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projecting forward from the Bridge and the single 4.0 inch (50 mm) AA Gun s amidships distinguished the ''Sydney'' from other ships in the same class. The ship's Supermarine Seagull Seaplane is also visible.]] The second HMAS ''Sydney'' was a modified ''Leander''-class Light Cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy . The ship had great success in the first years of World War II , but controversy and mystery surrounds the loss of ''Sydney'' and its crew in November 1941. Its sinking with all hands represents the greatest ever loss of life in an Australia n warship; ''Sydney'' was also the largest vessel of any country to be lost with no survivors during the war. ''Sydney'' was laid down by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Limited at Wallsend -on- Tyne , England on 8 July 1933 as HMS ''Phaeton'' , purchased by the Australian Government in 1934 and renamed in memory of the earlier ''Sydney'' . She was launched on 22 September 1934 by Mrs S. M. Bruce, wife of the Australian High Commissioner to Britain and commissioned at Portsmouth on 24 September 1935 . WAR RECORD While serving in the Mediterranean, ''Sydney'' was credited with the sinking of the Italian destroyer ''Espero'' and shared honours in the sinking of the destroyer ''Zeffiro'' during the Battle Of Calabria . at Cape Spada]] ''Sydney's'' crowning glory was achieved on 19 July 1940 , in the Battle Of Cape Spada in the Greek Islands. With a British destroyer squadron in company, she engaged the high-speed Italian light cruisers ''Bartolomeo Colleoni'' and ''Giovanni Dalle Bande Nere'' . In the running battle which followed, ''Bartolomeo Colleoni'' was wrecked and later sunk by torpedoes from the destroyers, while the very high speed of ''Giovanni dalle Bande Nere'' enabled her to escape a similar fate. Final engagement and disappearance See Also: Battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran On 19 November 1941 , ''Sydney'', commanded by Captain Joseph Burnett encountered the German Auxiliary Cruiser ''Kormoran'' in the Indian Ocean west of Shark Bay , Western Australia. ''Kormoran'' was disguised as a Dutch merchant ship. According to survivors from ''Kormoran'', ''Sydney'' was lured to her doom by the German disguise, as she was surprised and overwhelmed when ''Kormoran'' suddenly opened fire. However, ''Kormoran'' was also badly damaged in the ensuing battle and had to be abandoned. Survivors from ''Kormoran'' reported that ''Sydney'' was last seen, heavily on fire and down by the bows. The ship and her 645 crew members were never seen again. The , damaged by gunfire, discovered at sea several days after the sinking. There have been many unsuccessful attempts to locate the wreck over the years. However, in 2005 Shipwreck hunter David Mearns (who also led the expedition which located the wreck of HMS ''Hood'' in the North Atlantic in July 2001) mounted another expedition to find the wreck with the assistance of the latest Sonar technology and newly-revealed details recorded by the Commander of ''Kormoran'', Theodor Detmers . EXTERNAL LINKS REFERENCES
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