Thread: Any HMAS Sydney followers among us

Doesn't matter how or who sunk her, her crew deserves to be found and their final resting place marked on all maps and records.

She isn't lassiters gold reef, she was real, she had a crew, they had families, they were lost at sea after engaging the enemy of this Nation, we owe it to them.

Costello had billions in surplus last 10 years, few million finding the Syndey won't be missed

What more needs to be said.

It would be nice to know her location.

But, she is a war grave. We don't need cowboy divers knowing where she is and plundering her. I just hope she is too far down to get to.

it is said the Sydney couldliein a trench that could be upto 15 kilometers in depth, They only just got down to Bismark she was at the limits of available technology when found, conspiracy theories are and will always be rife about things like this, your right its not the first time a ship has gone down with all hands, the Hood was a classic example, I just think in these days we live now if the then Govt was to cover up something why cant they come forth and admit it, like the yanks and Roswell I guess, I will tell u a story and u can all make from it what u like, many years ago when we lived in Darwin there was this old feller wholived next door,he was a Oerliken gunner on the Q class destroyer Quiberon, he told me that what the scuttlebut doing the rounds on the boats was that when the Sydney put out her distress spitfire squadrons were dispatched from WA bases, aparently Sydneys crew that madeit into the water were mistakenly Straffed by spits, onceit was known what happened thats when the govt stepped in, Probably a classic old mans tale but he had a brother on the Sydney, these storys abound, part of the mystery I guess, there are still many surviving family members of crew who I am sure would like some closure, not to mention wives of crewman who would still be alive today. Yes the ocean is big but surely they must turn up one day, it has to give up its secrets sooner or later.

Intersting umention Cyclone Tracy and the last missing trawler, Darwinharbour is littered with ships from ww2 plus earlier and later, its not a safe harbour to dive given crocs and sharks, the japs went through the harbour in later years and recovered as much steel as they could but today wrecks still remain, some still unacounted for, interstingly my Dad was a copper in Darwin at that time, we lost our house and everything in it, Dad was involved with accounting human losses, decapitated people, babys, various other nasty wounds the harbour gave up some of her dead and these were recovered as time went on, it was hard to estimate just how dead there were as Darwin had such a transient population and boats came and went all hours , the Northern Prawn fleet chose to ride the storm out at sea, I can still remember seeing the Clipperbird upon the rocks, she was only recently retired, my dad had to later destroy all pets in Darwin mainly dogs, was sad to shoot some oldladys little dog, half of what happened up there has never been released, they use a picture of my dad standing in the driveway of our demolished house every year since 1974 on every newspaper around, my dad was grossly traumatised by Tracy and the way he was handled in those days was heres some valium, heres a pension, go away. To this day dad gets depressed at xmas time, he retired in his 30s deemed mentally unfit for duty

Originally Posted by landyfromanuthaland

I will tell u a story and u can all make from it what u like, many years ago when we lived in Darwin there was this old feller wholived next door,he was a Oerliken gunner on the Q class destroyer Quiberon, he told me that what the scuttlebut doing the rounds on the boats was that when the Sydney put out her distress spitfire squadrons were dispatched from WA bases, aparently Sydneys crew that madeit into the water were mistakenly Straffed by spits, onceit was known what happened thats when the govt stepped in, Probably a classic old mans tale but he had a brother on the Sydney, these storys abound, part of the mystery I guess, there are still many surviving family members of crew who I am sure would like some closure, not to mention wives of crewman who would still be alive today. Yes the ocean is big but surely they must turn up one day, it has to give up its secrets sooner or later.

I can't & don't wish to comment on any other aspects of this story other than to say they weren't Spits, The RAAF didn't take delivery of its Spits until about 9 months after the Sydney was lost & they were initially concentrated on the defence of Darwin. I first read about Sydney in a book called the "Kings Cruisers" many years ago. Its the sort of story that stays with one & I too would like to have her found & laid to rest as it were.
Steve.

Well, they're coughing up some dollars!!

$4.2 MILLION TO SUPPORT SEARCH FOR
HMAS SYDNEY II
The Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence Bruce Billson confirmed today that the Howard Government has approved a further $2.9 million grant to assist HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd to locate missing Royal Australian Navy cruiser HMAS Sydney II.
The grant is in addition to an initial Commonwealth grant of $1.3 million approved in August 2005 to assist the Western Australian based not-for-profit search group.
"The Australian Government’s commitment to support a large-scale search for HMAS Sydney II is underlined by the $4.2 million in funding it has now committed to the task," Mr Billson said.
HMAS Sydney II was tragically lost in November 1941 in the Indian Ocean off WA with its full crew of 645, following a fierce engagement with the German raider Kormoran.
"The location of the ship's final resting place remains our nation's most enduring maritime mystery. The Sydney tragedy has had a profound effect on our nation, as it and its crew were sources of great pride as a result of their earlier World War II triumphs in the Mediterranean Sea against enemy forces," Mr Billson said
HMAS Sydney Search Pty Ltd, with the support of the RAN’s Seapower Centre Australia, has painstakingly researched the sinking of HMAS Sydney II and has formed a relationship with world-renowned shipwreck investigator David Mearns.
"We are hopeful that the additional funding will enable a meaningful search to commence on the water in the near future, drawing on the extensive knowledge and expertise of HMAS Sydney Search, our own Royal Australian Navy and Mr Mearns," Mr Billson said.
"Mr Mearns has an outstanding track record of locating shipwrecks and was successful in finding the celebrated Royal Navy battle-cruiser HMS Hood and German ship Bismarck."
Mr Billson said a ‘team Australia approach’ in alliance with the best the world has to offer in terms of underwater sonar technology, which has advanced greatly over the last decade, offered the best chance yet of finding both the Sydney and the Kormoran, which also sank as a result of the fire fight.
"Success in finding HMAS Sydney II would not only solve a great mystery, but would also help bring a sense of closure to the families of the 645 crew members lost," he said.
Ted Graham, chairman of HMAS Sydney Search said while the large search area and water depth meant this was an extremely challenging assignment, advances in technology greatly improved the chances of success.
"We now have a remarkable search capability in the form of state-of-the-art wide-swath side-scan sonar technology to cover this large area where we believe the wrecks of both Sydney and Kormoran have sunk," he said.
"This is proven and highly-efficient sonar technology has been used to find other significant shipwrecks like HMS Hood, Bismarck, Derbyshire as well as many other smaller wrecks sunk in much deeper water.
"We also know more about the seabed in the search area thanks to the efforts after the kind donation of ship time made by Perth-based Geo Subsea Pty Ltd, which provided its multi-beam survey vessel to conduct a preliminary survey through the area. Fortunately, the survey showed that the seabed was clear of major geologic features which could complicate our sonar search," Mr Graham said.

One wonders if this effort & expense would be forthcoming if it wasn't an Election year.

Cynical? Moi?


With the technology involved in this latest planned effort, it is to be hoped that they can at last come up with something conclusive.
I for one, would be very pleased.

Deefinately right about spits, what were we flying then? like a said the rantings of an old man, the storys get wider and wider as they goon, the idea of this thread is just to gather a few more old tales, they make intersting reading, this subject is one that keeps surfacing and its an intriguing story in itself