Sad footnotes: When Kormoran met and resupplied from Kumerland she transferred the crew members captured from the last couple of ships she sank. The Kumerland was a blockade runner going to Germany from Japan. She reached the north Atlantic only to be sunk by U333 in a " friendly fire" incident. Most of the prisoners were lost. At least 1 crew member of Sydney did get off the ship. His remains were found washed ashore in a Carley float on Christmas Island about 3 months after the battle. He had no identification and was buried there as "unknown. In 2021 SNA identified him as Able Seaman Thomas Welsby Clarke from HMAS Sydney.
The German surface raiders of WWII are an exceedingly interesting subject to know about. They caused trouble for Allied Shipping while they existed. But eventually they disappeared. Likely because they weren't seen as effective in the long run. Or that's what I think. Great video.
It's amazing because they really paid for themselves multiple times over between the tonnage sank/captured. I wouldn't say they weren't effective more just that by later in the war the Allies had far more resources to hunt down any raiders if found so they wouldn't last too long.
There were a handful spreadout as the war started. As they were lost, it was very hard to replace them because it was difficult to get them out in the ocean.
David Mearns, the explorer and deep-sea salvage expert who found the Sydney, was able to figure out why there were no survivors from HMAS Sydney. He put the loss down to the very first torpedo hit that struck Sydney underneath A and B-turrets as the cause, positing that the explosion fatally weakened the ship's keel. As Sydney was limping away from the battle, the weather began to turn and the sea became choppy, causing Sydney's weakened keel to snap and the entire bow to break off just in front of A-turret. The ship likely then sank in under five minutes. Only one man, Able Seaman Thomas Welsby Clark, got off Sydney before the end. His body, partially mummified and bearing shrapnel wounds and head injuries, washed ashore on Christmas Island, in a heavily damaged Carley float, in February 1942.
Nice video. Please note, that the raider "Penguin" laid mines in Australian waters too. Komet used the little whaling hunter captured by Penguin beforehand to lay mines around NZ. The Penguin was the most successful raider of WW2. Thanks to his brilliant Captain Ernst-Felix Krüder.
@@rob5944 Sydney had fire control, greater range and modern armament and was faster. It would have been easy to request ID from a greater range or use the seaplane to spot the raider and sink the German ship with torpedos or Gunfire. Maybe the Germans used distress signals or other deception. At the end of the day, the British report stated that the loss was due to the captain not following standing orders when approaching unidentified ships. Also, Sydney was not at battle/action stations (according to witness reports) although all main guns were armed and manned.
On paper the Sydney was clearly the favourite against the Kormoran in a traditional naval battle but what happened out there wasn’t a fight…. It’s been argued since the news of Sydney’s sinking first broke and it’ll be argued most likely forever more…why Captain Burnett allowed the Sydney to end up so close to the Kormoran is either here nor there. This wasn’t a battle, it was a brutal mugging in a dark alley.
My Grandmother''s Brother was onboard HMAS Sydney when it sunk. He was Leading Seaman James Herbert Greenwood. Gave his life for our country. He was 19.
My uncle was on the Mareeba which was sunk by the Kormoran all on board were taken aboard the raider. He was passed on to two ships eventually bound for Germany but unfortunately was accidently sunk by a U-boat in the north Atlantic.
This video is awsome, and definitely will be something that I will be mentioning when my video on this topic. Ever sense I found the channel you definitely have not disappointed. Please keep up the great work.
Those guns on the German AMC were rather old models. They weren't intended to defend against modern cruiser or destroyers, more to sunk merchant vessels.
Kormoran had six 15 cm guns ( 6×1, broadside of 4) build in 1916 range 18000 m, Sydney had eight 6 inch guns Mark xxiii (8×2, broadside of 8) range 23.500 m.
@@Werderbremen556 Also hätte Sydney bequem außerhalb der maximalen Reichweite der Kormoran bleiben können. Ich meine, dass die Aussage, dass man sich nicht auf nicht ein Gefecht mit modernen Einheiten einlassen will, außer auf kurze Entfernung. Die Aussage stammt entweder von Weyher (Orion) oder Eyssen (Komet), als ein brit. Zerstörer sich zu sehr für sie interessierte. Denn die Feuerleitung auf einem modernen Kriegsschiff ist, der auf einem Handelskreuzer überlegen.
