VesselsArticle | Updated 7 years ago Diagram of the Steiermark and HSK Kormoran conversion HMAS Sydney (II) Port side view of white HMAS Sydney (II) Image copyright WA Museum Type Modified Leander Class Light Cruiser Laid Down 8 July 1933 Launched 22 September 1934 Commissioned 24 September 1935 Builder Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd, Wallsend on Tyne, England Motto I take but I surrender (the badge and motto for Sydney I & II was taken from the City of Sydney) Displacement 6,830 Tonnes Length 532 feet 3 inches Beam 56 feet 8 inches Armament 8 x 6" guns 4 x 4" guns 12 x 0.5" machine guns, in three quad mounts 12 x .303" Lewis Guns 8 x 21" torpedo tubes, in 2 quad mounts Horsepower 72,000 Speed 32.5 knots Complement 645 Commanding Officers 24 September 1935 Captain JUP FitzGerald RN 9 October 1937 Captain JWA Waller RN 16 November 1939 Captain JA Collins RAN 14 May 1941 Captain J Burnett RAN HSK Kormoran Diagram of the Steiermark and HSK Kormoran conversion Image copyright WA Museum Type Hilfskreuzer (Auxilliary Cruiser / Raider) Laid Down As The Hamburg-Amerika Line Steiermark Launched 15 September 1938 Commissioned 9 October 1940 Builder Krupp-Germaniawerft, Kiel, Germany Displacement 8,736 Tonnes Length 515 feet Beam 66 feet Armament 6 x 5.9" guns, range 18,100 yards 5 x 20mm anti-aircraft guns 2 x 37mm anti-aircraft guns 6 x 21" torpedo tubes, 2 below the waterline 390 Mines 2 x Arado 196 seaplanes Horsepower 16,000 Speed 19 knots Complement c.400 Commanding Officers Fregattenkapitän, later Korvettenkapitän Theodor Detmers For more information about the history of the HSK Kormoran, visit http://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/kormoran.html ‹ Timeline Reading List ›