Following a battle with the German raider Kormoran in the Indian Ocean off the Western Australian coast.On 19 November, Sydney sighted the Kormoran, disguised as a Dutch merchant ship, and both ships altered course. When the Kormoran was asked to identify itself, and as the distance between the two ships narrowed, they hoisted the German colours and, already at action stations, fired at the ill-prepared Australian cruiser. The Sydney’s bridge and tower were hit within seconds and for 30 minutes they fired guns and torpedoes at each other. The loss of the Sydney with its full war complement of 645 crew remains the worst Australian naval disaster.