German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use Oxford spelling Template:Use dmy dates
Template:Infobox ship imageTemplate:Infobox ship careerTemplate:Infobox ship careerTemplate:Infobox ship characteristicsThe German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran (HSK-8)Template:Efn was a Template:Lang (German navy) merchant raider of World War II. Originally the merchant vessel Template:Lang (Template:Lit), the ship was acquired by the navy following the outbreak of war for conversion into a raider. Administered under the designation Template:Lang (Template:Lit), to the Allied navies she was known as Raider G. The largest merchant raider operated by Germany during World War II, Kormoran (Template:Lit) was responsible for the destruction of 10 merchant vessels and the capture of an 11th during her year-long career in the Atlantic and Indian oceans.
She is also known for sinking the Australian light cruiser Template:HMAS during a mutually destructive battle off Western Australia on 19 November 1941. Damage sustained during the battle prompted the scuttling of Kormoran. While 318 of the 399 aboard the German ship were rescuedTemplate:Efn and placed in prisoner of war camps for the remainder of World War II, and then for almost two further years after the war with Germany had ended, there were no survivors from the 645 aboard the Australian cruiser. The wreck of Kormoran was rediscovered on 12 March 2008, four days before that of her adversary.
KormoranTemplate:'s success against HMAS Sydney is commonly attributed to the proximity of the two ships during the engagement, and the raider's advantages of surprise and rapid, accurate fire. Prior to the discovery of the wrecks in 2008, the cruiser's loss with all hands compared to the survival of most of the German crew created controversy and spawned numerous conspiracy theories; some alleged that the German commander, Theodor Detmers, used illegal ruses to lure Sydney into range, others that a Japanese submarine was involved, or that details of the battle were concealed through a wide-ranging coverup. None of these claims have ever been substantiated by any evidence.
Construction and conversion
[edit]The merchant vessel Template:Lang was constructed by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel for the Hamburg-Amerika Line. Launched in 1938, the ship was to operate on the East Asia run, but had completed only sea trials when war was declared.<ref name=Frame45>Template:Harvp</ref>
Following World War I, German naval power had limits placed upon it by the Treaty of Versailles, which were later eased by the 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement.<ref name=Frame41.4>Template:Harvp</ref> By the 1930s, the discrepancy between the conventional warship strength of Germany and that of other nations led the German military to recognize that auxiliary cruisers engaged in commerce raiding could play a significant role in future wars, as they had during World War I.<ref name=Frame41.4/> Merchant ships that could be converted into raiders were identified, and were to be taken up by the Template:Lang for conversion following a declaration of war.<ref name=Frame44>Template:Harvp</ref>
Template:Lang was one of these ships.<ref name=Frame45/> Receiving the designation Template:Lang (Template:Lit) for administrative purposes, she was taken into dockyard hands following the outbreak of World War II.<ref name=Frame45/><ref name=Winter13/> Conversion of the merchant ship commenced in early 1940, and was prioritized as second only to work on the U-boat fleet.<ref name=Frame47/> The conversion work included installation of camouflaged weapons, fitting of bunks for the sailors, creation of internal passageways leading to their stations.<ref name=Frame47/> Prisoner accommodation, consisting of an open area for hammocks and facilities to keep ship's masters and women separate from the general population, were constructed.<ref name=Frame47/> The raider was also provided with equipment with which to modify her appearance and allow her to masquerade as other merchant vessels.<ref name=Frame47/> While the ship was being refitted, her future crew underwent training aboard the blockade runner Monte Pascoal.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
Template:Lang (Lieutenant Commander) Theodor Detmers was selected to command Template:Lang in July 1940; the 37-year-old was the youngest man to command a German merchant raider.<ref name=Winter13/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Detmers named the ship Kormoran, inspired by Template:SMS (a Russian merchant ship captured by the Germans during World War I and operated as a raider) and the cormorant (with Detmers comparing the seabird's use in fishing to his ship's attempts in catching Allied vessels).<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> After a successful trials cruise in September 1940, Kormoran was commissioned on 9 October.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
Design
[edit]Kormoran was one of nineTemplate:Efn civilian ships taken up by the German Navy for conversion into merchant raiders; they were referred to alternately as Template:Lang (auxiliary cruisers) and Template:Lang (Template:Lit).<ref name=Frame275.7>Template:Harvp</ref> She was the largest of the raiders, and the most recently constructed when she was taken up for modification.<ref name=Winter13>Template:Harvp</ref> After modification, Kormoran was Template:Convert long and Template:Convert wide, with a gross register tonnage of 8,736.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> She was propelled by four 9-cylinder diesel engines driving electric motors, which could propel the ship at Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
[[File:Bud-Ergankystfort-HH-08.JPG|thumb|A [[15 cm SK L/45|Template:Convert SK L/45]] gun at Bud, Norway]] The raider was fitted with six [[15 cm SK L/45|Template:Convert SK L/45]] guns as primary armament: two each within the forecastle ("1" and "2") and quarterdeck ("5" and "6"), and one each fore and aft ("3" and "4" respectively) on the centreline.<ref name=Frame46>Template:Harvp</ref> These guns were Template:Nowrap; gun "3" had been removed from the battlecruiser Template:SMS in 1916.<ref name=Frame46/> The forecastle and quarterdeck guns were hidden behind counter-weighted false hull plates, while each centreline gun was concealed by fake cargo hatch walls.<ref name=Frame46/>
The secondary armament consisted of five Template:Convert anti-aircraft guns:<ref name=Frame46/> two on the forecastle, two on the after funnel deck, and the fifth in the quarterdeck.<ref name=Frame46/> All five were hidden by the structure of the ship until they were raised clear on hydraulic platforms.<ref name=Frame46/> There were plans to fit four Template:Convert anti-aircraft guns, but only two ex-army anti-tank guns could be scrounged; these were installed on KormoranTemplate:'s superstructure, hidden by sheet metal panels.<ref name=Frame46/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Kormoran was also equipped with six torpedo tubes: two dual launchers on the upper deck, and a single underwater tube on each side.<ref name=Frame46/> The underwater tubes were amidships, angled at 135° from the bow, and could only be fired if the raider was travelling at less than Template:Convert.<ref name=Frame46/> Kormoran carried a payload of mines, with an LS-3 fast boat carried insideTemplate:Clarify No. 6 cargo hatch for minelaying.<ref name=Frame47/> The raider carried two Arado Ar 196 floatplanes for reconnaissance.<ref name=Frame47>Template:Harvp</ref><ref name=Winter27>Template:Harvp</ref> Although Detmers wanted a catapult, such equipment would have spoiled any merchant ship disguise used by Kormoran; instead, the planes were stored inside No. 5 cargo hatch, and were launched and recovered from the water with hoists.<ref name=Frame47/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Mechanical problems, difficulties in moving the aircraft between the hatch and the water, plus a lack of opportunities meant that only seven flights were made during the ship's operational deployment.<ref name=Winter27/>
