HMAS Canberra (D33)

HMAS ''Canberra'' (I33/D33), named after the Australian capital city of Canberra, was a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) heavy cruiser of the ''Kent'' sub-class of s. Constructed in Scotland during the mid-1920s, the ship was commissioned in 1928, and spent the first part of her career primarily operating in Australian waters, with some deployments to the China Station.

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 auxiliary cruisers. The cruiser resumed operations in Australian waters, but when Japan entered the war, she was quickly reassigned to convoy duties around New Guinea, interspersed with operations in Malaysian and Javanese waters. ''Canberra'' later joined Task Force 44, and was involved in the Guadalcanal Campaign and the Tulagi landings.

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 cruiser was named in honour of the Australian ship. Later, in 2023, the US Navy named the new littoral combat ship after ''Canberra'', which became the first US warship commissioned in a foreign port.

Design

''Canberra'' was one of seven ''Kent''-class cruisers—a subclass of the —designed by Eustace Tennyson-d'Eyncourt.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 102 The ship was long between perpendiculars and overall, with a beam of , and a maximum draught of .Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 39 She displaced 9,850 tons at light load, and 10,000 tons at standard load. The ''Kent'' class were built to meet the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty; with a reduction in armament and protection. ''Canberra'' was powered by eight Yarrow boilers which fed steam to four Brown-Curtis geared turbines; these in turn provided to the ship's four propeller shafts. The cruiser could reach speeds of , which could be maintained for , although could be travelled at the more economical standard cruising speed. Before World War II, the ship's company was normally 690 (49 officers, 641 sailors); this increased to 710 when acting as a flagship. During wartime service, the normal company expanded to 751 (61 officers, 690 sailors), and at the time of her loss, 819 people were aboard.

''Canberra''s main armament consisted of eight 8-inch Mark VIII guns in four twin turrets. Secondary armament consisted of four 4-inch quick-firing high-angle guns and four 2-pounder "pom-pom" guns.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 101 A mixture of .303-inch machine guns were carried for close defence work: initially this consisted of four Vickers machine guns and twelve Lewis machine guns, although four Lewis guns were later removed. During a refit in 1942, two multiple pom-poms and five 20 mm Oerlikons were added to enhance the anti-aircraft armament. Four 3-pounder quick-firing Hotchkiss guns were used as saluting guns. Two sets of quadruple 21-inch torpedo tubes were fitted. Depth charges were carried: these were deployed by rails.

The cruiser was designed to carry a single amphibious aircraft: initially a Supermarine Seagull III aircraft, but this was replaced in 1936 by the Supermarine Walrus. However, the aircraft catapult was not installed until April 1936, during a refit in Sydney. Before this, the Seagull amphibian was lowered into the water by the ship's recovery crane and took off from there. Armour aboard ''Canberra'' was limited to an armour deck over the machinery spaces and magazines, ranging from in thickness. Armour plate was also fitted to the turrets (up to thick) and the conning tower ( thick). Anti-torpedo bulges were also fitted.

In 1924, the Australian government ordered two ''Kent''-class cruisers to replace the ageing light cruisers and .Clark, ''The Fighting Canberras'', p. 9 These ships were to be named 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. ''Canberra'' was laid down on 9 September 1925, and given the yard number 513.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 40 ''Canberra'' was launched on 31 May 1927 by Princess Mary; the first ship of the RAN launched by a member of the Royal Family. Work on the ship was completed on 10 July 1928, the day after the cruiser was commissioned into the RAN. Most of the initial ship's company came from ''Sydney''.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 105 ''Canberra'' cost approximately A£2 million to construct.

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. The cruiser operated primarily in Australian waters during the next ten years, spending periods of time as the RAN flagship. On 20 September 1929, during a round-Australia cruise, the ship grounded on a sand shoal outside Roebuck Bay, Western Australia. The damage did not prevent the ship from operating, and it was not until early 1930 that the affected hull plates were replaced.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 106 In September 1931, ''Canberra'' visited New Caledonia and Fiji. The cruiser operated on the Royal Navy's China Station in 1932 and 1937. In 1934 the ship was assigned to escort , which was transporting the Duke of Gloucester during a visit to Australia. In August 1936 she brought Admiral Sir Murray Anderson to Sydney, Australia to be invested as Governor of New South Wales.

