How long were the two ships slugging it out before the Sydney disengaged? Maybe there was only enough ammo left to blow the bow off or ammo in the forward turret exploded. If German crews said they saw the boat ablaze fore and aft, then a magazine or forward turret explosion would be the most plausible cause.

Sydney's A and B turrets we're reportadly disabled shortly after the battle begun, so there should've been a considerable amount of shells still left in the forward magazine after the battle...

Whatever happened,had to have happened fast for a ship of that size to go down with no survivors.

X turret was the one that caused the damage to the Kormoran in the battle. The others did't really get a look in.

Thats awesome that they finally found her. Maybe now they can finally solve all the misteries surrounding her.