Operational history
[edit]Running the blockade
[edit]The day after commissioning, Kormoran sailed to Kiel, where she was provisioned for a 12-month voyage.<ref name=Frame51>Template:Harvp</ref> The raider then travelled to Template:Langr and underwent further trials of the ship's weapons, aircraft, and minelaying boat.<ref name=Frame51/> Despite a range of problems and defects, Detmers elected to repair problems at sea instead of taking the ship into dock and delaying their mission.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
The raider departed on 3 December, and once she cleared German waters on 10 December, her disguise was changed from a minesweeper to the Soviet freighter Template:Lang.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The Royal Navy had blockaded German waters at the start of the war, and Kormoran had to break through to reach her first patrol area.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> It was suggested that the raider either sail through the English Channel with support from captured French coastal batteries and the Template:Lang, or around the Faroe Islands. Detmers chose to travel north of Iceland and through the Denmark Strait before heading south.<ref name=Frame52.3/> The longer route was justified by its greater distance from British naval and aviation bases, and was thus less likely to be patrolled.<ref name=Frame52.3>Template:Harvp</ref> The raider reached the strait late in the evening of 12 December, passed through it under the cover of a heavy storm, and entered the Atlantic by the following midday without encountering any Allied ships.<ref name=Frame55>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
Atlantic Ocean
[edit]Having cleared the British blockade, KormoranTemplate:'s instructions were to search the Atlantic Ocean for targets of opportunity, then move to the Indian Ocean and seek out Allied merchant shipping, with additional orders to lay mines around one or more Allied ports in India or Australia.<ref name=Winter35>Template:Harvp</ref> Kormoran was also expected to replenish U-boats when ordered to do so, and carried extra torpedoes and spare parts.<ref name=Winter35/> The raider's first operational area was in the Atlantic, below latitude 40° north, which she crossed during the night of 19–20 December.<ref name=Frame55/> The German ship initially patrolled the western mid-Atlantic, outside the Pan-American Security Zone.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> During the first two weeks, the only ships spotted were merchant vessels flying the United States flag, which merchant raiders were forbidden to attack as they were still neutral.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
By 6 January 1941, Detmers was ready to relocate to a point west of the Mediterranean because of a lack of targets, but that afternoon, Kormoran encountered the 3,729-ton Greek freighter Antonis.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref name=Winter38>Template:Harvp</ref> The raider ordered the freighter to heave to and not send any wireless transmissions, and sent a boarding party over.<ref name=Frame57>Template:Harvp</ref> Antonis was armed with three British machine guns and loaded with 4,800 tons of Welsh coal.<ref name=Winter38/><ref name=Frame57/> Though Germany was not at war with Greece, the presence of Allied weapons and cargo allowed Detmers to sink her or take her as a prize.<ref name=Winter38/><ref name=Frame57/> As coal was of little use to the Template:Lang, the weapons, ammunition, and 29 crew were transferred to Kormoran, and the boarding party scuttled her at Template:Coord.<ref name=Frame57/><ref name=Winter39>Template:Harvp</ref> Admiralty notifications for raider activity gave an incorrect date and location for the attack, and initially attributed it to the raider Template:Ship.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Kormoran then headed southeast, avoiding the convoy routes from the Mediterranean to America and down the African coast, in order to seek vessels sailing alone and without warship escort.<ref name=Frame58>Template:Harvp</ref>
Before sunset on 18 January, smoke was spotted on the horizon, so Kormoran accelerated and altered course to pursue.<ref name=Frame58/> The source of the smoke was a tanker flying no flags, showing no lights, and zigzagging to thwart submarine attack, leading Detmers to conclude she was an Allied vessel.<ref name=Frame58/> With little time before the sun set and the likelihood the tanker would resist capture, Kormoran commenced fire at Template:Convert in an attempt to disable the ship.<ref name=Frame58/> When the third salvo hit, the merchantman broadcast a distress call, identifying herself as British Union and saying she was under attack by an unknown vessel at Template:Coord.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Firing continued until British Union directed a light towards Kormoran, which the Germans assumed was a surrender signal, but as the raider closed to Template:Convert, four shots were fired by the tanker.<ref name=Frame59>Template:Harvp</ref> All four missed, and heavy retaliatory fire from the raider set the merchant ship alight and forced the crew to abandon ship.<ref name=Frame59/> The decision was made to destroy the 6,987-ton tanker with a torpedo, although two torpedoes and shells from the raider's main guns were required to sink her, while a third torpedo exploded as soon as it cleared its safety distance and armed; Detmers later stated the quantity of ammunition used during the attempted capture was excessive for the result obtained.<ref name=Winter39/><ref name=Frame59/> The tanker's master, 27 sailors, and a pet monkey were recovered from two lifeboats as the tanker sank at Template:Coord, and the raider fled the area.<ref name=Frame59/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The distress call and glow from the fires attracted the attention of the armed merchant cruiser Template:HMS, which passed through the engagement site around midnight in pursuit, but failed to locate Kormoran, and returned that morning to collect a third lifeboat carrying seven survivors.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref name=Winter41>Template:Harvp</ref> These sailors stated their attacker had fired on the other two lifeboats, a claim not made by those rescued by the Germans.<ref name=Winter42>Template:Harvp</ref> The Allies initially assumed that Template:Ship was responsible, but after this was disproven, the Admiralty was unable to determine the identity of the attacker.<ref name=Frame60>Template:Harvp</ref>
