It was a calamitous blow, indeed the greatest tragedy in the annals of Australian naval history.

The ocean also played its part by keeping it a secret for 66 years. The news of that fateful sea battle some 110 nautical miles from the shores of Carnarvon in Western Australia took some days to filter through to the Australian people.

The pride of the Australian naval fleet, the HMAS Sydney, was not only lost at sea but there were no survivors. All 645 officers and crew perished. This accounted for one-third of all RAN personnel lost in World War II.

Two sailors of Maltese descent perished with the Sydney: Salvatore Zammit, canteen manager, and Samuel Psaila, canteen assistance. The navy is still trying to track down relatives of 13 of the Sydney crew to see whether DNA can identify the remains.

I contacted migration historian Mark Caruana from Sydney who was asked by the navy to investigate the whereabouts of any relatives of the deceased Maltese sailors. He told me no one has came forward in connection with Mr Psaila. However, it is believed that one of the sons of Mr Zammit, now well in his 80s, is still living in Malta and has worked as a civil servant.

The other son (now deceased) was Jimmy Zammit (picture), well known to the Maltese community in Sydney as the secretary of the now defunct Phoenician Club of Australia that had its final premises located at Broadway, Sydney. Modern technology has finally uncovered the underwater tomb of the 645 sailors that vanished without a trace. HMAS Sydney, a modified Leander class light cruiser, 6,830 tons, was blasted out of existence in a surprise attack by a German raider on that fateful, tragic day of November 11, 1941.

It was the HSK Kormoran, 8,736 tons, disguised as a merchant ship, that caused the trouble, yet some 314 sailors on the German raider survived and served their prison sentence on Australian shores.

Shipwreck hunter David Mearns declared the discovery on the search vessel SV Geosounder. It is estimated that the search would have cost more than $5 million. Some time before, Mr Mearns also found the Kormoran. He is credited as well with the discovery of the wrecks of the Bismarck and the Hood.

The historic find had Prime Minister Kevin Rudd declaring that this discovery would bring some closure for the families of the 645 sailors who went down with the ship.

Any information regarding any relatives of the deceased Maltese sailors will be appreciated (lawdimech@optusnet.com.au).