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USS CALIFORNIA V in Sydney Harbour
USS CALIFORNIA V in Sydney Harbour

USS CALIFORNIA V in Sydney Harbour

Photographer (Australian, 1899 - 1953)
Printer
DateJuly 1925
Object number00020965
NamePhotograph
MediumSilver gelatin print
DimensionsOverall: 67 x 114 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionUSS CALIFORNIA V, a Tennessee-class battleship, in Sydney Harbour. CALIFORNIA was launched in 1919 as the flagship of the Battle Fleet, the Pacific arm of the United States Navy. It was heavily damaged and partially sunk during the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941. It was rebuilt and was active in World War II. CALIFORNIA was decommissioned in 1947 and sold for scrap in 1959.SignificanceThis photograph is significant as a souvenir of the 1925 goodwill cruise of the United States Battle Fleet to Australia, which renewed the Australian-American alliance established by the Great White Fleet visit in 1908. The 1925 visit contributes to a long history of US Naval visits to Australian ports starting with the US Exploring Expedition in 1839-1840, followed by the 1908 visit of the Great White Fleet and later visits in the 1940s in the lead-up to World War II.