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HMAS SYDNEY (II) at sea
HMAS SYDNEY (II) at sea

HMAS SYDNEY (II) at sea

Publisher
Photographer
Datec 1935
Object number00013943
NamePostcard
MediumCardboard
DimensionsOverall: 90 x 138 mm
ClassificationsPosters and postcards
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Michael Waterhouse
DescriptionThis postcard depicts HMAS SYDNEY in the Solent off Portsmouth, photographed by the famous naval photographic company, Wright and Logan.HistoryHMAS SYDNEY (II) was built for the Royal Australian Navy by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. at Wallsend on Tyne in 1933 and launched in 1934. At the outbreak of World War II, HMAS SYDNEY undertook local patrol duties until April 1940 when it joined the 7th Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean Sea. Action soon followed with the bombardment of Bardia (Libya) and the Battles of Calabria (Italy) and Cape Spada (Crete). On 19 July, off Cape Spada in Crete, HMAS SYDNEY and five British Royal Navy destroyers fought against the Italian cruisers BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI and GIOVANNI DELLE BANDE NERE. The resulting sea battle saw Sydney's accurate gunfire cripple the COLLEONI and damage the BANDE NERE. Returning after long and hard service in the Mediterranean, HMAS SYDNEY was welcomed into Sydney Harbour on 10 February 1941 by thousands lining the foreshores. Vantage points along Farm Cove offered the perfect view of the cruiser with its geometric, dazzle painted scheme (camouflage). The grey colours were painted on immediately after the Cape Spada action of July 1940. The ship then underwent a refit and was posted to convoy duties in the Indian Ocean. There, on 19 November 1941, SYDNEY went into battle with the German raider KORMORAN. Unbelievably, SYDNEY was completely lost - the ship plus all 645 crew. The loss of HMAS SYDNEY was devastating for the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian public. Theories about the disappearance abounded until the discovery of the two wrecks off the western Australian coast in March 2008.SignificanceHMAS SYDNEY holds a significant place in Australian maritime history as the ship that in 1941 went into battle with the German raider KORMORAN and was tragically lost.