Apparently it was on the bottom the whole time.

More seriously, I hadn't realized that German raiders were in gunfights with Australian cruisers in the Indian Ocean.

Was it down under?

An account of the battle is on Wikipedia. Sydney was taken by surprise by a disguised commerce raider with similar armament -- six six inch guns to Sydney's eight.

You found it.

We believe you.

Australia fought in WWII?

Australia should be embarassed, this thing got hit 50 times before it returned fire. What the hell were they doing?

TeddyRooseveltsMustache: Australia should be embarassed, this thing got hit 50 times before it returned fire. What the hell were they doing?

Drinking. Duh...

HMAS Sydney,

don't forget the A

Wow, are they all OK??

What side was australia on?

I was gonna go all snarky and then listened to the the daughter talking about her dad and became snarkless. Be back in a few, something in my eye.

What side was australia on?

The bottom side, same as today. Continental drift isn't all that fast.

... All went down on the Edmund Fitzgeralllld....

Freezebyte: Australia fought in WWII?

BlorfMaster: What side was australia on?

*facepalm*

Ignorance or simply bad trolling?

ZAZ: Apparently it was on the bottom the whole time.

More seriously, I hadn't realized that German raiders were in gunfights with Australian cruisers in the Indian Ocean.

They were. In the same that a lot of people don't know just how many German U-boat wrecks lie off the coast of NC, SC and VA. There are more than a few. Or the Japanese balloon forest firebomb attempt in Oregon.

TeddyRooseveltsMustache: Australia should be embarassed, this thing got hit 50 times before it returned fire. What the hell were they doing?

Cause they have no rules

fanbladesaresharp

I knew about Germans in the Atlantic (North and South) -- Battle of the River Plate, FDR's provocative support for Britain, and all that.

Some American WW2 coastal fortifications are preserved for visitors. I visited a fire control tower north of Boston a few years ago. There is a 16 inch shell -- hopefully not armed -- on display in the tower though the guns were at a different site.

And I knew about Japanese in the Pacific.

I just didn't realize, or forgot, that German raiders were in the vicinity of Australia in sufficient force to sink a light cruiser.

MitchellX

Best laugh I've had in weeks.
Thanks.

ZAZ: I just didn't realize, or forgot, that German raiders were in the vicinity of Australia in sufficient force to sink a light cruiser.

The number in this case being 1.

Apparently "Raider Hunter" didn't help it against the Kormoran.

/then again, the Komoran was probably represented by a Nordmark, and those things are kinda scary

Would take me that long to find my keys......

ZAZ: fanbladesaresharp

I knew about Germans in the Atlantic (North and South) -- Battle of the River Plate, FDR's provocative support for Britain, and all that.

Some American WW2 coastal fortifications are preserved for visitors. I visited a fire control tower north of Boston a few years ago. There is a 16 inch shell -- hopefully not armed -- on display in the tower though the guns were at a different site.

And I knew about Japanese in the Pacific.

I just didn't realize, or forgot, that German raiders were in the vicinity of Australia in sufficient force to sink a light cruiser.

Yeah we can't forget attacking armies abilities to get around the world in a hurry, even if they're not the targets. 60 years ago. Just imagine if Mother Russia decided to get even more bent at the Japanese, or even the Chinese at the time. Or hell.....Brazil.

Jedekai: ... All went down on the Edmund Fitzgeralllld....

Mmmmmmmmm Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter! MMmmmmmmm

The number in this case being 1.

But it wasn't just one ship with a five inch deck gun that could take out an unarmed merchant. It was a ship armed like a light cruiser.

Bloody Germans. You can't take them anywhere.

"The good thing about Australians is that we treat our ward dead with respect".

Prime Minister Rudd

You know, as opposed to the way other countries do it.

TeddyRooseveltsMustache: Australia should be embarassed, this thing got hit 50 times before it returned fire. What the hell were they doing?

No-one is sure what happened aboard HMAS Sydney (all crew lost, hence the mystery), but it seems pretty apparent they were caught surprised by the attack.

MitchellX wins one (1) series of tubes.

They were sucker-punched. It can happen to anyone. And at least they took the nazi bastards with them.

They said that this should provide closure to the families. How does knowing that your relatives were killed here rather than there bring closure? Their fate was pretty clear, gunfight, sinking, all dead.

I'm not trolling and ask that without disrepect for dead on either side, it's something that I don't understand.

I'm The Foot Farking Master: Was it down under?

It is now....

MitchellX

Let me try that ...



... hey! It does make all those lives lost somehow funny!

/you wanker

Some American WW2 coastal fortifications are preserved for visitors. I visited a fire control tower north of Boston a few years ago. There is a 16 inch shell -- hopefully not armed -- on display in the tower though the guns were at a different site.


