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Page 20
HMAS CANBERRA 1935-1936, Album No. 2
Page 20

HMAS CANBERRA 1935-1936, Album No. 2

Date1935-1936
Object number00045707
NamePhotograph album
MediumBlack and white photographic prints in paper mounted in a photograph album.
DimensionsOverall: 178 x 254 x 33 mm, 550.39 g
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Patrick Corrigan Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
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 Guadalcanal 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.SignificanceThis photograph album is a visual record of the peacetime career of HMAS CANBERRA, one of two heavy cruisers in the Royal Australian Navy prior to the outbreak of World War II.