@@EK-gr9gd Der Untergang der Sydney mit der gesamten Besatzung ist ausschließlich auf die inkompetente Führung ihres Kommandanten Captain Burnett zurückzuführen. Er näherte sich trotz Warnung vor deutschen Raidern einem verdächtigen Schiff bis auf Kernschußweite von 2 Km mit einem nicht gefechtsklaren Schiff eigenen Schiff, unter anderem waren Sydneys 6 inch Türme in Nullstellung, d.h. mittschiffs und nicht auf Kormoran gerichtet. Sich des eigenen Vorteils der größeren Reichweite und erheblich höheren Geschwindigkeit beraubend ließ er sich von Kormorans Kommandanten FK Dettmers der in seiner Verzweiflung über das Treffen mit einem so hoch überlegenen Kreuzer alle erlaubten Tricks anwendete um sein Schiff in eine günstige Gefechtsposition zu bringen , in diese Lage locken. Nur 3 Tage später, am 22.11.1941 traf der britische schwere Kreuzer HMS Devonshire im südlichen Atlantik auf den Hilfskreuzer Atlantis . Außerhalb der Reichweite der alten 15 cm Kanonen der Atlantis manövrierend versenkte er diesen mit seinen 8 inch ( 20,3 cm ) Kanonen.
The fact that this channel can't even get the right ocean right in their title probably speaks volumes about their attention to detail. I shall give it a miss.
It is staggering what the Germans achieved with their raiding fleet. Until watching this I was unaware of the extraordinary durations and distances they travelled.
My Grandfather Lester Marks served on many Australian ships in WW2. He was on ships that sunk in the coral seas. Lucky to be alive as many picked off by sharks around him. He served on the Sydney earlier but transferred.
Great video! I would be interested to know details about how these raiders were disguised, and also the procedures in such cases. You imagine that if there are suspicions about a vessel someone on the HMAS vessel is scanning the suspect ship with binoculars, even if they are just checking for contraband being jettisoned over the side - with that, are the guns and torpedo tubes really well camouflaged? But also does the HMAS ship have its weapons loaded and pointed at the suspect ship - you would have to think that they would be the first to fire when the rouse is discovered; firing the guns on a warship must be quicker than removing disguises from guns and then aiming. The Australians contributed so much to the effort in WWII, this is of course a sad story, but it is good to see a reminder of the part Australia played in the conflict.
Off course German auxiliary cruisers were ready to be scanned by binoculars, they were disguised with much focus on details with different clothing for the sailors - even including "blackfacing" when playing a crew from India or something.
I wouldn't trust the German version of when they opened fire too much. You think those same sailors watching with binoculars wouldn't notice a flag come down and a German flag go up. I have no doubt they opened fire before any German flag was raised. That said the Sydney captain was completely to blame. Complete idiot.
the captain of the sydney must have come to the fatal conclusion that he was dealing with a supply ship for the raider rather then the actual raider itself. That is why they were far too close to the enemy ship. And the guns of Sydney were propably pointing on the lifeboats of the other ship. Disable them and the crew can´t scuttle the ship and escape. Supply ships have valuable information on board that can be used to find the actual raider.
The Sydney must’ve been the most incompetent ship in maritime history. A mismatch of epic proportions, an inexcusable performance by the Australian Navy.
Yr videos are a perfect example of why the military has to be reformed, to get rid of the mustache pete lifer generals before the next war starts. We won't have time to get rid of them and their constant mistakes. This admiral, who couldn't figure out that all his ships needed a common recognition signals to identify FOF, is a perfect example.
Note: The picture with sailors from Sydney posing around and in the forward funnel shellhole was taken after Capo Spada Battle, when the light Italian Criuser Bande Nere hit through the funnel, luckely for AHMS Sidney.
@@amsuther Correct, the battle took place about 100 nautical miles( ~ 200 km ) off Dirk Hartog island, sharks bay, Western Australia which is in the indian ocean
German military, although ultimately unsuccessful, had a knack for punching well above their weight in both world wars. Other raiders stories are interesting as well - the Komet, mentioned in the beginning of the video, has crippled the production of fertilizers for decades to come
I still don't get why a german shipyard in the interwar period built a ship for a german company and named it Steriermark. Because that is one of the oldest austrian areas still under the same name ect. It first became a duchy in the middle ages and later on a crownland of Austria, later Austria Hungary. And after WW1 it became a federal state of austria, which it still is today. Steiermark has one of he oldest still used and almost unaltered coat of arms. (I think since 1182 or so when the first written description is dated or so) For the brief period austria was part of germany between 38 and 45 the area was actually named differently by the Nazis. But at least if "performed" like the original name would suggest. ;-) There's an old dialect saying in styria (Steirmark) "Steirerblut ist kein Himbeersaft" =styrian blood is no raspberry juice. Which means: not easily drawn, does not taste sweet and doesn't go down easily.
