HMAS Canberra (D33)
Canberra at Kings Wharf, Wellington, New Zealand, ca. 1930s
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History | |
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Australia | |
Namesake | City of Canberra |
Builder | John Brown & Company, Clydebank |
Yard number | 513 |
Laid down | 9 September 1925 |
Launched | 31 May 1927 |
Completed | 10 July 1928 |
Commissioned | 9 July 1928 |
Motto |
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Honours and awards |
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Fate | Sunk off Savo Island on 9 August 1942 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type |
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Displacement |
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Length |
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Beam | 68.25 ft (20.80 m) |
Draught | 21 ft 4 in (6.50 m) (maximum) |
Propulsion | 8 Yarrow boilers, 4 shaft Brown-Curtis geared turbines, 80,000 shp |
Speed |
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Range |
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Complement |
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Armament |
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Armour |
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Aircraft carried | 1 amphibious aircraft (initially Seagull III, later Walrus ) |
HMAS Canberra (I33/D33), named after the Australian capital city of
At the start of World War II, Canberra was initially used for patrols and convoy escort around Australia. In July 1940, she was reassigned as a convoy escort between Western Australia, Sri Lanka, and South Africa. During this deployment, which ended in mid-1941, Canberra was involved in the hunt for several German
On 9 August 1942, Canberra was struck by the opening Japanese shots of the Battle of Savo Island, and was quickly crippled, and according to the crew, she was torpedoed by friendly fire. Unable to propel herself, listing heavily and burning, the cruiser was evacuated and then sunk in Ironbottom Sound by two American destroyers. The United States Navy Baltimore-class cruiser USS Canberra was named in honour of the Australian ship. Later, in 2023, the US Navy named a new Independence-class littoral combat ship also after the Canberra, which became the first US warship commissioned in a foreign port.[1]
Design
Canberra was one of seven Kent-class cruisers—a subclass of the
Canberra's main armament consisted of eight
The cruiser was designed to carry a single
In 1924, the Australian government ordered two Kent-class cruisers to replace the ageing light cruisers Sydney and Melbourne.[4] These ships were to be named Australia and Canberra, with both to be built by John Brown & Company, at their shipyard at Clydebank, Scotland: the only two County-class ships built in Scotland.[2][4] Canberra was laid down on 9 September 1925, and given the yard number 513.[5][7] Canberra was launched on 31 May 1927 by Princess Mary; the first ship of the RAN launched by a member of the Royal Family.[5][8] Work on the ship was completed on 10 July 1928, the day after the cruiser was commissioned into the RAN.[5] Most of the initial ship's company came from Sydney.[9] Canberra cost approximately A£2 million to construct.[5]
Operational history
Pre-war
Canberra left Portsmouth on 4 December 1928, after several months of workup trials, and arrived at Sydney on 16 February 1929.
World War II
For the first nine months of World War II, Canberra was assigned to patrol and escort duties around Australia.[5] In January 1940, the cruiser escorted the first convoy carrying Australian and New Zealand soldiers, Anzac Convoy US 1, to the Middle East.[11] During May, Canberra joined sister ship Australia to escort Anzac Convoy US 3 across the Indian Ocean; the convoy was diverted via the Cape of Good Hope following fears that Italy was about to join the war.[11][12] On 26 June, Canberra left Australia with the troopship Strathmore for Cape Town, where the cruiser was assigned to the Indian Ocean as a convoy escort between Fremantle, Colombo, and Cape Town.[5][12][13] During November, Canberra attempted to locate the German merchant raider Atlantis.[13] She returned unsuccessful to Fremantle on 20 November, but sailed that night with a skeleton crew after the merchant ship SS Maimoa signalled that she was under attack by a German merchant raider (the auxiliary cruiser Pinguin).[13] Although unable to find Maimoa or her attacker, Canberra encountered three lifeboats on 22 November, which carried 27 sailors who had escaped from SS Port Brisbane, another victim of Pinguin.[5][13] The cruiser returned to Fremantle on 27 November without encountering the German raider.[13] Shortly after,[clarification needed] Canberra headed for the East Indies Station.[13]
In February 1941, Canberra was involved in efforts to locate the German pocket battleship
Canberra was assigned back to Australia in July; operating around the western and southern coasts.[14] The cruiser was in Sydney in December 1941, when Japan entered the war: Canberra was quickly reassigned to convoy duties around New Guinea, interspersed by operations in Malaysian and Javanese waters.[14] On 12 December 1941, the cruiser was ordered from Sydney to meet the Pensacola Convoy, hoisting the flag of Rear-Admiral John G. Crace as she stopped in Brisbane on 15 December. In company with HMAS Perth she sailed for the vicinity of New Caledonia to meet the light cruiser HMNZS Achilles and the convoy.[19]
