Captain Detmers gives us the true story of his war patrol on the German raider Kormoran in WWII. His breakout into the Atlantic, six months before the Bismarck would take the same route, followed by the tedium and terror of hunting and being hunted in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, is rivetingly told by Detmers.

The tension is highest when he has his fateful encounter with the Australian cruiser Sydney. His description would make a great movie. Then comes the aftermath of his victory over cruiser and having to abandon his mortally wounded ship, followed by the time in lifeboats, and his internment in Australia. I don't hesitate to recommend this book.

This wonderful account of the voyage of the disguised German Auxiliary Cruiser 'Kormoran' (Cormorant) - a former merchant ship equipped with obsolete W.W.1. guns, torpedo tubes and spotter aircraft - written by her captain Theodor Detmers. With the large multi-skilled crew capable of completely transforming the ship's appearance overnight to deceive the enemy 'Kormoran' evaded capture as she cut a swathe though Allied shipping in the South Atlantic and the Indian ocean on her way to the west coast of Australia, where one of the most remarkable and controversial naval battles of World War two took place.

Having recently been to Australia and seen the memorials to HMAS Sydney, this book was a must.

Came fairly fast and was in really good condition, dad loved it!

A bit of a slow burner, before Detmers really gets into his stride, describing his very successful wartime cruise as Captain of the German raider "Kormoran". The exciting description of his final battle against HMS Sydney makes the book a worthwhile purchase, though finding a copy of this title was quite a difficult task. It is a rather thin volume, but an important one nevertheless.