The Captain of the Sydney must have come to the wrong conclussion that he was dealing with a supply ship for the raider. The supply ship has important information on board that can be used to find the actual raider. So it was important not to sink the enemy ship but instead aim the guns at the lifeboats so that the crew could not simply scuttle the ship and use the lifeboats. But they where actually dealing with the raider itself. So now they where too close to the enemy ship. And the crew on the enemy was actually not busy scuttling the ship but instead they were busy deploying their hidden guns and torpedo tubes
She was in remarkably good condition. She hit the bottom more or less upright and intact, and the damage that can be seen matched very well with Kapitan Detmers' description of the battle.
@@derrickdinwiddie8759 Many of the officers were dead in the first moments of the battle when the bridge was hit. The Germans stated there were also many casualties as the crew tried to man the secondary guns. Being on deck was asking to be killed by the German AA guns. Not to mention being under continued close range fire by 6 inch guns which would have overmatched the cruiser's light armour. Also the ship was still burning even as she passed out of range so any survivors may have been trapped below deck not to mention all the ships boats had battle damage. The was one crew member who made it off on a float and he was found dead months later. They only figured out who he was recently using DNA matching. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Welsby_Clark#:~:text=20%20February%201941.-,Formal%20identification,80th%20anniversary%20of%20the%20battle.
Rather unfortunate for HMAS Sydney that she got so close to Kormoran. She'd have done to Kormoran, what she did to Bartolomeo Colleoni, had she been more distant.
It is difficult to take this video seriously, when the title describes this as an "Encounter in the Pacific, 1941" when it took place off the Western Australian coastline? When I did geography at school, that was the INDIAN OCEAN, not the Pacific! 👎🏻
When talking ships, you only mention speed in knots, not miles or kilometres per hour. Your drawing of her is wrong too 8:25. She had Twin funnels, not as shown.
Well, beside the facts that the "heavy armament" were old torpedos from WW1 and 15cm-guns, also from ww1, this is a quite adequate explanation. The germans outsmarted the australians, lured them in and nuked them. Only ONE hit in the engine room destroyed Kormoran, Sadly, this hit was deadly. Otherwise, the raider would have sunk the cruiser and escape. Damned.
Captain Burnett approached the Kormaran far too closely and should have stayed out of the range of Kormorans guns which Sydney easily could have done as Sydney out gunned Kormoran from long range. But Burnett was deceived by Kormoran thinking it wasn’t a military ship. Should ships not wearing their correct colours be treated as “spies” as would be the case of individual soldiers? If so there could be a case for execution or punishment as spies.
If your still wondering, today's naval expert tell of the kormons shells, penetrating the Sydney belt due to close range. The shots would discombobulate the Sydney crew, and shrapnel bouncing everywhere. The kormom had the time to pre target the important components of the Sydney, the bridge, guns, coms, boiler, you name it. Also the machine gunners picked off much of the Sydney crew as they scrambled to there secondary and AA guns, not to mention the fires and smoke choking or burning the crew and the floods from the torpedoes. Lastly both ships drifted too far from each other and the kormom captain could not search for survivors as he would usually do, his life rafts were full enough.
@@Iberis_Haze I don't recall any commentator mistaking Baltic Sea if it happened in North Sea. We are talking Oceans as well. Indian and Pacific are not same, more than basic error
Technically, it's still correct. Shark Bay in Western Australia falls within the Pacific Theatre of war or the larger Pacific War. Australia falls within the South West Pacific Command of the Allies.
Why are you not bother with the correct flags? British merchant ships in WWII fly the Red Ensign, British war ships the White Ensign and a commerce raider as Kormoran when showing the correct flag should fly merchant flag, the swastika in a white circle on a red flag, but I admit it would fly the war flag/ Reichskriegsflagge . You made it easy for yourself just showing either the British war flag or the German. That is not accurate. The Australian Mareeba would fly the Australian Red Ensign from 1908 and not the White Ensign.
