Название: The Sinking of HMAS Sydney: How Australia's Greatest Maritime Mystery Was Solved Автор: David L. Mearns
Издательство: Harper Collins Publishers
ISBN: 1460756371
Год: 2018
Страниц: 336
Язык: английский
Формат: epub
Размер: 10.15 MB
The gripping account of how Australia's greatest warship was lost and found. 'We just found Sydney. We've got it. It's absolutely crystalclear. She's sitting upright in a small debris field. There's no doubt aboutit.'For sixty-six years it was Australia's greatest maritimemystery: what happened to the 'pride of the fleet' HMAS Sydney - was she beatenin a fair fight with the German cruiser Kormoran, or was there treacheryinvolved?
Could the Kormoran survivors' account of the battle and itsaftermath be believed? Why were there no survivors from Sydney? And where wasthe wreck? One of the world's foremost shipwreck hunters, David L. Mearns firstheard the story of the Sydney in 1996. It left an indelible impression on him. Hunting the Sydney ten years later tested all his skills as a detective, engineer,marine scientist and navigator. But find it he did, and with that momentous discovery came answers to the mystery; closure to relatives still grieving the 645 men dead; accountability to the RAN, which had all but given up hopeof ever finding its most iconic ship; and a sad but gripping explanation of the staggering naval disaster, allowing Australians to finallymake sense of the conflicting, conspiratorial and painful event.
When HMAS Sydney (II) succumbed to battle damage inflicted on her by the German raider Kormoran on the night of 19 November 1941 and disappeared beneath the surface of the Indian Ocean, the short but distinguished career of Australia’s most famous fighting ship came to an end. The loss of this great warship and her entire complement of 645 officers and men sent a shockwave throughout the Australian nation. It also set in train a series of events that would span two generations before her final resting place was found and her crew laid to rest.
Sydney’s loss heralded what was to be the beginning of a particularly dark period for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. In a single afternoon its champion, and all that she represented, was gone, leaving the Australian population feeling vulnerable and exposed to a very uncertain future.
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