Joseph Burnett
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| Joseph Burnett | |
|---|---|
| 26 December 1899 – November 19, 1941 (aged 41) | |
 Captain J. Burnett RAN on the bridge of HMAS Sydney |
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| Place of birth | Singleton, New South Wales, Australia |
| Place of death | at sea, in the Indian Ocean, west of Carnarvon, Western Australia |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch | Royal Australian Navy & Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1917-1941 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Commands held | HMAS Sydney |
| Battles/wars | Battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran (1941) |
Captain Joseph Burnett RAN, (26 December 1899 – 19 November 1941) was an Australian naval Captain who served with both the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Navy. He fought in both World War I and World War II, but is most famous for having lost his life commanding HMAS Sydney in the Battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran on 19 November 1941.
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[edit] Early life
Joseph Burnett was born at Singleton, New South Wales, on 26 December 1899. He attended Singleton Primary School. In 1912 he entered the Royal Australian Naval College in Geelong, becoming one of its first entrants as a cadet midshipman on 31 December 1912.
[edit] Naval career
Burnett graduated from the Royal Australian Naval college in 1917 and was immediately sent to England, where he joined the crew of HMAS Australia as midshipman. HMAS Australia was flagship of 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron, and it was an excellent posting for Burnett. He served on HMAS Australia for the remainder of World War I and reached the rank of sub-lieutenant.
At the conclusion of World War I, HMAS Australia sailed for Australia, departing on 24 April 1919 and arriving on 28 May, however Burnett stayed in England on an attachment to the Royal Navy with whom he served for the next seven years. In January 1920 Burnett was promoted to Lieutenant, and had qualified as a gunnery officer by 1922.
In 1924 Burnett was appointed as the gunnery officer on board HMAS Adelaide, before marrying Enid Ward and returning briefly to Australia, although still attached to the Royal Navy. After three years in Australia he returned to England and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. In 1928 he joined the HMAS Canberra which he stayed with until 1932, when he attended Naval Staff College at Greenwich until 1933. He was then promoted to Commander and once more returned to Australia where he worked for the Navy Office in Melbourne for two years.
Joseph Burnett missed the sea, and in 1936 he was reunited with HMAS Canberra, this time as executive officer. In 1937 he returned to England for the last time, serving as excutive officer on board HMS Royal Oak. Whilst in England he was promoted to Captain and completed the Imperial Defence College course.
On the outbreak of World War II on September 1, 1939 Burnett was recalled to Australia where he was made Assistant Chief of Naval Staff at the Navy Office in Melbourne. By October 1940 he was sent to Singapore as the senior Royal Australian Navy representative at an Allied conference considering the defence of the Asia-Pacific region. At the conference he called for the establishment of the Naval Auxillary Patrol, which proved extremely successful at patrolling harbour entrances throughout the war.
In May 1941, Burnett received his first direct command, when he was posted to HMAS Sydney. The ship had already acquired a distinguished war record in the Battle of the Mediterranean. Sydney' had just completed a refit and her primary duties at the time were escorting convoys.
[edit] Battle between HMAS Sydney and German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran
In November 1941 HMAS Sydney undertook a mission to escort the troopship Zealandia to Sunda Strait. As Sydney was returning to Fremantle, at about 4pm on 19 November, at a point off the coast between Carnarvon and Geraldton, she sighted what appeared to be a merchant ship about 20 kilometres (11 nmi) away and challenged it. The other ship was the merchant raider Kormoran, disguised as the Dutch freighter Straat Malakka.
According to accounts by crew members of Kormoran, Sydney chased and overhauled the raider, while exchanging signals and attempting to verify her identity. Sydney closed to within 1000 yards and demanded a password from the captain of the Kormoran, at which point he opened fire on the Sydney. Survivors accounts seemed to indicate Sydney was not ready for the engagement, and was hit several times before returning fire. At this point Sydney had caught fire.
However Sydney was better armoured and more heavily armed, and eventually opened fire on Kormoran, hitting her severely on the funnel and engine room which caught fire immediately. With both ships severely damaged, Sydney turned southwards, and having disappeared from the view of the Kormoran, sank with all hands on board. Kormoran was too badly damaged to be saved, and was scuttled by her captain.
In Australia, many found it difficult to believe that a converted merchant ship could sink a modern light cruiser. Many also found it difficult to believe that a senior officer like Burnett took his ship within 1,000 metres (1,100 yd) of an unidentified and possibly dangerous vessel during wartime, without preparing for action and with such disastrous results. It was also seen as strange that the bulk of the crew of Kormoran survived, while there were no known survivors from Sydney.
[edit] Notes
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Burnett, Jospeh |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Australian captain |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 26 December 1899 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Singleton, New South Wales, Australia |
| DATE OF DEATH | 19 November 1941 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | at sea, in the Indian Ocean, west of Carnarvon, Western Australia |
