USS Canberra (CA-70)

History of USS Canberra (CA-70)

The USS Canberra was a US Navy warship that saw action in the middle of WWII and survived long enough to participate in the most critical years of the Cold War and Vietnam conflict. Modestly equipped, the ship was initially deployed as part of the Baltimore-class cruiser family.

Later, Canberra was modified to accommodate the Terrier surface-to-air missile system and her designation was changed from CA-70 to CAG-2 to represent her as a guided missile cruiser, now part of the Boston class of battleships.

The shape of the Canberra is typical of ships of this class, with large superstructures dominating the design. The superstructure is complemented by masts containing sensors and arrays, and surrounded by armament batteries originally consisting of 9 x 8" main guns and 12 x 5" main guns. That changed when Canberra became a guided missile cruiser, so is now armed with 6 x 8", 10 x 5" and 12 x 3" guns as well as her 2 x Terrier missile launcher stock defense armament. Anyway, WWII era ships are now transitioning to the Cold War era, where missiles will replace cannons as the main weapon of the ship.

Her main guns are mounted in turrets, two front and rear, one rear, three guns fixed in one gun Bit on. The added terrier system removes the rear turret and its three guns.

Her actions kept her in the middle of the Pacific most of the time while serving during World War II. In 1944, she participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea as a member of U.S. Task Force 58, and participated in the Battle of Truk, where she was eventually killed by a Japanese torpedo at the Battle of Formosa off Okinawa in June of that year. harm.

Her damage was so great that her war days in the conflict were numbered, and the post-war USS Canberra was decommissioned and retained in 1947.

With the start of the Cold War, the USS Canberra (CA-70) returned to service and has now been converted into a heavy guided missile cruiser. This transition forced her from the Baltimore-class classification into the Boston-class family, where she joined the USS Boston as the modernized CAG-2. The ship is ready in time to participate in a deterrent blockade operation in the Cuban missile crisis. Canberra saw themselves deployed multiple times in support of the Vietnam conflict some time later, at which point their Terrier missile systems were completely obsolete, although their regular guns were well used for shelling inland targets and participating in TET offensives.

With the end of the war and her fighting years, the USS Canberra returned home with her old CA-70 designation and was officially decommissioned in 1970. Their parts were sold as scrap in 1980.

The USS Canberra was first ordered in 1940 and built in 1941 by Bethel Steel's Fall River Shipyard. It was launched in 1943 and put into use in the same year.

She fought under the motto "Can-Do Kangaroo" and was named after the Australian cruiser HMAS Canberra, which was lost at sea after being torpedoed by the Japanese during the Battle of Savo Island. By the way, the USS America remains the only ship in the US Navy named after an existing foreign vessel.

In response, the Australian Navy commissioned the destroyer HMAS Bataan to pay tribute to the Battle of Bataan.

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