World War II

For the first nine months of World War II, ''Canberra'' was assigned to patrol and escort duties around Australia. In January 1940, the cruiser escorted the first convoy carrying Australian and New Zealand soldiers, Anzac Convoy US 1, to the Middle East. 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. 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.Clark, ''The Fighting Canberras'', p. 10Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 107 During November, ''Canberra'' attempted to locate the German merchant raider ''Atlantis''. 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''). 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''. The cruiser returned to Fremantle on 27 November without encountering the German raider. Shortly after, ''Canberra'' headed for the East Indies Station.

In February 1941, ''Canberra'' was involved in efforts to locate the German pocket battleship ''Admiral Scheer''.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 41 In early March, ''Canberra'' encountered two merchant ships; a tanker supplying a possible merchant raider, which split up and fled when ordered to stop. ''Canberra'' pursued the suspected raider, and fired on her from maximum range to avoid a retaliatory attack, while her Walrus amphibian attempted to stop the tanker by dropping several bombs.Frame, ''HMAS Sydney'', p. 114 Both ships (the raider supply ship ''Coburg'' and the captured Norwegian tanker ''Ketty Brøvig'') had commenced scuttling after the first attack from their pursuit, but the Australians continued attacking: the Walrus used all her bombs, while ''Canberra'' fired 215 shells, many of them misses. A post-action analysis found that if ''Canberra'' had closed before firing, the same quantity of damage could have been achieved for less ammunition, and one or both ships might have been captured.

''Canberra'' was assigned back to Australia in July; operating around the western and southern coasts. 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. 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 and the convoy.

In January 1942, ''Canberra'' and 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. 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. During her return voyage via the Dutch East Indies, the cruiser was assigned to the ANZAC Squadron. 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). The cruiser was present in Sydney Harbour during the Japanese midget submarine attack on 31 May-1 June. Although not damaged, at 04:40, ''Canberra'' recorded that the Japanese may have fired torpedoes at her.Grose, ''A Very Rude Awakening'', pp. 160–2 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. The observer aboard ''Canberra'' may have seen bubbles from the compressed air released to fire the torpedoes.

The cruiser headed north the day after the submarine attack to join the ANZAC Squadron, which had been redesignated Task Force 44. On 17 June, ''Canberra'' took part in offensive patrols through the Coral Sea, and from July, she was assigned to Operation Watchtower; the opening stages of the Guadalcanal Campaign. The cruiser escorted the force to be landed at Tulagi from 5 August, and screened the force during the landings on 7 and 8 August; the cruiser encountered no initial resistance.

Loss

During the afternoon of 8 August, a Japanese task force commanded by Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa and consisting of five cruisers and a destroyer began to approach the south of Savo Island, with the intention to attack the naval force supporting the landing at Guadalcanal, then those at Tulagi.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 42 Anticipating a naval attack following several assaults by land-based Japanese aircraft, the Allied commander of the naval forces, Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley, split his forces around Savo Island: Crutchley aboard HMAS ''Australia'' led ''Canberra'', , and the destroyers and on patrol of the southern waters. At 20:45, Crutchley was recalled to meet urgently with US Admiral Richmond K. Turner, overall commander of the amphibious landings. Although ''Chicago'' was the senior ship after ''Australia'' departed, ''Canberra'', which had been following ''Australia'', found herself at point.Clark, ''The Fighting Canberras'', p. 11 Around 01:00 on 9 August, the engines of scout planes from Mikawa's ships were heard, but as no warning came from the other groups, it was assumed they were friendly.

