(152 mm) guns in four twin turrets ("A" and "B" forward, "X" and "Y" aft) as primary armament. These were supplemented by four 4-inch (102 mm) anti-aircraft guns, nine .303-inch (7.7 mm) machine guns, and eight torpedo tubes in two quadruple mountings. The cruiser also carried a single Supermarine Walrus amphibious aircraft. Initially assigned to escort and patrol duties in Australian waters, Sydney was sent to the Mediterranean in mid-1940.Goldrick, in The Royal Australian Navy, p. 111 Sydney operated against Italian naval forces for eight months, during which she participated in multiple battles, sank two Italian warships and several merchantmen, and supported convoy operations and shore bombardments. The cruiser was recalled to Australia in early January 1941: the need to rest the ship and personnel, plans to spread combat experience across the RAN fleet, and a desire to reinforce the nation following German raider activity in nearby waters were all factors.Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 150 Sydney was assigned to Fremantle, Western Australia, and resumed escort and patrol duties. Command was handed over from Captain John Collins to Captain Joseph Burnett in May 1941. On 11 November, Sydney departed Fremantle for Singapore with the transport . The vessels sailed to Sunda Strait, where the troopship was handed over on 17 November to . Sydney then turned for home and was scheduled to arrive in Fremantle late on 20 November. At the time of the battle, she had a ship's company of 645: 41 officers, 594 sailors, six Royal Australian Air Force personnel, and four civilian canteen staff.<ref>Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 152</ref> Kormoran During the 1930s, disparities between the conventional warship strength of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) and other nations caused by the Treaty of Versailles led the German military to recognise that auxiliary cruisers engaged in commerce raiding would be of use during future wars and that suitable vessels should be identified. The merchant ship (named after Styria) was one such vessel; she was taken up by the at the start of World War II. Renamed , she was the largest and newest of nine raiders, referred to as (auxiliary cruisers) or (trade disruption cruisers). Kormoran was commissioned in October 1940. After modification, she was long and measured 8736 grt. The raider was fitted with six single guns (two each in the forecastle and quarterdeck, with the fifth and sixth on the centreline) as the main armament, supplemented by