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A History of the U.S.S. Canberra
On October 14th, 1943, the ship joined the Pacific fleet. In the eight months that followed, she supported operations for the occupation of Eniwetok and joined in the raids on Palaus, Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai. Canberra continued to provide gunfire support during the landings on New Guinea and then in actions against Truk and Wake Islands.
During preparations for the landings at Lete, Canberra was attacked by enemy aircraft off Taiwan, on October 13, 1944. She was struck amidships on her starboard side by an aerial torpedo. The resulting explosion killed 23 of our shipmates and flooded two firerooms and an engine room.
The Canberra engaged in some of the fiercest and most crucial battles of World War II. For her meritorious service in the Pacific Theater during World War II, Canberra received seven Battle Stars.
Less than six years after being inactivated in July 1946, Canberra was selected with the U.S.S. Boston for conversion as one of the Navy’s new guided missile cruisers and received a Terrier missile system. Conversion began in May 1952, and she was recommissioned at Philadelphia on June 15, 1956. She embarked President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the spring of 1957 for a trip to Bermuda, where he met with British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan. Later that year, she was Fleet Review Flagship for Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson at the International Naval Review off Norfolk, Virginia (KM).
In the spring of 1958, Canberra joined other units of the Atlantic Fleet in the annual deployments to the Mediterranean and North Atlantic with NATO forces. Later that year, she was designated as the ceremonial flagship to honor the Unknown Servicemen of World War II and the Korean War. The selection of the Unknown Servicemen was made on the deck of the Canberra just prior to their entombment at Arlington National Cemetery.
In 1960, Canberra embarked for a 50,000 mile world cruise (KM).
Canberra participated in the U.S. quarantine of Cuba, in the fall of 1962. While serving in the Mediterranean, from February 6 until September 4, 1963, a ceremony was held in La Spezia, Italy, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the ship’s original commissioning (LR).
In October 1963, Canberra sailed for the West Coast to join the Pacific Fleet. After arriving in her home port of San Diego, California, she joined other units in fleet exercises, prior to entering the shipyard. In April 1964, Canberra entered the Naval Shipyard at Long Beach, California, for four months. On January 5, 1965, she departed San Diego to begin a Western Pacific deployment. The six-month cruise saw Canberra perform a number of divers rolls, while operating with the Seventh Fleet, in the critical Viet Nam area. A highlight of this cruise was a period of 63 continuous days at sea during which she acted as a replacement for the Radar Control Station at Da Nang. As a result of her highly effective deployment, the crew was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. In October, Canberra entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for two and one-half months (SH).
In February 1966, Canberra departed from San Diego, after ten-days notice, in route to the Far East for the second time in thirteen months. From February until June 1966, Canberra, again, joined the Seventh Fleet for operations in the Viet Nam area. During her deployment, Canberra concentrated on naval gunfire support for friendly shore-based units. On June 8th, she returned to San Diego. On October 11th, she set out, once more, to join the Seventh Fleet ships supporting the RVN, US, and other allied forces in Viet Nam. From her arrival in October 1966, until she departed the gunline in April 1967, Canberra fired over 25,000 rounds of gunfire support. The ship participated in operations ranging from “riding shotgun” for truck convoys, to supporting the first full-scale landing in the Mekong delta, Operation Deck House IV. Canberra provided naval gunfire support in the I, II, and IV Corps areas – from the Mekong delta to the DMZ, spending 88% of her time at sea. In February 1967, Canberra moved north, to join the destroyers Benner and Straus in Operation Sea Dragon, off North Viet Nam. Her mission, for 25 days, was to deny the sea to North Vietnamese logistics craft and disrupt the Vietnamese supply network. During this period, she fired upon military and supply targets inland and patrolled the North Vietnamese coastal waters. Canberra then departed the gun line and sailed for Melbourne, Australia to participate in the Coral Sea celebration, prior to her return home (SH/AB).
Despite the efforts of former crew members to find a permanent place for her to be preserved, the USS CANBERRA was stricken by the Navy in 1978 and sold to a salvage company in Los Angeles, California (EH).
Revised: Sunday, May 12, 2002 |
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