Joseph Burnett

Joseph Burnett
Burnett on the bridge of HMAS Sydney
Born	(1899-12-26)26 December 1899 Singleton, New South Wales, Australia
Died	19 November 1941(1941-11-19) (aged 41) Indian Ocean, off Dirk Hartog Island, Western Australia
Cause of death	Killed in action
Buried	At sea
Allegiance	Australia
Service / branch	Royal Australian Navy
Years of service	1917–1941
Rank	Captain
Commands	HMAS Sydney
Battles / wars	First World War Second World War HMAS Sydney-HSK Kormoran action †

Joseph Burnett (26 December 1899 – 19 November 1941) was a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) officer most widely known as the captain of the light cruiser HMAS Sydney in the battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran on 19 November 1941. He fought in both the First World War and Second World War, serving in the RAN and the Royal Navy (RN),^[1] and went down with the Sydney off the coast of Western Australia.

The loss of the Sydney was significant for two main reasons. First, it represented the loss of one third of all RAN officers and sailors who died during the Second World War in a single engagement—and not far from Australian soil, at that. Second, great mystery surrounded its loss. There had been no Australian survivors, and so it was not clear how or why a warship had been in a position to be sunk by a less well-armed merchant raider. As commander of the Sydney, Burnett bore primary responsibility for the ship and its crew, so he was an obvious target for criticism. Investigations into the ship's sinking have tried to examine his apparent decisions in the period leading up to the battle.

Regardless of the events of that day, Burnett was viewed as a good man and competent commander by his peers. His sons both pursued naval careers and served in the RAN. Following a successful search for the Sydney and Kormoran that located both wrecks in 2008, controversy surrounding Burnett's command arose again. His younger son, retired Commodore Rory Burnett, has defended him through various public statements.