Yes, they were. Except those killed in the battle and by the capsizing of one of the rescue boats: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_auxiliary_cruiser_Kormoran
My grandfather was in both WW1 and WW2. In WW2, he was a member of the Western Australian Garrison. He was ordered to go to Geraldton. There he guarded the survivors of the Kormoran. He took the survivors to Perth by train. He told me that the survivors were arrogant Nazis.
Great effort. I wonder if you have read the Book written by Captain Dettmers. ? Written to help his cause. There is a big clue in the QQQ signal. It’s means Raider about. Dettmers had set fire to his ship to make it look like a Raider was nesrby. Even the Admiralty thought Kormoran had stopped and likely fired its underwater side launched electric no bubbles torpedo. Before it declared itself.
No. You could use a false flag all you wanted on the high seas to fake out your opponent, but just before actually firing your must raise your true flag. Those had been the rules of the road(sea) for centuries. This a totally textbook engagement by the Kriegsmarine, and one of their very few victories.
He had to otherwise it would have been a war crime. You are allowed to use fake flags in wartime but before an attack you have to show your true colours.
Great video. You didn't mention the Germans machine gunning Sydney's survivors ? A common rumor at the time. I cannot believe all of Sydney's crew went down with the ship. hj
✨Visit www.odoo.com/r/ObL to create your website for free today with @Odoo and experience the power of a truly intuitive management platform!
the real question is what happened to the Piano onboard the Kormoran and Detremer's Monkey
Sad footnotes: When Kormoran met and resupplied from Kumerland she transferred the crew members captured from the last couple of ships she sank. The Kumerland was a blockade runner going to Germany from Japan. She reached the north Atlantic only to be sunk by U333 in a " friendly fire" incident. Most of the prisoners were lost.
At least 1 crew member of Sydney did get off the ship. His remains were found washed ashore in a Carley float on Christmas Island about 3 months after the battle. He had no identification and was buried there as "unknown. In 2021 SNA identified him as Able Seaman Thomas Welsby Clarke from HMAS Sydney.
Wasn't that the Spreewald?
The German surface raiders of WWII are an exceedingly interesting subject to know about. They caused trouble for Allied Shipping while they existed. But eventually they disappeared. Likely because they weren't seen as effective in the long run. Or that's what I think. Great video.
It's amazing because they really paid for themselves multiple times over between the tonnage sank/captured. I wouldn't say they weren't effective more just that by later in the war the Allies had far more resources to hunt down any raiders if found so they wouldn't last too long.
There were a handful spreadout as the war started. As they were lost, it was very hard to replace them because it was difficult to get them out in the ocean.
@@theodoresmith5272---Okay. That's a good point.
@@legoeasycompany---Also a good point
@@theodoresmith5272 no german raider were outside german waters before the war started.
One of Best ww2 battle documentary channels out there
David Mearns, the explorer and deep-sea salvage expert who found the Sydney, was able to figure out why there were no survivors from HMAS Sydney. He put the loss down to the very first torpedo hit that struck Sydney underneath A and B-turrets as the cause, positing that the explosion fatally weakened the ship's keel. As Sydney was limping away from the battle, the weather began to turn and the sea became choppy, causing Sydney's weakened keel to snap and the entire bow to break off just in front of A-turret. The ship likely then sank in under five minutes. Only one man, Able Seaman Thomas Welsby Clark, got off Sydney before the end. His body, partially mummified and bearing shrapnel wounds and head injuries, washed ashore on Christmas Island, in a heavily damaged Carley float, in February 1942.
Keep on with the Navel Battles of WW2 Thank You for today story. I look forward to every episode
I like naval battle too that's why I subscribe this channel
Nice video. Please note, that the raider "Penguin" laid mines in Australian waters too. Komet used the little whaling hunter captured by Penguin beforehand to lay mines around NZ.
The Penguin was the most successful raider of WW2. Thanks to his brilliant Captain Ernst-Felix Krüder.
Thanks For this! Never miss a video!❤❤
Thanks for the continued support!
Unfortunately, the captain of HMAS Sydney made a fatal error in approaching an unknown vessel to close range. Rest in peace.
British manuals stated that Radiers could open fire at 16000 yards and that no unidentified ship was to be closely approached.
@@woodliceworm4565but the raiders guns were of a similar size, and presumably, range.
