Canberra (CA 70) - Naval Cruise Book

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canberra took part in operations ranging from riding shotgun for a truck convoy, to supporting the first full-scale landings in the mekong delta. in february 1967, canberra moved north to join des- troyers in operation sea dragon off north vietnam. her mission for 25 days was to deny the sea to north vietnamese logistics craft and disrupt their supply network. during this time canberra fired on military and supply targets inland and patrolled the north vietnamese coastal waters. before re- turning to san diego in june, canberra visited mel- bourne, australia. the cruiser was awarded the meritorious unit Commendation for her actions and won the combat efficiency e for 1967. on october,5, 1967, canberra once again departed san diego to begin her fourth deployment to viet- nam in three years. the ship shot more than 32,000 rounds from the end of october to april 8, 1968, when she left the line to return to san diego. over 17,000 rounds were fired in canberra's last 26 days on the gunline. during this period she aver- aged 664.7 rounds per day, or one round every two minutes and ten seconds. the heavy cruiser was again awarded the meritorious unit commenda- tion. on may 1, 1968,following her return to san diego from vietnam, canberra was redesignated the heavy cruiser ca-70, after 12 years of active ser- vice as cag-2. the warship departed on this pre- sent vietnam cruise september 18, 1968, returning to san diego january 18,1969. during the deploy- ment she served as flagship for rear admiral david h. bagley, commander cruiser-destroyer group, u.s. seventh fleet. 1944 and .i H72 l x . i 79 g 8 nf ..,, Vi. .... . ...,, T ....... ., ,...

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drydocking shows 1944 torpedo damage. uss canberra Cca-705 was Iaunchedapril 19, 1943, at quincy, mass. at the request of president frank- lin roosevelt, who wished to commemorate the aus- tralian cruiser, hmas canberra, lost in the battle of savo island in 1942, she was commissioned uss canberra on october 14,1943, by lady alice dixon, wife of the australian minister to the united states. the warship immediately joined the pacific fleet, and in the months that followed participated in four campaigns in the pacific theater. attacked by enemy aircraft off formosa onvocto- ber 13, 1944, the heavy cruiser was struck amid- ships on her starboard side by an aerial torpedo. the resulting explosion killed 23 crew members and flooded two firerooms and an engineroom, putting canberra out of action for the remainder of the war. less than six years after being inactivated in july 1946, canberra was selected for conversion to a guided missile cruiser, and received a terrier missile system in place of her after8-inch gun turret. con- version began in may 1952, and she was recommis- sioned at philadelphia on june 15, 1956, as cag-2. she embarked president dwight d. eisenhower in the spring of 1957 for a trip to bermuda, where he met with british prime minister harold macmil- i I i W 1 i.11 . lan. canberra was designated flagship for the sel- ' ection of the unknown soldier of world war ll. can- j , berra made a world cruise in 1960, and partici- pated in the quarantine of cuba in the fall of 1962. in october 1963, canberra sailed to san diego, Calif., agliilg her new homeport, to join the pacific fleet. on january 5, 1965, the ship departed her home- 1 ,fu port to begin a western pacific deployment. highlight of this cruise was a period of 63 contin- uous days at sea, during which she acted as a re- i placement for the radar control station at danang. 'j . canberra returned to san diego for four months. A ugni L , I, 1 with just ten days notice canberra departed san .-A,'l- 1 , li 3 diego in february 1966, to begiqlggr second Viet-h i nam deployment in 13 months. ii'iili f rom february Q through june, canberra participated in ,,-j fi operations in the vietnam A the cruiser co ncente ated osnj 1 fo r fr i e n d ly s h o re- ba fi ff? , l ed to forfour 'i.f .-.g .5 514-L '.'- 11'flfw+is 25-rff'fs1fJf'f'1:'4 1 again on 1' i fleet- ff9mQi1?.fi?f ' .. 5 eunlifie , ' ff'7?'m'f'7'195717 5 fired mO5Q:tf '125 'N' 'i'i i 3f i'fiviJ,D,-,,',fi.'f,.i 5 pm' . , .. r.i, ...e ' '

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