Just after 1Template:Nbsppm on 29 January, Kormoran encountered a large merchantman which altered course on sighting the raider, but returned to her original heading after Kormoran made no aggressive moves.<ref name=Frame60/> Detmers instead waited until the distance between the ships had decreased before the raider altered course to intercept, dropped her camouflage, and ordered the merchantman to stop.<ref name=Frame60/> The ship did not comply, and after a warning shot elicited no response, Kormoran fired for effect.<ref name=Frame60/> A distress signal was transmitted but jammed by the raider, and after unsuccessfully trying to break away from the faster German ship, the merchant vessel came to a stop and ceased attempts to transmit.<ref name=Frame60/> The crew was ordered by signals from Kormoran to abandon ship, but the merchant sailors did not comply until after the raider resumed fire, having observed an attempt to man the ship's stern gun.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> A boarding party identified the victim as the 11,900-ton refrigerator ship Afric Star, carrying meat and butter to England.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The complicated configuration and damaged condition of Afric Star ruled against her capture as a prize ship; after confiscating code books and other vital documents, and recovering 76 people, including two women, attempts were made to scuttle her.<ref name=Frame61>Template:Harvp</ref> The merchantman refused to sink, and Kormoran had to use shells and torpedoes to send her to the bottom at Template:Coord.<ref name=Frame61/>
Later that day, lookouts aboard the raider spotted a merchant ship sailing without lights.<ref name=Frame61/> Sneaking up on the vessel, Kormoran opened fire; her first salvo missed, but within minutes, the target was heavily damaged and aflame.<ref name=Frame61/> The ship transmitted a distress signal, which Kormoran was unable to jam completely, but this ceased as crew members started to abandon ship.<ref name=Frame61/> The raider stopped firing, but resumed when the merchantman attempted another transmission, and shore stations responded.<ref name=Frame61/> Communications intercepts and the code books taken from Afric Star earlier that day revealed the target's identity: the 5,273-ton British freighter Eurylochus, with a cargo of bombers for the Gold Coast.<ref name=Frame61/> These intercepts also indicated that several parties, including the Air Ministry, were aware of the attack, prompting Detmers to order the torpedoing of Eurylochus.<ref name=Frame61/> This was accomplished with a single torpedo, sinking the British ship and her cargo at Template:Coord, three and a half hours after Afric Star.<ref name=Frame61/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> 39 Chinese and four British crew were recovered by the German raider before she fled the area with British warships Template:HMS and Template:HMS in pursuit.<ref name=Frame61/> Another 28 survivors were found by the Spanish merchant ship Monte Tiede later that night, with 10 men killed during the attack or lost at sea.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> EurylochusTemplate:' master was among those rescued by the Allies, and recounted that two ships had attacked, one of them armed with Template:Convert guns, which led British Naval Intelligence to conclude that the responsible ships were Thor and Template:Ship, or an unknown raider operating in concert with one of these.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Among the rescued was ship's gunner Frank Laskier who, on returning to England, was interviewed by BBC radio and proved so popular he became a figurehead for Merchant Navy enlistment propaganda for the rest of the war.<ref name=lane>Template:Harvp</ref>
After evading pursuit, Kormoran made for a point off the Cape Verde Islands, where she rendezvoused with the supply ship Template:Lang on 7 February.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> During a three-day replenishment operation, Kormoran topped up NordmarkTemplate:'s supply of spare U-boat parts with components brought from Germany, and transferred 170 of the 174 prisoners acquired so far.<ref name=Frame62>Template:Harvp</ref> The four Chinese sailors from Eurylochus were hired to stay aboard the raider as laundrymen, and the British Union crew left their pet monkey aboard as thanks for their treatment while in captivity.<ref name=Frame62/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> A piano was taken from NordmarkTemplate:'s companion Duquesa, a captured coal-burning ship that was to be scuttled when her fuel ran out, but Detmers warned that if the piano caused any problems among the crew, it would be pushed overboard.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
Kormoran left the rendezvous on 10 February and headed south.<ref name=Frame62/> During the transit, Detmers received a signal from Germany indicating that his ship had been awarded two First Class Iron Crosses, and 50 Second Class Iron Crosses, to be distributed as he saw fit.<ref name=Frame62/> Detmers transmitted a request on 18 February for WM-80 white metal (Babbitt (metal)), as the softer WM-10 used in bearings for two of the four diesel engines were wearing out too quickly.<ref name=Frame63>Template:Harvp</ref> Some metal was acquired from the raider Template:Ship on 25 February, but this was not enough to replace all the bearings.<ref name=Frame63/> On 15 March, Kormoran met Template:GS to transfer torpedoes, provisions, and spare parts, but rough seas forced the two vessels to head south, where they met Template:Ship a day later.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The raider's broken radar and a sailor with an eye injury were transferred to Template:Ship, but attempts to replenish the U-boat were again interrupted by bad weather, forcing the two vessels to relocate again.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The equipment transfer and refueling took another three days, during which crewmen from U-124 enjoyed the relatively luxurious facilities aboard Kormoran, and a sick sailor from the submarine was traded for a healthy man from the raider.<ref> Template:Harvp</ref>
Kormoran sailed north to the Freetown-South America shipping route, and began to patrol near where it intersected the border of the Pan-American Security Zone.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref name=Frame64/> On the morning of 22 March, the raider encountered a tanker, which identified herself as the British vessel Agnita.<ref name=Frame64>Template:Harvp</ref> Kormoran instructed her to stop and maintain wireless silence or be fired upon.<ref name=Frame64/> The tanker instead broke away and began to transmit a distress signal, which was jammed as Kormoran opened fire.<ref name=Frame64/> Agnita signaled surrender after two salvoes; 12 British and 25 Chinese sailors were captured, along with maps of the minefields surrounding Freetown Harbour.<ref name=Frame65>Template:Harvp</ref> Efforts to scuttle the tanker failed, and Kormoran had to waste another torpedo to sink the ship at Template:Coord.<ref name=Frame65/>
Against usual practice, Detmers decided to return to the site of the action three days later, where another tanker was spotted.<ref name=Frame65/> Kormoran revealed her weapons and fired a warning shot at the tanker, which initially attempted to flee but then chose to surrender when the morning mist lifted and revealed the nature of her attacker.<ref name=Frame65/> The 11,309-ton (German-built) Canadian tanker Template:Ship was taken as a prize ship, with a German crew taking the ship and her 44 sailors to Bordeaux, France, while the four officers were imprisoned aboard Kormoran.<ref name=Frame65/><ref name=Winter66>Template:Harvp</ref> After the captured tanker left, it was realised recognition signals to avoid Template:Lang attack had not been supplied, and Kormoran raced to meet the tanker when she rendezvoused with the supply ship Nordmark.<ref name=Winter66/> The raider met the supply ship on 27 March, but it appeared Canadolite had enough fuel to reach France and had chosen to sail straight there.<ref name=Winter67>Template:Harvp</ref> Two U-boats were scheduled to reach the rendezvous point for resupply; Detmers suggested he meet Template:GS, which was carrying more white metal for KormoranTemplate:'s engines, while Nordmark focused on Template:GS.<ref name=Winter67/> The commanding officer of U-105 agreed to transmit a warning to Germany regarding Canadolite once the U-boat had left the rendezvous point, which did not occur until six days later because of equipment problems delaying the replenishment.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The tanker arrived safely on 13 April, was renamed Template:Lang, and remained operational until her sinking by the Royal Air Force in 1944.<ref name=Winter73/><ref name="Manitoba" />