@@rob5944 Sydney had fire control, greater range and modern armament and was faster. It would have been easy to request ID from a greater range or use the seaplane to spot the raider and sink the German ship with torpedos or Gunfire. Maybe the Germans used distress signals or other deception. At the end of the day, the British report stated that the loss was due to the captain not following standing orders when approaching unidentified ships. Also, Sydney was not at battle/action stations (according to witness reports) although all main guns were armed and manned.
@@woodliceworm4565 yet she was slower to hit the target, this with a gunnery captain too. All I'm saying is the raider was no pushover.
On paper the Sydney was clearly the favourite against the Kormoran in a traditional naval battle but what happened out there wasn’t a fight….
It’s been argued since the news of Sydney’s sinking first broke and it’ll be argued most likely forever more…why Captain Burnett allowed the Sydney to end up so close to the Kormoran is either here nor there. This wasn’t a battle, it was a brutal mugging in a dark alley.
Amazing video as always!
Damn. They sunk each other.
Great Production. Thank you.
My Grandmother''s Brother was onboard HMAS Sydney when it sunk. He was Leading Seaman James Herbert Greenwood. Gave his life for our country. He was 19.
Love the naval videos!
My uncle was on the Mareeba which was sunk by the Kormoran all on board were taken aboard the raider. He was passed on to two ships eventually bound for Germany but unfortunately was accidently sunk by a U-boat in the north Atlantic.
This video is awsome, and definitely will be something that I will be mentioning when my video on this topic. Ever sense I found the channel you definitely have not disappointed. Please keep up the great work.
This is such a bad ass story. I can't hear it often enough.
Tha animation used is brilliant. I’m a big fan. These videos are great. Many thanks.
Those guns on the German AMC were rather old models. They weren't intended to defend against modern cruiser or destroyers, more to sunk merchant vessels.
15cm from ww1 era Battleships secondary artillery. Not modern but same caliber as a light cruiser plus the gun crews were top notch.
@Dilley_G45 Only at a short distance.
Kormoran had six 15 cm guns ( 6×1, broadside of 4) build in 1916 range 18000 m, Sydney had eight 6 inch guns Mark xxiii (8×2, broadside of 8) range 23.500 m.
@@Werderbremen556
Also hätte Sydney bequem außerhalb der maximalen Reichweite der Kormoran bleiben können.
Ich meine, dass die Aussage, dass man sich nicht auf nicht ein Gefecht mit modernen Einheiten einlassen will, außer auf kurze Entfernung. Die Aussage stammt entweder von Weyher (Orion) oder Eyssen (Komet), als ein brit. Zerstörer sich zu sehr für sie interessierte.
Denn die Feuerleitung auf einem modernen Kriegsschiff ist, der auf einem Handelskreuzer überlegen.
@@EK-gr9gd Der Untergang der Sydney mit der gesamten Besatzung ist ausschließlich auf die inkompetente Führung ihres Kommandanten Captain Burnett zurückzuführen. Er näherte sich trotz Warnung vor deutschen Raidern einem verdächtigen Schiff bis auf Kernschußweite von 2 Km mit einem nicht gefechtsklaren Schiff eigenen Schiff, unter anderem waren Sydneys 6 inch Türme in Nullstellung, d.h. mittschiffs und nicht auf Kormoran gerichtet. Sich des eigenen Vorteils der größeren Reichweite und erheblich höheren Geschwindigkeit beraubend ließ er sich von Kormorans Kommandanten FK Dettmers der in seiner Verzweiflung über das Treffen mit einem so hoch überlegenen Kreuzer alle erlaubten Tricks anwendete um sein Schiff in eine günstige Gefechtsposition zu bringen , in diese Lage locken. Nur 3 Tage später, am 22.11.1941 traf der britische schwere Kreuzer HMS Devonshire im südlichen Atlantik auf den Hilfskreuzer Atlantis . Außerhalb der Reichweite der alten 15 cm Kanonen der Atlantis manövrierend versenkte er diesen mit seinen 8 inch ( 20,3 cm ) Kanonen.
The title is incorrect. This battle occurred off the coast of Western Australia in the Indian Ocean.
Correct..
To my knowledge
It downgrades the validity of your story if you can"t even get the name of the ocean the battle was fought in, in the title correct.
The fact that this channel can't even get the right ocean right in their title probably speaks volumes about their attention to detail. I shall give it a miss.
