HMAS CANBERRA, 1935-1936, Album No. 1

Date1935-1936

Object number00045706

NamePhotograph album

MediumPhotograph

DimensionsOverall: 178 x 259 x 22 mm, 584.63 g

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Patrick Corrigan Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Terms

DescriptionAlbum containing photographs of HMAS CANBERRA and the places it visited from 1935 to 1936 including various ports in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. They focus on CANBERRA's duties as a heavy cruiser for the Royal Australian Navy prior to the outbreak of World War II.HistoryThe County class heavy cruiser HMAS CANBERRA was launched in Scotland in 1927 and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy the following year. Prior to World War II the cruiser remained in and around Australian home waters with occasional cruises to New Zealand and New Guinea. When World War II broke out in September 1939, CANBERRA continued to serve in home waters, patrolling and escorting across the Tasman Sea. In 1940 she was transferred to the Indian Ocean escorting troopships and convoys from Fremantle to Colombo and Cape Town. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, CANBERRA escorted troopships to Malaya and Java theatres of war and supported the landing of American troops at Guagcanal and Tulagi in 1942. On 9 August 1942 two torpedoes struck the starboard side as well as over 20 salvos of 8-inch gunfire. Survivors were taken on board US Ships PATTERSON and BLUE, although 193 were lost of the 819 serving personnel.SignificanceThese albums reflect on the peacetime career of HMAS CANBERRA, one of two heavy cruisers in the Royal Australian Navy prior to the outbreak of World War II. They show normal naval duties and the importance of ship visits to major Australian and neighbour ports. The albums are a stark contrast to the eventually end of the cruiser - sunk in the Battle of Savo island by shellfire eventually attributed to an allied American naval ship.