Kormoran was due to rendezvous with the tanker Template:Lang on 4 April, and had no opportunity to search for new targets.<ref name=Frame66>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The 42 prisoners from Kormoran were transferred to the Rudolf Albrecht, but as she was a civilian vessel, her master was sworn in by Detmers as a naval officer, and an armed guard had to be supplied.<ref name=Winter68.9>Template:Harvp</ref> Detmers ordered the transfer of four men from Nordmark to Rudolf Albrecht as guards, along with a fifth to Kormoran in exchange for the sick sailor taken from U-124 two weeks before.<ref name=Winter69/> The supply ship's commander attempted to obstruct the transfers, and then demanded replacements; one came from Kormoran, while three of the tanker's sailors were drafted.<ref name=Winter69>Template:Harvp</ref> Food, mail, and newspapers were received from Rudolf Albrecht, along with news that another three First Class Iron Crosses and 50 Second Class Iron Crosses had been awarded to Kormoran.<ref name=Winter68.9/>
Having returned to the waters off Freetown, Kormoran encountered a merchant ship at dawn on 9 April.<ref name=Frame66/> As the ship was behind Kormoran and on a similar course, the raider slowed until the merchantman was abeam of the raider and Template:Convert to port.<ref name=Frame66/> The German ship dropped her camouflage, increased speed, and ordered the freighter to stop or be fired upon.<ref name=Frame66/> In response, the merchantman attempted to transmit a distress call (which was jammed by Kormoran) and tried to man her stern gun, prompting the Germans to open fire.<ref name=Frame66/> The freighter took heavy damage, as every time Detmers ordered or was about to order a cease-fire, the target ship attempted to escape or transmit another distress signal.<ref name=Frame66/><ref name=Winter70>Template:Harvp</ref> Eventually, the 46 survivors of the crew (five were killed in the attack) abandoned their burning vessel, and boarding parties were sent from the raider.<ref name=Frame66/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> She was identified as the 8,022-ton British freighter Craftsman, carrying an anti-submarine net for Singapore, which was to be delivered after a stop in Cape Town.<ref name=Frame66/> After scuttling charges failed to sink Craftsman, she was torpedoed at Template:Coord.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
| Date | Name | Tons (GRT) | Nationality | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 January 1941 | Antonis | 3,729 | Template:Flag | Template:Coord |
| 18 January 1941 | British Union | 6,987 | Template:Flag | Template:Coord |
| 29 January 1941 | Afric Star | 11,900 | Template:Flag | Template:Coord |
| 29 January 1941 | Eurylochus | 5,273 | Template:Flag | Template:Coord |
| 22 March 1941 | Agnita | 3,552<ref name="wh21" /> | Template:Flag | Template:Coord |
| 25 March 1941 | Canadolite | 11,309 | Template:Flag | Template:Coord<ref name=Manitoba/> (captured) |
| 9 April 1941 | Craftsman | 8,022 | Template:Flag | Template:Coord |
| 12 April 1941 | Nicolaos D. L. | 5,486 | Template:Flag | Template:Coord |
After fleeing the scene, Kormoran headed south, and early on 12 April encountered another ship.<ref name=Frame67>Template:Harvp</ref> After slowly closing on the merchantman over three hours, Kormoran de-camouflaged and fired several warning shots.<ref name=Frame67/> The freighter turned away and sent a distress signal; wireless operators aboard Kormoran were unable to jam it, but there was little concern as the transmission was an SOS instead of the more specific QQQ or RRR for a raider attack, while also giving the wrong coordinates.<ref name=Frame67/> Kormoran fired for effect, but it was not until the merchant ship's bridge was destroyed that her 35 crew abandoned ship.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> A boarding party identified the ship as the 5,486-ton Greek freighter Nicholas D.L., carrying Canadian timber.<ref name=Frame67/> Because of her buoyant cargo, the scuttling charges failed to have major effect, but after firing some shells into Nicholas D.L., Detmers chose to leave the ship to sink slowly at Template:Coord.<ref name=Winter73>Template:Harvp</ref> Until 1943, the Admiralty accepted the SOS location, 18° further north, as fact, while attributing the sinking to the raider Template:Ship.<ref name=Winter73/>
On 17 April, Kormoran sighted a passenger ship, but was unable to lure her into range before the vessel disappeared into a rain squall.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Two days later, Kormoran met Atlantis and the blockade runner Dresden.<ref name=Frame67/> An expected shipment of white metal for Kormoran had been supplied to a different blockade runner, which was delayed.<ref name=Frame67/> Several supply ships arrived at the rendezvous point over the next few days and transferred provisions, ammunition, and fuel to the raider.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Prisoners from Kormoran were handed over to the other ships, and the raider received new sailors to make up numbers.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Kormoran departed on 22 April, and spent two days changing her disguise to the Japanese freighter Template:Ship before sailing into the Indian Ocean.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
Indian Ocean
[edit]On reaching the Indian Ocean, Kormoran was immediately diverted to refuel the whaling ship Adjutant and supply ship Template:Ship; refuelling was carried out between 13 and 17 May.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Although originally confined to waters northeast of latitude 20°S and longitude 80°E, the raider's area of operations expanded on 1 June to encompass the entire ocean.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The ship's disguise was altered again on 5 June, with Kormoran taking the identity of the Japanese merchant ship Kinka Maru, as the owners of Sakito Maru rarely operated in the western Indian.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> After patrolling around the Maldives without success, Kormoran sailed towards the Bay of Bengal with plans to lay mines in the approaches to Madras and Calcutta.<ref name=Frame71>Template:Harvp</ref> Although a target was spotted en route on 15 June, the raider's smoke generator malfunctioned and started to produce thick, black smoke, which scared off the merchantman.<ref name=Frame71/> On 24 June, while approaching Madras, the raider was spotted and shadowed by what the Germans assumed was a British auxiliary cruiser.<ref name=Frame71/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The suspicious ship later resumed her original course without incident, but Detmers decided to postpone the mine-laying operation and leave the area, as Allied forces would become suspicious when the "Japanese" ship failed to reach port.<ref name=Frame71/>