Thanks for doing this video. ❤
It is staggering what the Germans achieved with their raiding fleet. Until watching this I was unaware of the extraordinary durations and distances they travelled.
Super wonderful historical coverage video...thanks for 🙏 sharing..( house 🏠 of history)
This was very interesting video and good 2 hear / learn about sea warfare. From Belfast northern ireland😢
My Grandfather Lester Marks served on many Australian ships in WW2. He was on ships that sunk in the coral seas. Lucky to be alive as many picked off by sharks around him. He served on the Sydney earlier but transferred.
the real question is what happened to the Piano onboard the Kormoran
They found the Sydney as soon as they stopped discarding the German report of the position of the sinking. Until then they just poked around.
Great video! I would be interested to know details about how these raiders were disguised, and also the procedures in such cases. You imagine that if there are suspicions about a vessel someone on the HMAS vessel is scanning the suspect ship with binoculars, even if they are just checking for contraband being jettisoned over the side - with that, are the guns and torpedo tubes really well camouflaged? But also does the HMAS ship have its weapons loaded and pointed at the suspect ship - you would have to think that they would be the first to fire when the rouse is discovered; firing the guns on a warship must be quicker than removing disguises from guns and then aiming.
The Australians contributed so much to the effort in WWII, this is of course a sad story, but it is good to see a reminder of the part Australia played in the conflict.
Off course German auxiliary cruisers were ready to be scanned by binoculars, they were disguised with much focus on details with different clothing for the sailors - even including "blackfacing" when playing a crew from India or something.
I wouldn't trust the German version of when they opened fire too much. You think those same sailors watching with binoculars wouldn't notice a flag come down and a German flag go up. I have no doubt they opened fire before any German flag was raised. That said the Sydney captain was completely to blame. Complete idiot.
the captain of the sydney must have come to the fatal conclusion that he was dealing with a supply ship for the raider rather then the actual raider itself. That is why they were far too close to the enemy ship. And the guns of Sydney were propably pointing on the lifeboats of the other ship. Disable them and the crew can´t scuttle the ship and escape. Supply ships have valuable information on board that can be used to find the actual raider.
Thanks
Mistake in the title.
The battle happened in the Indian Ocean, not the Pacific.
briliant👍👍👍
MY NIGHTMARES ARE COMING BACK TO ME, NOT SYDNEY NOOOO (but on a serious note rest in peace all those soldiers that passed)
The blue-print drawing around minute 8 45 sec is a LEANDER Frigate of the late 1960’s!
The Sydney must’ve been the most incompetent ship in maritime history. A mismatch of epic proportions, an inexcusable performance by the Australian Navy.
This event happened in the Indian Ocean, and not in the Pacific as you claimed.........
Sydney's B turret was not blown overboard as is clear by the examination of the wreck. It did explode but remained in place.
All that was missing were grappling hooks and cutlasses in the teeth. An 18th or 19th century type of battle, with 20th century vessels.
Theodor Detmers Salute to the SMAS Sydney.
There should be a video about the WW 2 German Raider Atlantis.
Yr videos are a perfect example of why the military has to be reformed, to get rid of the mustache pete lifer generals before the next war starts. We won't have time to get rid of them and their constant mistakes.
This admiral, who couldn't figure out that all his ships needed a common recognition signals to identify FOF, is a perfect example.
I remember hearing that Kormoran was a Q ship with sliding or dropping hatches on the side of the ship that covered the guns for surprise engagments
Can you do a video on OPERATION PEDASTAL
Still waiting for Jutland
Warship hides her identity as a peaceful cargo ship
Brilliant! absolutely brilliant
Note: The picture with sailors from Sydney posing around and in the forward funnel shellhole was taken after Capo Spada Battle, when the light Italian Criuser Bande Nere hit through the funnel, luckely for AHMS Sidney.
I thought this battle was in the Indian Ocean?
It was...this title should read The HMAS Sydney-HSK Kormoran Encounter in the Indian Ocean, 1941
@@amsuther Correct, the battle took place about 100 nautical miles( ~ 200 km ) off Dirk Hartog island, sharks bay, Western Australia which is in the indian ocean
So the Aus ship couldn’t radio or message for help? Also no lifeboats launched?
Stille Helden!
German military, although ultimately unsuccessful, had a knack for punching well above their weight in both world wars.
