Acoustic Technologies –
Gefechtsbericht: The finding of HMAS Sydney (II) and HSK Kormoran
In March 2008, the WWII Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney (II) and its adversary the HSK Kormoran were found off of Shark Bay, Western Australia. A sidescan sonar search was conducted from Geraldton on the SV Geosounder in March 2008. Twelve sonar tracks were planned, however, only four were completed before the Kormoran wreck site was located in 2560m of water. Two more tracks were then surveyed before the Sydney wreck site was located in 2468m of water. A Comanche sub-Atlantic ROV was deployed, successfully traversing each wreck and recording detail. Unexpectedly, both wrecks were found virtually upright when shipwrecks usually sink down to their waterlines on a soft sea floor.
