HMAS Sydney investigation

CCIP · 05-30-08, 10:15 AM

No, this is how raiders operated. According to international law, they could only fire with their battle flag raised (and that meant they could basically shoot it right up the mast and the moment it was on top, they could fire), so at any time when they approached and attacked another ship, they had to "blow their cover". If they had not done so in the case of the Sydney, they would have had to face a court and be convicted of criminal acts after the war, possibly with the ship's commander and officers facing death penalty for it (as was the case with the U-boat commander who fired on wreck survivors).

Not that I think they did that. But it's not nice to have a shadow of doubt over it because only one side's account survives.

05-30-08, 10:15 AM	#6
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	No, this is how raiders operated. According to international law, they could only fire with their battle flag raised (and that meant they could basically shoot it right up the mast and the moment it was on top, they could fire), so at any time when they approached and attacked another ship, they had to "blow their cover". If they had not done so in the case of the Sydney, they would have had to face a court and be convicted of criminal acts after the war, possibly with the ship's commander and officers facing death penalty for it (as was the case with the U-boat commander who fired on wreck survivors). Not that I think they did that. But it's not nice to have a shadow of doubt over it because only one side's account survives. __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)

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