On 19 November 1941, the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney and the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran engaged … See more

HMAS Sydney was one of three Modified Leander class light cruisers of the RAN. Built for the Royal Navy, the cruiser was bought by the Australian government to replace HMAS Brisbane, and it was commissio… See more

Note: All times in this section are UTC+7.
On 19 November, shortly before 16:00, Kormoran was 150 nautical miles (280 km; 170 mi) southwest of Carnarvon, Western Australia. The raider was sailing northward… See more

Note: All times in this section are UTC+8.
When Sydney did not arrive on schedule, there was no immediate concern; the northbound journey with Zealandia could have taken longer than expected, Durban could have … See more

On 26 November, the Naval Board distributed lists of Sydney's ship's company to all naval district offices. Telegrams to next-of-kin stating that their relatives were "missing as a result of enemy action" were lodged, alth… See more

Despite the approximate position of Kormoran being known (most German accounts giving the battle coordinates as 26°S 111°E / 26°S 111°E ), the required search area for both ships was unfeasibly large. This … See more

The first collected historical account of the engagement was published in 1947 in George Hermon Gill's Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, the first of two RAN volumes in the government-sponsored Australia i… See more