Monuments & Guards

[CINDERS]

A poignant memorial to a part of our naval history which saw one of our finest vessels that was lost with all hands, however she finished her adversary off though mortally hit.
(A detailed survey of her wreck showed the German raiders initial salvo's to be devastating to the Sydney)

So much to this story why she got so close, the captains failure, the carley raft at Christmas Island with the unknown sailor, the japanese submarine theory.

What I liked is the monument of the bow section showing you the depth of her deck to keel in relation to the stone wall gives a good reference.
Then the black wall (Not unlike the US VN war casualties) which has the name of all the sailors and their rankings on board.
The bronze woman eternally scanning for her lost love and finally the dome of the memorial it felt just like when I stood on the Arizona memorial a great sense of loss!

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Surpmil]

A poignant memorial to a part of our naval history which saw one of our finest vessels that was lost with all hands, however she finished her adversary off though mortally hit.
(A detailed survey of her wreck showed the German raiders initial salvo's to be devastating to the Sydney)

So much to this story why she got so close, the captains failure, the carley raft at Christmas Island with the unknown sailor, the japanese submarine theory.

What I liked is the monument of the bow section showing you the depth of her deck to keel in relation to the stone wall gives a good reference.
Then the black wall (Not unlike the US VN war casualties) which has the name of all the sailors and their rankings on board.
The bronze woman eternally scanning for her lost love and finally the dome of the memorial it felt just like when I stood on the Arizona memorial a great sense of loss!

The mystery would be why the captain of the Sidney exposed her in the way he did in a state of relative unpreparedness. The Q ships of WWI demonstrated what could be achieved by a ship prepared to open fire the instant the command is given even against a wary foe.

Atlantis focused a lot of fire on the bridge of Sydney and wasn't that command centre knocked in the first minute of firing? Didn't the captain of the Atlantis later congratulate some or all of his AA gunners on their accurate fire at the bridge?

Was it ever determined at what angle the Carley Float found on Christmas Island was struck by the bullets or fragments? That is whether in the storage position or in the water?

The large number of survivors from Atlantis and the complete lack of even floats or lifeboats from Sydney suggests very strongly that Atlantis or even her boats, finished off all the survivors from Sydney, or any they could reach, and made sure there was as little evidence of that as possible. IIRC it was believed by the captain and officers of Atlantis that they ran some risk of being considered not subject to the Geneva Convention for the way they disguised themselves. It would have mattered what they believed, not what the facts were. They also no doubt hoped to escape to Japan for repairs if Sydney could be destroyed before an alarm was raised by radio or by survivors. Had that been achieved Atlantis could have continued her career in the area after repair and replenishment.

IIRC there was no serious effort made at the outset to separate the officers and ratings and interrogate anyone seriously, and of course silence was enforced once they were confined together. The whole thing was handled in a rather naive and amateurish way.