Second
to none
HMAS Canberra ffg - 02 For Queen and Country
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Main
illustration: Action Stations - watercolor on paper by ABPH
Kade Rogers
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By
ABPH Kade Rogers
HMAS
Canberra II is due for decommissioning in November following an
extensive tour, which will include visits to China and to the
world expo in Japan.
She has sailed nearly 800,000 miles in her lengthy career and
has seen active service in The Gulf, conducted operations off
the Solomon Islands and in the Southern Ocean, and has contributed
in no small part to keeping shipping lanes clear from the east
coast of Africa to the west coast of the Americas.
HMAS Canberra II was built at the Todd Pacific Shipyard Corporation’s
Seattle Division in the United States and was launched by Lady
Marjorie Florence Tange, the wife of former Secretary of Defence,
Sir Arthur Tange on December 1, 1978.
She was commissioned on March 21, 1981.
HMAS Canberra II bears the proud name of the County Class Heavy
Cruiser HMAS Canberra I, which was lost in the Battle of Savo
Island against the Japanese on August 9, 1942 while operating
with the naval force supporting the American landings at Guadalcanal
and Tulagi.
As a result of being hit by two torpedoes and over 20 salvos of
gunfire in a night attack, Canberra I sustained critical damage.
With power lost and the ship listing, the wounded and survivors
were transferred to USS Patterson and USS Blue. After failed attempts
to restore power and get under way, Canberra I was abandoned and
scuttled.
It took four torpedoes and 263 five-inch shells, fired by USS
Selfridge and another torpedo from USS Ellet, to sink her.
There were 193 casualties among the 819 personnel onboard Canberra
I, including her CO CAPT Frank E. Getting.
Refusing medical aid after being mortally wounded, CAPT Getting
commanded the ship until his dying moment.
Later in the war, many survivors of Canberra I achieved a sort
of retribution as they saw the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay
from onboard HMAS Shropshire.
Following the loss of Canberra I, US President Franklin Roosevelt
ordered the commissioning of a USS Canberra.
Launched on April 19, 1943 and commissioned on October 14 1943,
she was the only American Navy vessel
ever commissioned in honour of the loss of an allied ship.
In anticipation of the forthcoming landings on Leyte on October
13 1944 USS Canberra was engaged in operations 90 miles off Formosa
when an aerial torpedo struck her, instantly killing 23 crewmembers.
USS Canberra was saved and was placed out of commission in reserve
on March 7 1947.
She was refitted in 1952 and eventually decommissioned in 1970
after seeing extensive action off Vietnam.
On September 10 2001 US President George W. Bush presented Prime
Minister John Howard with USS Canberra’s bell to commemorate the
50th anniversary of the ANZUS military alliance.
The bell can be viewed at the Australian National Maritime Museum.
Phots
by ABPH Kade Rogers
