the real question is what happened to the Piano onboard the Kormoran and Detremer's Monkey

Wasn't that the Spreewald?

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.

I like naval battle too that's why I subscribe this channel

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.

Thanks for the continued support!

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.

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.

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

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.

It happened in the billy ocean.

Yeah, hunting disguised raiders and coming broadside to an evasively identifying ship!! Not the cleverest!

Was something of one of those times the crew were probably screaming “for the love of…” at senior officers. It should never have happened

​@@DidMyGrandfatherMakeThisWell they didn't think about it for long. All of them died.

In his defense....he was off the Australian coast. The last place you expect an enemy warship

@@Dilley_G45 well, he did know that there was a German raider in the area..

Hervorragender Komentar!

Anschluss and for Austrian Pride

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.

Also at one stage he said Frymantle, not Fremantle!

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.

Probably just a mistake

@@IberisStukov Big mistake if you can’t get the location correct.

@@IberisStukov 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

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.

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.

why should they rescue crews from other ships and then kill the survivors from a australian cruiser? makes no sense.