In January 1942, Canberra and HMAS Vampire escorted the troopship Aquitania, leaving Sydney 10 January, carrying reinforcements to Singapore as far as Ratai Bay, Sunda Strait where the reinforcements were transshipped into seven smaller vessels for the final run to Singapore.[20][12] She was then part of the escort for that convoy, "MS.2A" of six Dutch KPM vessels and one British vessel, to Singapore arriving 24 January.[20] During her return voyage via the Dutch East Indies, the cruiser was assigned to the ANZAC Squadron.[12] A refit occurred in Sydney from February to May 1942, during which Canberra became the first Australian warship to be fitted with radar (a Type 241 surface search set, and an A290 air-warning set).[12] The cruiser was present in Sydney Harbour during the Japanese midget submarine attack on 31 May-1 June.[14] Although not damaged, at 04:40, Canberra recorded that the Japanese may have fired torpedoes at her.[14][21] This may have been one of many false alarms throughout the night; however, one of the midget submarines had attempted to fire its torpedoes at a target, but these did not release because of damage sustained during the infiltration.[21] The observer aboard Canberra may have seen bubbles from the compressed air released to fire the torpedoes.[21]
The cruiser headed north the day after the submarine attack to join the ANZAC Squadron, which had been redesignated
Loss
During the afternoon of 8 August, a Japanese task force commanded by Vice Admiral
At 01:45, Patterson detected Mikawa's ships and alerted the Allied force.[25] The Japanese scout planes dropped flares to silhouette Canberra and Chicago.[24] The Australian cruiser was able to avoid the Japanese torpedoes fired at the start of the engagement but was on the receiving end of the Japanese cruisers' gunfire.[25] The first two salvos killed or wounded several senior officers, disabled both engine rooms, damaged the bridge and 4-inch gun platform and forced the flooding of her 8-inch (203 mm) magazines.[13][25] Within two minutes, the cruiser had been hit 24 times; she was immobilised, without power, and listing to starboard, with multiple internal fires and at least a fifth of her personnel dead or wounded.[26] At least one torpedo strike was reported during the Japanese attack, although none of the 19 torpedoes fired at Canberra by the Japanese cruisers were recorded as hitting their target.[25] Several personnel from Canberra believe that USS Bagley inadvertently torpedoed the cruiser.[25][27] From the 819-strong ship's company, 84 were killed (74 during the battle, 10 dying later from wounds), and another 109 were wounded.[13][28]
At 03:30, Patterson came alongside and relayed orders from Rear Admiral Turner: if Canberra could not achieve mobility by 06:30, she would be abandoned and sunk.[28] The destroyer began to recover the Australian survivors, but at 04:30, Patterson detected an approaching ship.[28] The destroyer moved to investigate, at which point the unknown ship opened fire, and Patterson retaliated.[28] It was quickly realised that the attacker was USS Chicago, which had mistaken Canberra for a damaged Japanese vessel, and both ships ceased fire.[28] Patterson returned to continue the evacuation, and was aided by sister ship USS Blue.[29]
While still afloat, and in no apparent danger of sinking, damage control and repair options were being evaluated. It was determined that Canberra's engines could not be repaired by the 0630 deadline, and she was to be scuttled, instead of being towed over to Tulagi harbor for emergency repairs.[29] She was torpedoed by the destroyer USS Ellet at 08:00, after 263 5-inch (127 mm) shells and four other torpedoes fired by USS Selfridge failed to do the job, and sank at coordinates 09°12′29″S 159°54′46″E / 9.20806°S 159.91278°E.[29][30] She was one of the first ships to be sunk in what was eventually named "Ironbottom Sound".[31] Three US cruisers were also destroyed during the battle and a US destroyer damaged.[27]
Aftermath
Captain
Around the same time, the British government announced that the heavy cruiser
Canberra's wartime service was recognised with four
Rediscovery
Canberra's wreck was rediscovered and examined by Robert Ballard and his crew in July and August 1992, almost exactly fifty years after her scuttling.[38] She lies upright on the ocean floor, approximately 2,500 feet (760 m) below sea level, and while her hull was basically intact, she shows visible signs of shell hits and fire damage amidships.[31] Just as they had been during the Battle of Savo Island, Canberra's "B", "X" and "Y" turrets were trained to port, while "A" turret was trained on the port bow. When the ship was rediscovered in 1992, the forward superstructure had collapsed over to the starboard side; the roof of "B" turret was missing.[citation needed]
Memorials