Other raiders stories are interesting as well - the Komet, mentioned in the beginning of the video, has crippled the production of fertilizers for decades to come
… Encounter in the Pacific??
I still don't get why a german shipyard in the interwar period built a ship for a german company and named it Steriermark. Because that is one of the oldest austrian areas still under the same name ect.
It first became a duchy in the middle ages and later on a crownland of Austria, later Austria Hungary.
And after WW1 it became a federal state of austria, which it still is today. Steiermark has one of he oldest still used and almost unaltered coat of arms. (I think since 1182 or so when the first written description is dated or so)
For the brief period austria was part of germany between 38 and 45 the area was actually named differently by the Nazis.
But at least if "performed" like the original name would suggest. ;-) There's an old dialect saying in styria (Steirmark) "Steirerblut ist kein Himbeersaft" =styrian blood is no raspberry juice.
Which means: not easily drawn, does not taste sweet and doesn't go down easily.
Hervorragender Komentar!
Anschluss and for Austrian Pride
Indian Ocean NOT Pacific.
Wouldn’t have happened if Collin’s was still Captain!
The Captain of the Sydney must have come to the wrong conclussion that he was dealing with a supply ship for the raider.
The supply ship has important information on board that can be used to find the actual raider.
So it was important not to sink the enemy ship but instead aim the guns at the lifeboats so that the crew could not simply scuttle the ship and use the lifeboats.
But they where actually dealing with the raider itself. So now they where too close to the enemy ship.
And the crew on the enemy was actually not busy scuttling the ship but instead they were busy deploying their hidden guns and torpedo tubes
wow, I though I knew enough about the Nazi Navy but I never heard of their raider ships.
In what shape was Sydney when discovered? Did they figure out what happened to it?
It sunk'd
She was in remarkably good condition. She hit the bottom more or less upright and intact, and the damage that can be seen matched very well with Kapitan Detmers' description of the battle.
@@sundoga4961 interesting... wonder why they weren't able to get off the ship or radio for help...
@@derrickdinwiddie8759 Many of the officers were dead in the first moments of the battle when the bridge was hit. The Germans stated there were also many casualties as the crew tried to man the secondary guns. Being on deck was asking to be killed by the German AA guns. Not to mention being under continued close range fire by 6 inch guns which would have overmatched the cruiser's light armour. Also the ship was still burning even as she passed out of range so any survivors may have been trapped below deck not to mention all the ships boats had battle damage. The was one crew member who made it off on a float and he was found dead months later. They only figured out who he was recently using DNA matching.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Welsby_Clark#:~:text=20%20February%201941.-,Formal%20identification,80th%20anniversary%20of%20the%20battle.
R.I.P BRAVE SOUL'S
Rather unfortunate for HMAS Sydney that she got so close to Kormoran. She'd have done to Kormoran, what she did to Bartolomeo Colleoni, had she been more distant.
If i may ask can you do a video of the last stand of USS Laffey i forgot the DD number but the one thar got sunk by IJN Kirishima
Sydney-Kormoran Encounter in the INDIAN OCEAN.
It happened in the billy ocean.
Este canal é oriundo do BAZ BATTLES?
Muito semelhante a dinâmica de ambos.
It is difficult to take this video seriously, when the title describes this as an "Encounter in the Pacific, 1941" when it took place off the Western Australian coastline? When I did geography at school, that was the INDIAN OCEAN, not the Pacific! 👎🏻
When talking ships, you only mention speed in knots, not miles or kilometres per hour. Your drawing of her is wrong too 8:25. She had Twin funnels, not as shown.
Thought he said Liuetenant Commander Ant And Dec Ers
Aah, there is a difference between the Pacific and Indian Oceans!
Well, beside the facts that the "heavy armament" were old torpedos from WW1 and 15cm-guns, also from ww1, this is a quite adequate explanation.
The germans outsmarted the australians, lured them in and nuked them.
Only ONE hit in the engine room destroyed Kormoran, Sadly, this hit was deadly. Otherwise, the raider would have sunk the cruiser and escape. Damned.
I miss the face cam videos with map footage sporadically.
Captain Burnett approached the Kormaran far too closely and should have stayed out of the range of Kormorans guns which Sydney easily could have done as Sydney out gunned Kormoran from long range. But Burnett was deceived by Kormoran thinking it wasn’t a military ship.