At 01:45, ''Patterson'' detected Mikawa's ships and alerted the Allied force.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 43 The Japanese scout planes dropped flares to silhouette ''Canberra'' and ''Chicago''. 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. 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 magazines. 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. 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. Several personnel from ''Canberra'' believe that USS ''Bagley'' inadvertently torpedoed the cruiser.Mellefont, ''Two ships called Canberra'', p. 5 From the 819-strong ship's company, 84 were killed (74 during the battle, 10 dying later from wounds), and another 109 were wounded.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 44

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. The destroyer began to recover the Australian survivors, but at 04:30, ''Patterson'' detected an approaching ship. The destroyer moved to investigate, at which point the unknown ship opened fire, and ''Patterson'' retaliated. It was quickly realised that the attacker was USS ''Chicago'', which had mistaken ''Canberra'' for a damaged Japanese vessel, and both ships ceased fire. ''Patterson'' returned to continue the evacuation, and was aided by sister ship .Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 45

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. She was torpedoed by the destroyer at 08:00, after 263 shells and four other torpedoes fired by failed to do the job, and sank at coordinates . She was one of the first ships to be sunk in what was eventually named "Ironbottom Sound". Three US cruisers were also destroyed during the battle and a US destroyer damaged.

Aftermath

Captain Howard Bode of USS ''Chicago'' was formally criticised for his actions during the battle, particularly for not taking lead when ''Australia'' departed, and for not warning the northern cruiser force of the approaching Japanese ships. In recognition of the valour displayed by the Australian ship and her company, United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt wished to commemorate the loss of HMAS ''Canberra'' by naming a US ship in her honour. The under-construction ''Baltimore''-class cruiser ''Pittsburgh'' was selected to be renamed . The ship was launched on 19 April 1943 by (Alice,) Lady Dixon, the wife of Sir Owen Dixon, Australia's ambassador to the United States, and is the only United States warship to be named after a foreign capital city. 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.

Around the same time, the British government announced that the heavy cruiser (a sister ship to ''Canberra'', but of the ''London'' subclass) would be transferred to the RAN as a gift.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 128 Although King George VI had announced that the ship would be renamed ''Canberra'', the duplication of ship names with the United States Navy was against RAN policy. Although it was thought that Australia had a greater claim to the name, the Australian government decided to retain ''Shropshire''s old name after learning that the US offer had come directly from President Roosevelt. Many of the first Australian sailors posted to ''Shropshire'' in early 1943 were ''Canberra'' survivors.

''Canberra''s wartime service was recognised with four battle honours: "East Indies 1940–41", "Pacific 1941–42", "Guadalcanal 1942", and "Savo Island 1942".

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. She lies upright on the ocean floor, approximately below sea level, and while her hull was basically intact, she shows visible signs of shell hits and fire damage amidships. 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.

Memorials

HMAS ''Canberra'' is remembered in various places. In her name city of Canberra, a memorial is located next to Lake Burley Griffin,Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', pp 64–5 adjacent to the National Carillon. It incorporates a naval anchor and a section of chain cable (of the same type carried by ''Canberra''), 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. A commemorative address was given at the unveiling by Admiral Sir Victor Smith, who was aboard ''Canberra'' at the time of her loss. 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 . A catafalque party was originally provided by personnel from the frigate until the ship's 2005 decommissioning; after this, the catafalque party was supplied by the Australian Navy Cadets unit TS ''Canberra''.

Another memorial is located at the Police Memorial Park in Rove, Honiara, Solomon Islands. The memorial is shaped like the bow of a ship, and points toward Savo Island. A previous memorial to the ship, which had been located in the grounds of the Vilu Military Museum, was destroyed in 2000 during "the Tensions". A memorial plaque is also dedicated to HMAS ''Canberra'' and her Tasmanian RAN personnel at the Tasmanian Seafarers' Memorial at Triabunna on the east coast of Tasmania.

The ship's service is also recognised in a stained glass window at the Garden Island Naval Chapel.Mellefont, ''Two ships named Canberra'', p. 7

Notes

References

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

External links

HMAS Canberra (I)
– Royal Australian Navy webpage for HMAS ''Canberra''

– Brief history and photographs published by the United States Naval Historical Center

– Australian War Memorial webpage on the loss of the cruiser

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canberra (1927)
Kent-class cruisers
County-class cruisers of the Royal Australian Navy
Ships built on the River Clyde
1927 ships
Shipwrecks in Ironbottom Sound
World War II cruisers of Australia
Maritime incidents in August 1942
1992 archaeological discoveries
Scuttled vessels