HMAS Canberra is remembered in various places. In her name city of Canberra, a memorial is located next to Lake Burley Griffin,[39] adjacent to the National Carillon. It incorporates a naval anchor and a section of chain cable (of the same type carried by Canberra),[39] and it has two plaques detailing the purpose of the memorial and the details of the cruiser. The memorial was erected by the Australian Capital Territory Branch of the Naval Historical Society, with donations from the ex-HMAS Canberra and Canberra-Shropshire Association members, and was unveiled on 9 August 1981 by Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot.[39] A commemorative address was given at the unveiling by Admiral Sir Victor Smith, who was aboard Canberra at the time of her loss.[39] Each year on the Saturday closest 9 August, a service is conducted at the memorial, which is attended by the Australian Chief of Navy, the defence attachés from the United States and the United Kingdom, and personnel from the naval base HMAS Harman.[citation needed] A catafalque party was originally provided by personnel from the frigate HMAS Canberra until the ship's 2005 decommissioning; after this, the catafalque party was supplied by the Australian Navy Cadets unit TS Canberra.[citation needed]
Another memorial is located at the Police Memorial Park in
The ship's service is also recognised in a stained glass window at the Garden Island Naval Chapel.[42]
Notes
- ^ a b "USS Canberra: US commissions first Navy warship in foreign port". Reuters. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ a b Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 102
- ^ a b Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 39
- ^ a b c Clark, The Fighting Canberras, p. 9
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 40
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 101
- ^ "HMAS CANBERRA built by John Brown Clydebank". Clydebuilt Ships Database. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, pp. 367-8
- ^ a b Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 105
- ^ Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, pp. 105–6
- ^ a b c Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 106
- ^ a b c d e f g Clark, The Fighting Canberras, p. 10
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 107
- ^ a b c d e f g Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 41
- ^ Frame, HMAS Sydney, pp. 113–4
- ^ a b Frame, HMAS Sydney, p. 114
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, pp. 456–7
- ^ Frame, HMAS Sydney, pgs. 114, 133
- ^ Gill 1957, p. 510.
- ^ a b Gill 1957, p. 524.
- ^ a b c Grose, A Very Rude Awakening, pp. 160–2
- ^ Cassells, The Capital Ships, pp. 41–2
- ^ a b c d e Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 42
- ^ a b Clark, The Fighting Canberras, p. 11
- ^ a b c d e Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 43
- ^ Cassells, The Capital Ships, pp. 43–4
- ^ a b Mellefont, Two ships called Canberra, p. 5
- ^ a b c d e Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 44
- ^ a b c d e f Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 45
- ^ Mellefont, Two ships called Canberra, p. 6
- ^ a b "HMAS Canberra (1928-1942)". Online Library of Selected Images. Naval Historical Center. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ Cassells, The Capital Ships, pp. 45, 129
- ^ a b Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 128
- ^ Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 129
- ^ Bridges, Stuart. "HMAS Shropshire: 1928 – 1954". Naval Historical Society of Australia. Archived from the original on 15 January 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- ^ "Navy Marks 109th Birthday With Historic Changes To Battle Honours". Royal Australian Navy. 1 March 2010. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- ^ "Royal Australian Navy Ship/Unit Battle Honours" (PDF). Royal Australian Navy. 1 March 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- ^ "The race to save up to 50 shipwrecks from looters in South-East Asia". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 16 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^ a b c d Cassells, The Capital Ships, pp 64–5
- ^ a b c "HMAS Canberra Memorial". Overseas Memorial Search. Department of Veterans' Affairs. Archived from the original on 20 July 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
- ^ "HMAS Canberra (1942)". seafarersmemorial.org.au. Tasmanian Seafarers' memorial. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ^ Mellefont, Two ships named Canberra, p. 7
References
- Bastock, John (1975). Australia's Ships of War. Cremorne, NSW: Angus and Robertson. OCLC 2525523.
- Cassells, Vic (2000). The Capital Ships: their battles and their badges. East Roseville, NSW: Simon & Schuster. OCLC 48761594.
- Clark, Robin (March 2001). "The Fighting Canberras". Canberra Historical Journal: 9–16.
- OCLC 32234178.
- ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
- Gill, George Hermon (1957). Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942. OCLC 848228.
- Grose, Peter (2007). A Very Rude Awakening. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74175-219-9.
- Mellefont, Jeffrey (June 2008). "Two ships called Canberra". Signals (83). Australian National Maritime Museum: 2–7.
- Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-922-7.
External links
- HMAS Canberra (I) – Royal Australian Navy webpage for HMAS Canberra
- Australian Navy Ships – HMAS Canberra Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine – Brief history and photographs published by the United States Naval Historical Center
- [1] – Australian War Memorial webpage on the loss of the cruiser