Pictures released of German WW2 raider Kormoran
CANBERRA (Reuters) - The first images of a German merchant raider sunk in a fierce battle with an Australian warship more than 66 years ago were released on Tuesday by international deep-ocean wreck hunters.
The HSK Kormoran was badly damaged in a battle with the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney on November 19, 1941, and was scuttled by her crew, while the Australian warship sank with the loss of all 645 crew off the West Australian coast.
"Extensive damage from the scuttling and the damage inflicted by the Sydney is evident," said Finding Sydney Foundation project manager Patrick Flynn after images of the Kormoran were sent back by a remote submersible from 2.5km (1.5 mile) deep in the ocean.
"The footage is predominantly of two sections, her bow section and the stern where she broke from the scuttling operation," Flynn said.
The eerie blue images, shot on video, clearly showed the extensive damage from scuttling charges, as well as one of the raider's hidden 6-inch main guns.
The Kormoran, disguised as the Dutch freighter Straat Malakka, lured the Australian warship within almost point-blank range before dropping her camouflage and opening fire with guns and torpedo tubes.
The Australian warship was taken by surprise and suffered extensive damage, although its crew managed to inflict enough damage on the disguised 8,736 tonne freighter-turned-warship to force her captain to abandon her.
Eighty German sailors died in the encounter, while more than 300 were rescued and their accounts of the battle are the basis of the Australian navy's official record.
The sinking stunned wartime Australia, plunging the nation into a deep gloom, and sparked one of the country's greatest mysteries after the Sydney vanished over the horizon with the loss of all hands.
Both ships were found in mid-March by American wreck hunter David Mearns, who located the British cruiser HMS Hood and Germany's battleship Bismarck in their North Atlantic graves.
Kormoran sank 10 merchant ships between December 1940 and November 1941, and was planning operations in the South Pacific when she was intercepted by the Sydney.
Germany's government has been informed of the location of the Kormoran wreck, which has been declared a war grave.
(Reporting by Rob Taylor; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
