elements. The German survivors were found with milk bottles bearing Japanese labels. Although cited as evidence that a Japanese submarine was supplying Kormoran, the bottles were obtained from the supply ship Kulmerland, which had taken on supplies in Japan. Sketches drawn by one of the interned Germans were believed to contain an account of the battle in the Deutsche Einheitskurzschrift shorthand system. A civilian working for Australian military intelligence attempted to decode these. After relying on interpolation and speculation to make sense of the decoded characters and fill in the gaps, they came up with a message that included the phrase "a Japanese gunfire attack from Japan itself". However, several shorthand experts consulted by Winter could find nothing resembling Einheitskurzschrift (or any other shorthand style) in the sketches.Winter, H.M.A.S. Sydney, p. 233 According to Montgomery, the involvement of a submarine is supported by numerous sightings of submarines or submarine-like objects in Australian waters, particularly a sighting off Townsville in late October of six "strange boats" that surfaced, sprouted wings, and flew off; he interpreted this as a floatplane-carrying Japanese submarine, which may have reached Carnarvon in time to attack Sydney.Frame, HMAS Sydney, p. 160 The Cole report noted that false submarine sightings are a common wartime occurrence. In addition, the positions of all 46 active Japanese submarines at the time of the battle have been accounted for: 28 were in Japanese waters preparing for the attack on Pearl Harbor, seven were readying for operations in the South China Sea and the Philippines, nine were heading for the South China Sea, and two had just departed for patrols in the Pacific.Frame, HMAS Sydney, pp. 170–2 On several occasions, Japanese broadcasts stated that Sydney had been captured and towed to Japan or that personnel were interned in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. Post-war investigations found that these broadcasts were for propaganda purposes only. Claims that items from Sydney (such as cap tallies) were found in Japan after the war have also been aired, but further investigation found these to be based on unfounded speculation. There were suggestions over the years the Japanese submarine I-124, sunk off Darwin by HMAS Deloraine on 20 January 1942—some three months after the loss of the Sydney—contained information about the true fate of the Sydney or that herself may have been involved. Dr Lewis, who wrote Sensuikan I-124, and Darwin's Submarine I-124, contributed to the Cole inquiry, arguing strongly