and superior range, these were lost by closing with Kormoran.Jenkins, Did a sub really fire the fatal torpedo? The proximity meant that the advantage would go to the ship that fired first; while Burnett likely assumed that Sydney was dealing with a merchantman, Detmers was ready for Kormoran to surprise the cruiser, and the raider's gun crew knew where to aim for maximum effectiveness. The main theories refer to: Improper use of flags These theories contend that Detmers acted illegally by firing before Kormoran raised her battle ensign, flying a white flag of surrender to trick Burnett into relaxing or using false signal flags to indicate a medical or engineering emergency and lure Sydney in. While it was a war crime for a ship to attack without flying her battle ensign or while flying a surrender flag, false distress signals were considered legitimate ruses.Olson, Bitter Victory, pp. 339–41 All German accounts indicate that Kormoran lowered the Dutch flag and raised the German war ensign before the order to fire was given. However, a general distrust of German claims, plus the statement in Detmers' autobiography that it took six seconds to raise the flag, decamouflage, and start firing, led to questions. Olson contends that in Detmers' original report, the 'six seconds' figure encompassed only the flag-raising, with the meaning corrupted over time. Conversely, Frame considers the possibility as knowledge of doing so would have been limited to very few people. He cites other parts of the autobiography, where Detmers repeatedly asserts that he had committed no crime and his fear of court-martial as indicating a guilty conscience. Winter traces the origin of the "surrender or distress" theory to a single newspaper article written just after the battle by a reporter with no access to the prisoners or naval intelligence. Olson doubts that a surrender flag was used to lure Sydney in, as this would have informed Burnett that Straat Malakka was not what she seemed. He considers that the Germans may have used false signals or pretended to scuttle, but only hypothetically. The 2009 Cole inquiry concluded that the German ensign was raised before the first shell was fired. Cole thought that the use of surrender or distress flags was an "invention of those seeking to find a justification" for the cruiser's close approach. Japanese involvement The claim of Japanese involvement, specifically a submarine operating with Kormoran, is based on several