During the early morning of 26 June, a darkened merchant ship was spotted.<ref name=Frame72>Template:Harvp</ref> Signals were sent to the ship without response, and after the merchantman appeared to ignore a warning shot, Kormoran opened fire and caused massive damage.<ref name=Frame72/> Nine men, identifying themselves as crew from the 4,153-ton Yugoslavian cargo ship Velebit, were recovered from a lifeboat; the lack of response was attributed to the actions of inexperienced Indian sailors taken on in Bombay.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The ship was left to sink, but another eight sailors remained on board, and kept Velebit afloat until she ran aground on the reefs surrounding the Andaman Islands.<ref name=Frame72/> That afternoon, smoke from another ship was spotted by Kormoran.<ref name=Frame72/> Maintaining a steady course away from the merchantman until a rain squall enveloped the raider, Kormoran then altered onto a converging course, and closed to within Template:Convert before crossing the merchantman's bow to reach a favorable firing position and revealing her identity.<ref name=Frame72/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Orders to stop were ignored, and the raider opened fire after a distress call was sent.<ref name=Frame72/> Within 30 seconds, shells from the raider destroyed the merchantman's wireless room and forecastle, damaged the engine room, and started several fires.<ref name=Frame72/><ref name=Winter96>Template:Harvp</ref> Some 48 sailors from the 3,472-ton Australian vessel Mareeba were recovered by Kormoran, and although a boarding party attempted to save the ship for use as a mine-layer, the severity of damage made this impossible.<ref name=Frame72/><ref name=Winter96/> The Australian ship was scuttled, and sank quickly at Template:Coord.<ref name=Winter96/>
After retreating to open waters, a 15-day overhaul of the engines was carried out.<ref name=Frame73>Template:Harvp</ref> While working on one of the seaplanes, a sailor was killed by electrocution.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> KormoranTemplate:'s disguise was changed to the Dutch freighter Template:Lang, and notice was received of a further 100 Second Class Iron Crosses and five First Class Iron Crosses awarded to the ship.<ref name=Frame73/> On completion, Detmers set course for the Bay of Bengal intending to lay a second mine field, but aborted this on 30 July when he learned the aircraft carrier Template:HMS would be in the area.<ref name=Frame74>Template:Harvp</ref> Kormoran then took to patrolling the shipping routes from Fremantle to Colombo or Lombok.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> A merchant ship was spotted near sunset on 13 August, but the ship's actions (which included heading directly for Kormoran on spotting her, broadcasting a raider distress call without coordinates, and repeatedly broadcasting homing signals) caused Detmers to think the target was either an Allied auxiliary cruiser or was attempting to lure Kormoran into range of an Allied warship.<ref name=Frame74/><ref name=Winter102.3>Template:Harvp</ref> Kormoran broke off pursuit and retreated.<ref name=Winter102.3/> The raider continued to search for ships without success.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> On 25 August, the lookout spotted a strange object on the horizon; this was worked out to be the peak of Template:Clarify span on Enggano Island, and the first sighting of land in 258 days.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
Kormoran then moved to waters south of Ceylon, and around midday on 1 September, a large vessel, which Detmers determined to be an unaccompanied troopship, was spotted.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Plans were made to attack that night, but the transport disappeared over the horizon during the afternoon and could not be relocated.<ref name=Frame76>Template:Harvp</ref> Two days later, Detmers was informed that Kormoran would be replaced by Template:Ship at the end of December, and that he would be resupplied by the supply ship Template:Ship, which had come from Japan and would wait for the raider at a predetermined rendezvous point from 12 October.<ref name=Frame76/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Late on 23 September, the navigational lights for a ship were sighted.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> After signalling the merchant ship for her name and nationality, which identified her as the 3,941-ton Greek freighter Stamatios G. Embiricus, the raider shone searchlights on her and ordered her to stop and accept a boarding party.<ref name=Winter106.7>Template:Harvp</ref><ref name=Frame77>Template:Harvp</ref> Those aboard the Greek ship assumed they were being pulled up by a British warship for not observing blackout regulations, and it was not until the armed Germans arrived on the ship that the nature of the Kormoran was revealed.<ref name=Winter106.7/> Although captured intact, Stamantios G. Embiricus was a coal-fuelled ship, and did not have enough fuel to reach any destination other than her intended port, Colombo.<ref name=Winter107>Template:Harvp</ref> The ship was scuttled at Template:Coord, but while a lifeboat carrying the ship's master and five crew rowed to Kormoran, a second lifeboat carrying the other 24 avoided capture in the dark.<ref name=Frame77/><ref name=Winter107/> A search using one of the Arado seaplanes found them late the next morning.<ref name=Frame77/>
| Date | Name | Tons (GRT) | Nationality | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 June 1941 | Velebit | 4,153 | Template:Flag | Template:Verify source |
| 26 June 1941 | Mareeba | 3,472 | Template:Flag | Template:Coord |
| 26 September 1941 | Stamatios G. Embirikos | 3,941 | Template:Flag | Template:Coord |
A few days later, KormoranTemplate:'s wireless operators intercepted transmissions between the Norwegian tanker Thelma and a shore stationTemplate:Sndinitially in a new code, then repeated in a recently expired code.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> This allowed the Germans to identify where the merchant ship was heading to, and make some progress on breaking the new code.<ref name=Winter108>Template:Harvp</ref> However, the tanker could have taken several routes to her Cape Town destination, and Kormoran did not encounter her during four days of searching.<ref name=Winter108/> The raider then headed south, and met the supply ship Kulmerland on 16 October.<ref name=Frame77/> Supplies and parts were transferred to Kormoran, while the raider's prisoners were moved to Kulmerland, along with documents captured from ships and five slightly ill German sailors to serve as guards.<ref name=Frame77/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> After leaving on 24 October, maintenance and repairs were carried out.<ref name=Frame77/> Plans were made to sail up the coast of Western Australia; the original intention was to mine shipping routes near Cape Leeuwin and Fremantle, but after wireless signals were detected from a warship (Australian heavy cruiser Template:HMAS) escorting a convoy in the area, Detmers decided to sail further north and mine Shark Bay, then proceed to the East Indies before looping back west to the Bay of Bengal.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
Final battle and loss
[edit]- Note: All times in this section are UTC+7.
