HMAS Canberra (1927)
Canberra at Kings Wharf, Wellington, New Zealand, ca. 1930s
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| History | |
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 Australia
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| 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 |
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| Fate: | Sunk off Savo Island on 9 August 1942 |
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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 |
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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 Canberra, was a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) heavy cruiser of the Kent sub-class of County-class cruisers. 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 damaged. Unable to propel herself, the cruiser was evacuated and 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, and is the only American warship named for either a foreign warship or a foreign capital city.
Canberra was one of seven Kent-class cruisers—a subclass of the County-class cruiser—designed by Eustace Tennyson-D'Eyncourt. The ship was 590 feet (180 m) long between perpendiculars and 630 feet 1 inch (192.05 m) overall, with a beam of 68.25 feet (20.80 m), and a maximum draught of 21 feet 4 inches (6.50 m). 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 80,000 shaft horsepower (60,000 kW) to the ship's four propeller shafts. The cruiser could reach speeds of 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph), which could be maintained for 2,870 nautical miles (5,320 km), although 13,200 nautical miles (24,400 km) could be travelled at the more economical 12-knot (22 km/h; 14 mph) 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.
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