Portal:Military history of Australia/Selected article/5

The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the First Battle of the Solomon Sea, took place August 8–9, 1942, and was a naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval forces. The battle was the first major naval engagement during the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands campaign and a victory for Japan. Australia contributed two heavy cruiser to the battle, HMAS Australia and Canberra, navy Coastwatchers and a small number of Air Force aircraft. On August 9 Canberra was struck by two torpedoes and over 20 salvoes of 8 inch shellfire, Canberra was later scuttled by United States Navy destroyers.