On 19 November 1941, shortly before 4:00Template:Nbsppm, Kormoran was Template:Convert south-west of Carnarvon.<ref name=Gill453>Template:Harvp</ref> The raider was sailing northwards (heading 025°) at Template:Convert.<ref name=Gill453/><ref name=Hore78>Template:Harvp</ref> At 3:55Template:Nbsppm, what was initially thought to be a tall ship sail was sighted off the port bow, although the sighting was quickly determined to be the masts of a cruiser, Template:HMAS.<ref name=Hore78/> Detmers ordered Kormoran to alter course into the sun (heading 260°) at maximum achievable speed (which quickly dropped from Template:Convert because of problems in one of her diesels), while setting the ship to action stations.<ref name=Hore78/> Sydney spotted the German ship around the same time, and altered from her southward heading to intercept at Template:Convert.<ref name=Gill453/><ref name=Hore78/>
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As the cruiser closed from astern, she began to send searchlight signals.<ref name=Olson178>Template:Harvp</ref> The first was not answered because the Germans did not understand the coded Morse.<ref name=Olson178/><ref name=Frame104>Template:Harvp</ref> Sydney repeated for half an hour, but then began to send, "You should hoist your signal letters", both by plain-language Morse and signal flag.<ref name=Frame104/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> After another delay, Kormoran raised flags reading "PKQI"Template:Sndthe callsign for her disguise, the Dutch merchant ship Template:LangTemplate:Sndon the triatic stay and hoisted a Dutch civil ensign.<ref name=Gill453/> As the cruiser was on KormoranTemplate:'s starboard quarter at Template:Convert, the flags were obscured by the raider's funnel; German accounts vary as to if this was done deliberately to make the ship seem civilian, a ruse to lure Sydney closer, or the signaller's honest mistake.<ref name=Olson179>Template:Harvp</ref><ref name=Mearns28>Template:Harvp</ref> After receiving an instruction from the cruiser to make the flags visible, the signals officer aboard Kormoran did so by lengthening the halyard and swinging it around to the starboard side.<ref name=Gill453/><ref name=Olson179/> By 4:35Template:Nbsppm, with Sydney Template:Convert away, the malfunctioning engine aboard Kormoran was repaired, but Detmers chose to keep it in reserve and maintain speed.<ref name=Mearns28/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Further flag signals were exchanged, with Sydney asking the raider's destination and cargo.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
At around 5:00Template:Nbsppm, Detmers instructed his wireless operators to send a distress signal indicating Template:Lang was being approached by a suspicious ship.<ref name=Gill453/> Transmitted at 5:03Template:Nbsppm and repeated at 5:05Template:Nbsppm, it contained the distress call for a merchantman under attack from a raider, rather than a warship (QQQQ as opposed to RRRR), the latitude and longitude of the transmitting ship, the time per Greenwich Mean Time instead of local time (a deliberate error to let the Template:Lang know a raider was likely about to be lost), and her name.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> This message was partially received by the tugboat Uco ("QQQQ [unintelligible] 1000 GMT") and a shore station at Geraldton ("[unintelligible] 7C 11115E 1000 GMT").<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The Geraldton station broadcast a message to all ships asking if there was anything to report, which was interpreted by the Germans as acknowledgement of their signal.<ref name=Hore78/> During the exchanges and distress signal, Sydney positioned herself off the raider's starboard beam on a parallel course, approximately Template:Convert from Kormoran.<ref name=Gill454>Template:Harvp</ref> Her main guns and torpedoes trained on the raider, but secondary weapons did not appear to be manned, personnel were standing on the upper deck, and although the cruiser's seaplane had been readied for launch, it was soon stowed away.<ref name=Gill454/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> During her manoeuvre, Sydney signalled "IK", which made no sense from the Germans' perspective, as that combination was shorthand for "You should prepare for a cyclone, hurricane, or typhoon".<ref name=Frame104/><ref name=Colev2p9/> However, those two letters were part of the real Template:LangTemplate:'s secret secondary callsign, and Sydney was expecting the ship to confirm her identity by responding with the callsign's other two letters.<ref name=Frame104/><ref name=Colev2p9>Template:Harvp</ref>
Fifteen minutes later, the cruiser signalled, "Show your secret sign".<ref name=Gill454/> Detmers knew there was no chance of fooling Sydney for much longer, so ordered KormoranTemplate:'s disguise dropped, the German battle ensign raised, and for all weapons to commence firing.<ref name=Gill454/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The raider's opening salvo bracketed the ship, while the next four salvoes destroyed SydneyTemplate:'s bridge, gun direction tower, forward turrets, and aircraft.<ref name=Gill454/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Two torpedoes were launched simultaneously with the raider's attack, and the close proximity of the target allowed the use of lighter weapons to rake SydneyTemplate:'s flank and interfere with attempts to man the cruiser's secondary weapons.<ref name=Gill454/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> In contrast, Sydney was only able to fire a single full salvo before her forward turrets were knocked out, shells from which punched through KormoranTemplate:'s exhaust funnel and wireless room, and caused shrapnel wounds to two sailors.<ref name=Olson216.8>Template:Harvp</ref> KormoranTemplate:'s gunners shifted their aim to SydneyTemplate:'s waterline with their next three salvoes.<ref name=Olson249/> Sydney responded from her aft turrets: one damaged the raider's machinery spaces and started a fire in an oil tank, while the other fired only a few ineffective shells.<ref name=Gill454/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Around the time of the eighth or ninth German salvo, one of KormoranTemplate:'s torpedoes struck Sydney forward of "A" turret, ripping a hole in her side and causing her to settle by the bow.<ref name=Olson249>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> After the torpedo hit, Sydney turned hard to port in what the Germans assumed was an attempt to ram, but the cruiser passed harmlessly aft.<ref name=Gill454/><ref name=Olson234>Template:Harvp</ref>
