She was the glory ship of the then fledgling Australian Navy: a modern, handsome ship which carried a wartime complement of 645 men. But then, on 19 November 1941, HMAS Sydney encountered the German raider Kormoran in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia. The battle that followed was bloody and drawn out, and when it was over the Sydney disappeared beneath the ocean's surface. For the next 66 years her whereabouts, and the answers to why no-one aboard had survived while those aboard the Kormoran escaped, became one of military history's great mysteries.

Over the years several notoriously false claims of the wreck being found, combined with a genuine uncertainty about the accuracy of the German positions, led Dr Robert Ballard - the finder of Titanic - to famously remark that the search for Sydney was 'like finding a needle in the haystack without the haystack'.

In 2003, shiphunter David Mearns threw his hat into the ring, declaring that it was entirely possible to find both the wreck of the Sydney and of the Kormoran. Mearns's expedition faced an almost insurmountable number of technical problems and very poor weather, which included being chased by two cyclones, but five years after he had vowed to find the two ships, he was able to locate and photograph both wrecks.

In this book David Mearns tells, for the first time, the full and dramatic story of the hunt for the Sydney - and the Kormoran. Accompanied by stunning photographs, the book will finally reveal why the Sydney sank, and why no-one survived, and lay to rest many of the conspiracies and controversies which surrounded her disappearance.

About the Author

David Mearns is one of the worlds most experienced and successful shipwreck hunters. Over a 19-year career, David has led the search and recover of nearly 50 wrecks, most notably HMS Hood and the German battleship Bismarck. He is the author of books about both expeditions. David lives in Sussex in the UK.