Design
Canberra was one of seven Kent class cruisers—a subclass of the County class cruiser—designed by Eustace Tennyson-D'Eyncourt. The ship was 590 feet (180 m) long between perpendiculars and 630 feet 1 inch (192.05 m) overall, with a beam of 68.25 feet (20.80 m), and a maximum draught of 21 feet 4 inches (6.50 m). She displaced 9,850 tons at light load, and 10,000 tons at standard load. The Kent class were built to meet the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty; with a reduction in armament and protection.
Canberra was powered by eight Yarrow boilers which fed steam to four Brown-Curtis geared turbines; these in turn provided 80,000 shaft horsepower (60,000 kW) to the ship's four propeller shafts. The cruiser could reach speeds of 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h), which could be maintained for 2,870 nautical miles (5,320 km), although 13,200 nautical miles (24,400 km) could be travelled at the more economical 12-knot (22 km/h) standard cruising speed.
Before World War II, the ship's company was normally 690 (49 officers, 641 sailors); this increased to 710 when acting as a flagship. During wartime service, the normal company expanded to 751 (61 officers, 690 sailors), and at the time of her loss, 819 people were aboard.
Read more about this topic: HMAS Canberra (D33)
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