USS Canberra (CA-70)

USS Canberra (CA-70): Named for an Ally's Sacrifice

Commissioned on 14 October 1943, USS Canberra holds a distinction no other American warship shares: she is the only U.S. Navy ship ever named for a foreign nation's warship in direct recognition of Allied sacrifice. HMAS Canberra, the Royal Australian Navy heavy cruiser, was sunk at the Battle of Savo Island on 9 August 1942, one of four Allied cruisers lost in the worst American naval defeat in a fair fight. More than 80 of her crew were killed. President Roosevelt's decision to rename a brand-new Baltimore-class heavy cruiser for her spoke louder than any diplomatic communiqué: the ANZAC-American alliance was carved in steel.

USS Canberra CA-70 earned seven battle stars in the Pacific War. During operations off Formosa in October 1944, she took an aerial torpedo hit that caused serious flooding and required lengthy repairs, but she returned to the fight. Like Boston, she was later converted to a guided missile cruiser (CAG-2), with Terrier missiles aft retaining forward 8-inch turrets, earning Vietnam battle stars in that configuration before decommissioning as CA-70 on 31 May 1978.

Eleven battle stars across two wars. Named for an ally's fallen ship. Tactically Acquired's USS Canberra (CA-70) collection honors the bond between American and Australian naval forces, forged at Savo Island, carried forward by this extraordinary ship through four decades of service.