page_title: History of the Royal Australian Navy
section_title: Loss of HMAS Canberra
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Royal Australian Navy / World War II / War with Japan / Loss of HMAS Canberra
caption_attribution_description: U.S. Navy destroyers remove the crew from the sinking Royal Australian Navy heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra (D33) after the Battle of Savo Island, 9 August 1942. USS Blue (DD-387) is alongside Canberra´s port bow, as USS Patterson (DD-392) approaches from astern.
context_page_description: The history of the Royal Australian Navy traces the development of the Royal Australian Navy from the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788. Until 1859, vessels of the Royal Navy made frequent trips to the new colonies. In 1859, the Australia Squadron was formed as a separate squadron and remained in Australia until 1913. Until Federation, five of the six Australian colonies operated their own colonial naval force, which formed on 1 March 1901 the Australian Navy's Commonwealth Naval Force which received Royal patronage in July 1911 and was from that time referred to as Royal Australian Navy. On 4 October 1913 the new replacement fleet for the foundation fleet of 1901 steamed through Sydney Heads for the first time.
  The Royal Australian Navy has seen action in every ocean of the world. It first saw action in World War I, in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Between the wars the RAN's fortunes shifted with the financial situation of Australia: it experienced great growth during the 1920s, but was forced to reduce its fleet and operations during the 1930s. Consequently, when it entered World War II, the RAN was smaller than it had been at the start of World War I.
context_section_description: The loss of HMAS Canberra at the Battle of Savo Island in August 1942 was the largest single ship loss the RAN experienced during World War II. In the early hours of the morning of 9 August 1942, Canberra was severely damaged off Guadalcanal in a surprise attack by a powerful Japanese naval force. Canberra was hit by 24 shells in less than two minutes, with 84 of her crew killed, including Captain Frank Getting. Following an order to abandon ship, Canberra was sunk the next day by a torpedo from a US destroyer, to prevent it being captured.
  The loss of Canberra, following the losses of Sydney and Perth, attracted unprecedented international attention and sympathy for the RAN. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt wished to commemorate the loss of Canberra and requested that a US heavy cruiser under construction be named Canberra. USS Canberra was launched on 19 April 1943. The British Government approved the transfer of HMS Shropshire to the RAN as a replacement, and the ship was commissioned as HMAS Shropshire on 20 April 1943.
caption: American destroyers evacuating the crew of HMAS Canberra after the Battle of Savo Island
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