The battle damage would have forced any Australian survivors to use carley floats and personal lifebelts, which were only intended as short-term life preservers. Based on survival rates for contemporary warship losses, Olson determined that anyone who survived the sinking would have died from wounds, exposure, or drowning before the search commenced, and corpses would not have floated to the surface until after the search had been terminated. The higher survival rate from "Kormoran" was because, unlike "Sydney", the raider's boats and rafts were well equipped and mostly undamaged. Although "Sydney" is thought of as the only warship lost with all hands, the JCFADT report lists eight other surface warships of similar size lost during the World Wars where none survived, and another six where 95% or more aboard died.