By 5:35Template:Nbsppm, the cruiser was heading south, heavily damaged, on fire, and losing speed, with her main guns destroyed or jammed facing away from their target and her secondary weapons out of range.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Kormoran maintained her course and speed, but discontinued salvo firing; her stern guns continued to score hits as Sydney passed through their firing arcs.<ref name=Gill456>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The cruiser fired torpedoes at Kormoran, but as the raider was turning to bring her port broadside to bear, these passed harmlessly astern.<ref name=Gill456/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> After completing the turn, battle damage caused KormoranTemplate:'s engines to fail completely, leaving the raider dead in the water while Sydney continued to limp southwards.<ref name=Gill456/> Despite being immobilised, Kormoran continued to fire at a high rateTemplate:Sndsome of the German sailors reported that up to 450 shells were used during the second phase of the battleTemplate:Sndand scored hits on the cruiser, although misses would have increased as the range grew.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The raider fired her guns for the last time around 5:50Template:Nbsppm, with the range at Template:Convert, and a torpedo was fired at 6:00Template:Nbsppm, but missed.<ref name=Gill456/>
By the end of the half-hour engagement, the ships were about Template:Convert apart, with both heavily damaged and on fire.<ref name=Gill456/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Damage to KormoranTemplate:'s engine room had knocked out the fire-fighting systems, and as it was only a matter of time until the oil fire reached the magazines or mine hold, Detmers ordered "abandon ship" at 6:25Template:Nbsppm.<ref name=Gill456/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> All boats and rafts were launched by 9:00Template:Nbsppm, during which a skeleton crew kept the weapons manned while their colleagues evacuated and the officers made preparations for scuttling.<ref name=Gill456/> During all this, Sydney was seen to proceed south-southeast at low speed; she disappeared over the horizon shortly after the engagement, but the glow of the burning ship was seen on the horizon consistently until 10:00Template:Nbsppm, and sporadically until midnight.<ref name=Gill456/>
Kormoran was abandoned and scuttled at midnight; she sank slowly until the mine hold exploded half an hour later.<ref name=Gill456/> The German survivors were in five boats and two rafts: one cutter carrying 46 men, two battle-damaged steel life rafts with 57 and 62 aboard (the latter carrying Detmers and towing several small floats), one workboat carrying 72, one boat with 31 aboard, and two rafts, each bearing 26.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> During the evacuation, a rubber liferaft carrying 60, mostly wounded, sank without warning; the three survivors were placed in other boats.<ref name=Frame95>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Total German casualties were six officers, 75 German sailors, and one Chinese sailor.<ref name=Cassells151>Template:Harvp</ref><ref name=Winter183>Template:Harvp</ref>
Rescue
[edit][[File:Kormoran survivors.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Photograph looking down on two lifeboats crammed with people in naval uniforms. A third lifeboat of a different design can be seen behind the first two.|Survivors from Kormoran under tow in two of [[AHS Centaur|CentaurTemplate:'s]] lifeboats. The German lifeboat can be seen behind them.]] The first life raft of German survivors, carrying 26 men, was recovered by the troopship Aquitania early on 23 November, but as the ship's master believed a raider was still in the area, he maintained wireless silence and did not report his discovery until three days later.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The lifeboat carrying Detmers saw the troopship but did not make their presence known, as the German officer hoped to be picked up by a neutral merchant ship.<ref name=Frame4>Template:Harvp</ref>
Attempts to locate Sydney, which was several days overdue in returning to port, commenced on 23 November.<ref name=Gill451>Template:Harvp</ref><ref name=Olson34>Template:Harvp</ref> However, it was not until the afternoon of the next day, after the British tanker Trocas reported finding the second Kormoran life raft with 25 men (one having perished) a full-scale search was begun.<ref name=Frame5>Template:Harvp</ref><ref name=Gill452>Template:Harvp</ref> Several German lifeboats were spotted on 25 November during the air search off Western Australia: the 46-man cutter had come ashore at 17-Mile Well,<ref name="bat23" /> the 57-man lifeboat was nearing Red Bluff,<ref name="bat23" /> and a third lifeboat was further off the coast.<ref name=Frame6>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> That afternoon, the staff of Quobba Station rounded up the two groups that had made landfall, who did not resist capture.<ref name=Frame6/>
The 31-man boat was recovered by the passenger ship Template:Ship just before sunset on 26 November.<ref name=Frame7>Template:Harvp</ref> The passenger-freighter Template:Ship, which had been instructed to make landfall at Carnarvon to collect the Germans captured so far and transport them to Fremantle, encountered Detmers' lifeboat that night at 10:00Template:Nbsppm and took it in tow, as they were unwilling to let 62 enemy naval personnel aboard, but did not want to leave them to their fate.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref name=Mill18.20>Template:Harvp</ref> During the voyage to Carnarvon, the damaged and overloaded German lifeboat was swamped, and the Kormoran survivors were transferred into two of CentaurTemplate:'s lifeboats.<ref name=Mill18.20/> Arriving in Carnarvon on the afternoon of 27 November, the Germans were relocated from the boats to CentaurTemplate:'s number one cargo hold, where they were joined by the sailors from the two lifeboats that had reached shore and 40 Australian Army guards.<ref name=Mill18.20/>
The last boat, carrying 70 Germans and two Chinese, was spotted from the air during the late morning of 27 November, and was recovered shortly afterward by Template:HMAS.<ref name=Frame8>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The next day, Template:HMAS recovered a German lifebelt and two four-man liferafts, one of which was carrying a deceased German sailor, who was buried at sea.<ref name=Frame8/> The search was terminated at sunset on 29 November.<ref name=Frame8/> By this point, all of the German lifeboats were accounted for, and 318Template:Efn of KormoranTemplate:'s 399 personnel (including three of the four Chinese laundry workers) had survived.<ref name=Winter183/><ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
During searches in late 1941, none of the 645-strong ship's company from Sydney was found; the only confirmed remains found were a damaged carley float and a lifebelt.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> In February 1942, a carley float carrying a then-unidentifiable body reached Christmas Island. In 2021, familial DNA research verified that the remains were those of Able Seaman Thomas Welsby Clark, an ASDIC (sonar) operator on Sydney.