Should ships not wearing their correct colours be treated as “spies” as would be the case of individual soldiers? If so there could be a case for execution or punishment as spies.
This battle took place in the Indian Ocean, not the Pacific.
Odoo hmmnarrrr
I did a diorama about that battle. It’s on my channel here, on RUclips
lol this dude said "bow" instead of "bow"
Also at one stage he said Frymantle, not Fremantle!
So what exactly happened to the Sydney? Why were there no survivors?
No, none.
Due to there being no survivors it was rather hard to ask anyone what happened.
See answer from @elennapointer701 above.
If your still wondering, today's naval expert tell of the kormons shells, penetrating the Sydney belt due to close range. The shots would discombobulate the Sydney crew, and shrapnel bouncing everywhere. The kormom had the time to pre target the important components of the Sydney, the bridge, guns, coms, boiler, you name it. Also the machine gunners picked off much of the Sydney crew as they scrambled to there secondary and AA guns, not to mention the fires and smoke choking or burning the crew and the floods from the torpedoes.
Lastly both ships drifted too far from each other and the kormom captain could not search for survivors as he would usually do, his life rafts were full enough.
One guy did make it in the life boat but was found dead.
Need to change your title. Not pacific as that’s the east coast of Australia. West coast of western Australia is the Indian Ocean.
I believe Mike Brady from OC designs did a major documentary on this story months ago. It was an fantastic production as this video was.
Encounter in the Pacific? You can’t even get the geography right. The west coast of Australia is the Indian Ocean.
Probably just a mistake
@@Iberis_Haze Big mistake if you can’t get the location correct.
@@Iberis_Haze
I don't recall any commentator mistaking Baltic Sea if it happened in North Sea.
We are talking Oceans as well. Indian and Pacific are not same, more than basic error
Technically, it's still correct. Shark Bay in Western Australia falls within the Pacific Theatre of war or the larger Pacific War. Australia falls within the South West Pacific Command of the Allies.
@@marvinm8343
Technically Pacific War hasn't started either
Why are you not bother with the correct flags? British merchant ships in WWII fly the Red Ensign, British war ships the White Ensign and a commerce raider as Kormoran when showing the correct flag should fly merchant flag, the swastika in a white circle on a red flag, but I admit it would fly the war flag/ Reichskriegsflagge . You made it easy for yourself just showing either the British war flag or the German. That is not accurate. The Australian Mareeba would fly the Australian Red Ensign from 1908 and not the White Ensign.
The Germans were rescued or not ?
Yes, they were. Except those killed in the battle and by the capsizing of one of the rescue boats:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_auxiliary_cruiser_Kormoran
@@thorstenreich1280 thank you
My grandfather was in both WW1 and WW2. In WW2, he was a member of the Western Australian Garrison. He was ordered to go to Geraldton. There he guarded the survivors of the Kormoran. He took the survivors to Perth by train. He told me that the survivors were arrogant Nazis.
Encounter in the Indian Ocean*
Not Pacific, Indian Ocean
This was a sad one. I don’t like the videos, as much, when the allies lose.
Heading is incorrect INDIAN OCEAN !!!! I have gone no further
Great effort. I wonder if you have read the Book written by Captain Dettmers. ? Written to help his cause.
There is a big clue in the QQQ signal. It’s means Raider about. Dettmers had set fire to his ship to make it look like a Raider was nesrby. Even the Admiralty thought Kormoran had stopped and likely fired its underwater side launched electric no bubbles torpedo. Before it declared itself.
Im English. I don't use metric at all. Please use proper imperial . 🇬🇧
Detmers was a fool for raising the Kriegsmarine Ensign. There was too much on the line. The Anglos play to win and they play dirty.
No. You could use a false flag all you wanted on the high seas to fake out your opponent, but just before actually firing your must raise your true flag. Those had been the rules of the road(sea) for centuries. This a totally textbook engagement by the Kriegsmarine, and one of their very few victories.
He had to otherwise it would have been a war crime. You are allowed to use fake flags in wartime but before an attack you have to show your true colours.
The weakness of Australian navy they don't keep distance.
Great video. You didn't mention the Germans machine gunning Sydney's survivors ? A common rumor at the time. I cannot believe all of Sydney's crew went down with the ship. hj
why should they rescue crews from other ships and then kill the survivors from a australian cruiser? makes no sense.
I do not believe the official story.