HMAS Canberra Memorial, Canberra, Australia
Posted by: 
Tealby
S 35° 17.877 E 149° 08.614
55H E 694907 N 6091807
The HMAS Canberra Memorial is a five-tonne anchor and chain of the type normally carried by a naval cruiser.
Waymark Code: WM270K
Location: Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Date Posted: 09/15/2007
Views: 56
The HMAS Canberra Memorial commemorates the sinking of HMAS Canberra during the Battle of Savo Island in 1942. The Memorial was designed by the ACT Naval Historical Society.
The memorial was unveiled on 9 August 1981 by Admiral Sir Anthony Synnott K.B.E. AO, RAN, Chief of Defence Force Staff (21 April 1979 to 20 April 1982). The commemorative address was given by Admiral Sir Victor Smith, AO, K.B.E., C.B., DSC, RAN, Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (23 November 1970 to 23 November 1975).
From the outbreak of World War II, the HMAS Canberra patrolled the coast of Western Australia before being dispatched in 1940 to serve with the Royal Navy in both the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In 1942 the Canberra escorted Australian troops to Singapore, and then took part in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 and supported United States Marines at Guadalcanal. On 9 August 1942, at the Battle of Savo Island, the Allied fleet was surprised by a Japanese fleet. The Canberra was hit 24 times within less than two minutes with the loss of 84 men.
The order to abandon ship was given the next day and the crippled Canberra was sunk by a torpedo from a United States ship. As a mark of respect, the United States renamed one of its ships, then under construction, the USS Canberra.
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