soc.history.war.world-war-ii

in article 47E0FCAB.89AE179@comcast.net, Scott M. Kozel at
kozelsm@comcast.net wrote on 3/19/08 8:18 AM:

> What is hard to understand is how all 645 crewmen of Sydney could be
> killed in the action, apart from a massive magazine explosion...

It was reported that the Sydney received a torpedo hit amidships at the
beginning of the action, yes? If so, that might have caused massive flooding
and uncorrected listing very quickly, along with a loss of power. If the
bridge was also destroyed, as reported, along with most of the officers,
there might not have been any abandon ship order given in time for an
organized evacuation to occur before the ship capsized and went under. Those
crewmen who were not dead or fatally wounded before the ship sank, and who
were not dragged under when he sank, might not have made it to any floating
debris. Given that a search for survivors was delayed, it's not surprising
that none were found. Ships sinking with all hands, even absent a
catastrophic explosion, are not all that unheard of in the annals of WW II
naval warfare, even when an early search for survivors is mounted.

Michael