From 24 November, after "Sydney" failed to return to port, air and sea searches were conducted. Boats and rafts carrying survivors from "Kormoran" were recovered at sea, while others made landfall north of Carnarvon: 318 of the 399 personnel on "Kormoran" survived. While debris from "Sydney" was found, there were no survivors from the 645-strong complement. It was the largest loss of life in the history of the Royal Australian Navy, the largest Allied warship lost with all hands during World War II, and a major blow to Australian wartime morale. Australian authorities learned of "Sydney"s fate from the surviving "Kormoran" personnel, who were held in prisoner of war camps until the end of the war. The exact location of the two wrecks remained unverified until 2008.