Sandy Hook, NJ has an entire complex of concrete bunkers facing the Atlantic. Been in 'em. Pretty creepy. U-Boats were routinely sighted off of NJ... too bad they didn't lob a couple of shells into Seaside Heights.

Yeh 0Ickyo0, its Rudd though so of course he is full of shiat. Likes to say things that make people feel good, even if its absolutely stupid or wrong.

global wombats: TeddyRooseveltsMustache: Australia should be embarassed, this thing got hit 50 times before it returned fire. What the hell were they doing?

No-one is sure what happened aboard HMAS Sydney (all crew lost, hence the mystery), but it seems pretty apparent they were caught surprised by the attack.

Come on, they should have returned fire after they took the 5th or 6th hit. If I was a naval captain I wouldn't stand for such a sloppy delayed response.

0Icky0: "The good thing about Australians is that we treat our ward dead with respect".

Prime Minister Rudd

You know, as opposed to the way other countries do it.

There ARE those that would treat any shipwreck like a tourist site, that's what he is talking about.
If it was not for the Titanic being as deep as it is it would have been stripped FAR more than it has been.
Ballard found one of the Propellers in a JUNK YARD recently

They should see if they can get the bell, and either cast a new one with everyones name or add the names to the ones that gets pulled up (not sure which the E.Fitzgerald families did)

As for the 50, it would only be an average of just under 3 rounds per gun which unless they were on full alert (this was a Q ship) then it does actually make sense

FTA: "The wreckage of the German raider Kormoran, which is believed to have sunk the Australian warship, was found yesterday off the West Australian coast."

Okay, now I'm confused...which did they find, the Kormoran or the Sydney?!

/bad journalism prevails

pinguwin: They said that this should provide closure to the families. How does knowing that your relatives were killed here rather than there bring closure? Their fate was pretty clear, gunfight, sinking, all dead.

I'm not trolling and ask that without disrepect for dead on either side, it's something that I don't understand.

It's more of the fact that they have been pinpointed SOMEWHERE, now families from both of the boats can go out to the grave to pay respect (imagine you wanted to pay respects to a loved one in a cemetery, and none of the graves had headstones, you are in the right "area" but have no idea WHERE it really is)

Let's have a Hero tag for history's losers!

/Are we giving out Hero tags as consolation prizes now?
//Can't hurt the dead's self-esteem

Catfishdog: "Okay, now I'm confused...which did they find, the Kormoran or the Sydney?!"

Same team found both, within a day of each other...makes sense, since they basically sunk each other.

Raiders were all around the world during WWII. Check out this for the work of The Orion off New Zealand. The Widder was even ordered to Antarctica to sink whalers but the captain refused and hunted in the South Atlantic. He sunk over 100,000 tons in two voyages and was tried as a war criminal. Check out 'All Brave Sailors' by J.Revell Carr if you're interested.

The good thing about Australians is that we treat our ward dead with respect

As opposed to other countries who like to caper about on their graves singing Hallelujah.

Yes freezebyte the Aussies were in WWII - we joined in 1939 unlike our terrorist-fighting ally America who joined in a few weeks before 1942.

p.s. yes it is an embarassment that a cruiser was sunk by a raider (I reckon a jap sub had to be involved too but that's just my p.o.v.)

Given they were Australians, they were most likely drunk off their asses. The German captain broke article 83 of the Geneva Convention by attacking Aussies without giving them 24 hours notice to sober up.

Occulto: Freezebyte: Australia fought in WWII?

BlorfMaster: What side was australia on?

*facepalm*

Ignorance or simply bad trolling?

it's called a joke, retard

ozzie_stu: Yes freezebyte the Aussies were in WWII - we joined in 1939 unlike our terrorist-fighting ally America who joined in a few weeks before 1942.

p.s. yes it is an embarassment that a cruiser was sunk by a raider (I reckon a jap sub had to be involved too but that's just my p.o.v.)

You type that as it was a bad thing....we could have not been involved at all. We didn't start the fights. We ended them. And we on the topside like Australians. And I like German and Japanese people. 60 years is plenty of time to get over some issues.

May they rest in peace.

fanbladesaresharp
You type that as it was a bad thing....we could have not been involved at all. We didn't start the fights. We ended them. And we on the topside like Australians. And I like German and Japanese people. 60 years is plenty of time to get over some issues.

Seeing as the passing of time is the major reason why people today don't feel the need to feel responsible for slavery or any of the other atrocities in history, your comment would be absolutely correct. Unfortunately, this is Fark.

ozzie_stu

DIAF, ditchpig.