Aftermath
[edit]Template:Main In Germany, information about the battle was assembled from communications intercepts during the search for survivors, then combined with Allied news articles and published in early 1943 for internal consumption by German officials.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> A member of KormoranTemplate:'s crew sent home in a prisoner exchange later that year confirmed the details of the battle, and accounts were published by the German media in December 1943.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
Most of the German survivors were taken to Fremantle and interrogated.<ref name=Frame80>Template:Harvp</ref> Attempts to learn what had happened were hampered by the German officers instructing their sailors to obfuscate the enemy with false answers, people describing events they did not witness but heard of later, and difficulty in keeping groups separated in order to check their stories against each other.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Despite this, Australian authorities were able to piece together the broad details of the battle, which was verified by German sailors recovered by Aquitania who had been taken to Sydney instead. Their interviews showed similar commonalities and inconsistencies as those in Fremantle, and the interrogators concluded that the true story was being recounted.<ref name=Frame106>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
Initially, the sailors were imprisoned at Harvey while the officers were imprisoned at Swanbourne Barracks, but after interrogations were concluded in December, they were all relocated to prisoner-of-war camps near Murchison, Victoria.<ref name=Frame80.1>Template:Harvp</ref><ref name=Olson111>Template:Harvp</ref> Sailors were interned in No. 13 Prisoner of War Camp, which already hosted 1,200 soldiers of the Template:Lang, and their shipmates rescued by Aquitania, while officers were sent to the Dhurringile homestead.<ref name=Olson111/><ref name=Frame83>Template:Harvp</ref> One sailor died in captivity on 24 March 1942 from lung cancer, and was buried in the Tatura war cemetery.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> On 11 January 1945, Detmers and nineteen other Axis officers broke out from Dhurringile through a tunnel excavated during the previous seven months, although all were recaptured within days of escaping.<ref name=Frame108>Template:Harvp</ref> Detmers was found with a German-English dictionary which included two accounts of the battle (a deck log or action report, and an engineering log) encrypted within using a Vigenère cipher, although these accounts provided little new information.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Shortly after returning to the camp, Detmers suffered a stroke, and spent over three months at the military hospital in Heidelberg, Victoria.<ref name=Frame108/>
The German officers and sailors were repatriated almost two years after the war with Germany had ended, departing from Port Phillip with other Axis prisoners aboard the steamer Template:Ship on 21 February 1947.<ref name=Frame109>Template:Harvp</ref> Ironically, tied up to the opposite pier was the real Template:Lang.<ref name=Frame109/> On arrival in Cuxhaven, the prisoners were searched before leaving the ship, and while several written reports were gathered, none provided new information.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
Search and rediscovery
[edit]Template:Main Despite the approximate last position of Kormoran being known (most German accounts giving the battle coordinates as Template:Coord), efforts to find Kormoran and Sydney were hampered by the size of the search area indicated by such broad coordinates, and claims by Australians that the Germans had lied about the coordinates (among other aspects of the fight) and the ships would be found further south and closer inshore.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref name=McCarthy5>Template:Harvp</ref>
Several searches were made by the Australian military in the years following the war, but these were primarily concerned with finding the Australian cruiser, technologically restricted to shallow waters, and made to verify or prove false civilian claims that Sydney or Kormoran was at a particular location.<ref name=JCFADT139>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>Template:Harvp</ref> In 1990, Robert Ballard and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution were approached to lead a search for the ships, which he agreed to on the condition that the search area be narrowed down considerably.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> A forum in 1991 unsuccessfully attempted to do this, and Ballard withdrew his offer.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> A 1999 Australian government report recommended that a seminar be organised to identify the most likely search area for the warships, but again, participants were still split between the battle location given by the Germans (referred to as the "northern position") or a point off the Abrolhos Islands (the area for the battle advocated by supporters of the "southern position").<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
American shipwreck hunter David Mearns first learned of the battle and mutual destruction of Sydney and Kormoran during a conference in 1996, and began studying the battle in 2001.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> With the assistance of historians and the Western Australian Museum, Mearns focused on primary source documents, during which he discovered or rediscovered several archive files and diaries of Kormoran personnel believed lost; these documents led him to believe that the German accounts were truthful.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> After identifying a potential search area, the Australian government announced several million dollars of funding for the search, but German government assistance was limited to formal approval for Mearns to film Kormoran if she was found.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
Mearns' plan was to determine a 'search box' for Kormoran by plotting the possible starting points of the two rafts from the raider through a reverse drift analysis.<ref name=Mearns121.2>Template:Harvp</ref> This search box (which was calculated to be Template:Convert in size) would then be inspected over the course of several days with a deep-water, towed side-scan sonar mounted aboard the survey vessel SV Geosounder.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Mearns chose to focus on finding Kormoran first, as locating the German ship would significantly narrow down the search area for Sydney.<ref name=Mearns121.2/> After locating one or both vessels, Geosounder would return to port and replace the sonar with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to photograph and video the wrecks, although funding limitations meant the search and inspection of both ships had to be concluded within 45 days.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> After problems with equipment and weather, Geosounder commenced the search, and located Kormoran during the afternoon of 12 March 2008.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The wreck site was Template:Convert below sea level, and consisted of two large pieces Template:Convert apart, with an oval-shaped debris field between them, centred at Template:Coord.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The raider's discovery was publicly announced by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on the morning of 17 March.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
Template:Location map many Mearns was then able to plot a search area for Sydney based on KormoranTemplate:'s location, as although there was no specific information on the cruiser's location, much more information was available concerning her last known position relative to the raider.<ref name=Mearns150.1>Template:Harvp</ref> Sydney was located on 17 March at Template:Coord, Template:Convert southeast of Kormoran.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Discovery of the vessel was made only hours after the locating of Kormoran was publicly announced.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> On discovery, both wrecks were placed under the protection of the Australian Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976, which penalises anyone disturbing a protected shipwreck with a fine of up to A$10,000 or a maximum five years imprisonment.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Both wrecks were placed on the Australian National Heritage List on 14 March 2011.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
After the side-scan sonar aboard Geosounder was switched out for the ROV (again delayed by technical issues and more bad weather), she returned to sea for detailed inspections of the wrecks. Sydney was filmed and documented during 3–6 April, and a sonar contact thought to be debris from the battle was visually inspected on 6 April and found to be outcrops of pillow lava.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Observation of the Kormoran wreck confirmed that the mine deck explosion had torn the stern half of the ship apart, with few recognisable items in the large debris field.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The search was declared complete just before midnight on 7 April, with Geosounder returning to Geraldton.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>
Awards, memorials, and legacy
[edit]
For sinking Sydney, Detmers' Iron Cross First Class was upgraded to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.<ref name=Frame83/> KormoranTemplate:'s executive officer, gunnery officer, and the sailor who manned the starboard Template:Convert gun were awarded the Iron Cross First Class (although for the executive officer, this was a bar to a previous Iron Cross), while the other members of the crew were all awarded the Iron Cross Second Class.<ref name=Fram84>Template:Harvp</ref>
The names of those killed aboard Kormoran are inscribed in the Laboe Naval Memorial where in 2011 a memorial stone commemorating both the Kormoran and the Sydney was inaugurated by Peter Tesch the former Australian ambassador to Germany.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref name="döpe21" /> The Kormoran name was carried on by the Template:Ship, a Seeadler class fast attack craft of the West German Navy commissioned in 1959.<ref name=Winter243>Template:Harvp</ref> This Kormoran operated until 1976, when she was sold to Greece.<ref name=Winter243/> East Germany also operated a Kormoran; a small corvette borrowed from the Soviet Navy from 1970 to 1974.<ref name=Winter243/>
Notes
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Reports
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[edit]Further reading
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