more action nor endured so much of its hardship and horror as the crew of the cruiser HMAS Perth. Most were young--many were still teenagers--from cities and towns, villages and farms across the nation. In three tumultuous years they did battle with the forces of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Vichy French, and, finally, the Imperial Japanese Navy. They were nearly lost in a hurricane in the Atlantic. In the Mediterranean in 1941 they were bombed by the Luftwaffe and the Italian Air Force for months on end until, ultimately, during the disastrous evacuation of the Australian army from Crete, their ship took a direct hit and thirteen men were killed. After the fall of Singapore in 1942, HMAS Perth was hurled into the forlorn campaign to stem the Japanese advance towards Australia. Off the coast of Java in March that year she met an overwhelming enemy naval force. Firing until her ammunition literally ran out, she was sunk with the loss of 353 of her crew, including her much-loved captain and the Royal Australian Navy's finest fighting sailor, 'Hardover' Hec Waller. Another 328 men were taken into Japanese captivity, most to become slave labourers in the infinite hell of the Burma-Thai railway. Many died there, victims of unspeakable atrocity. Only 218 men, less than a third of her crew, survived to return home at war's end. Cruiser, by journalist and broadcaster Mike Carlton, is their story. And the story of those who loved them and waited for them.
Publisher: Random House Australia
ISBN: 1864711337
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 722
Book Description
Of all the Australians who fought in the Second World War, none saw more action nor endured so much of its hardship and horror as the crew of the cruiser HMAS Perth. Most were young--many were still teenagers--from cities and towns, villages and farms across the nation. In three tumultuous years they did battle with the forces of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Vichy French, and, finally, the Imperial Japanese Navy. They were nearly lost in a hurricane in the Atlantic. In the Mediterranean in 1941 they were bombed by the Luftwaffe and the Italian Air Force for months on end until, ultimately, during the disastrous evacuation of the Australian army from Crete, their ship took a direct hit and thirteen men were killed. After the fall of Singapore in 1942, HMAS Perth was hurled into the forlorn campaign to stem the Japanese advance towards Australia. Off the coast of Java in March that year she met an overwhelming enemy naval force. Firing until her ammunition literally ran out, she was sunk with the loss of 353 of her crew, including her much-loved captain and the Royal Australian Navy's finest fighting sailor, 'Hardover' Hec Waller. Another 328 men were taken into Japanese captivity, most to become slave labourers in the infinite hell of the Burma-Thai railway. Many died there, victims of unspeakable atrocity. Only 218 men, less than a third of her crew, survived to return home at war's end. Cruiser, by journalist and broadcaster Mike Carlton, is their story. And the story of those who loved them and waited for them.
The Shipwreck Hunter
Author: David L Mearns
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1925576337
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 524
Book Description
David Mearns, the man who discovered the wreck of HMAS Sydney, takes us on an extraordinary voyage through his amazing career as one of the world's most successful shipwreck hunters. 'The underwater worlds of past and present collide in the depths of the ocean in this gripping and suspenseful narrative by David Mearns, a true expert on the mysteries of the deep sea.' CLIVE CUSSLER David Mearns has found some of the world's most fascinating and elusive shipwrecks. His deep-water searches have solved the 66-year mystery of HMAS Sydney, discovered the final resting place of the mighty battlecruiser HMS Hood and revealed the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur in the narrow underwater canyon that served as its grave. His painstaking historical detective work has led to the shallow reefs of a remote island that hid the crumbling wooden skeletons of Vasco da Gama's sixteenth century fleet. The Shipwreck Hunter is the compelling story of David's life and work on the seas, focusing on some of his most intriguing discoveries. It details the extraordinary techniques used, the research and the mid-ocean stamina and courage needed to find a wreck kilometres beneath the sea, as well as the moving human stories that lie behind each of these oceanic tragedies. Part detective story, part history and part deep ocean adventure, The Shipwreck Hunter is a unique insight into a hidden, underwater world.
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1925576337
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 524
Book Description
David Mearns, the man who discovered the wreck of HMAS Sydney, takes us on an extraordinary voyage through his amazing career as one of the world's most successful shipwreck hunters. 'The underwater worlds of past and present collide in the depths of the ocean in this gripping and suspenseful narrative by David Mearns, a true expert on the mysteries of the deep sea.' CLIVE CUSSLER David Mearns has found some of the world's most fascinating and elusive shipwrecks. His deep-water searches have solved the 66-year mystery of HMAS Sydney, discovered the final resting place of the mighty battlecruiser HMS Hood and revealed the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur in the narrow underwater canyon that served as its grave. His painstaking historical detective work has led to the shallow reefs of a remote island that hid the crumbling wooden skeletons of Vasco da Gama's sixteenth century fleet. The Shipwreck Hunter is the compelling story of David's life and work on the seas, focusing on some of his most intriguing discoveries. It details the extraordinary techniques used, the research and the mid-ocean stamina and courage needed to find a wreck kilometres beneath the sea, as well as the moving human stories that lie behind each of these oceanic tragedies. Part detective story, part history and part deep ocean adventure, The Shipwreck Hunter is a unique insight into a hidden, underwater world.
Darwin's Submarine I-124
Author: Tom Lewis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780957735194
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 182
Book Description
The first attacks on Australia by the Japanese were made by four submarines of the Sixth Submarine Squadron of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Together, these 80-man boats laid mines, and then waited in their killing zones for targets to torpedo. On 20 January 1942, it all went horribly wrong. Sunk with all hands, the submarine I-124 remains outside Darwin today, testimony to bravery but also to folly. Avonmore Books' new edition of a 1990s work features new and improved graphics, a host of photographs, and the complete story of the submarine action and events through the decades beyond - for the sunken vessel did not lie easy. Code seekers, treasure hunters, and potential salvors eventually led to the formation of the Historic Shipwrecks Act.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780957735194
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 182
Book Description
The first attacks on Australia by the Japanese were made by four submarines of the Sixth Submarine Squadron of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Together, these 80-man boats laid mines, and then waited in their killing zones for targets to torpedo. On 20 January 1942, it all went horribly wrong. Sunk with all hands, the submarine I-124 remains outside Darwin today, testimony to bravery but also to folly. Avonmore Books' new edition of a 1990s work features new and improved graphics, a host of photographs, and the complete story of the submarine action and events through the decades beyond - for the sunken vessel did not lie easy. Code seekers, treasure hunters, and potential salvors eventually led to the formation of the Historic Shipwrecks Act.