122-815: The history of the Royal Australian Navy traces the development of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) 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
244-449: A Royal Navy destroyer squadron on a sweep north of the island of Crete . At 07.20 on 19 July, the Italian cruisers Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and Bartolomeo Colleoni , which opened fire seven minutes later. The four British destroyers retreated to the north-east, while Sydney and Havock , 40 miles (60 km) away, began to close in. Sydney sighted the cruisers at 08.29, and fired
366-477: A large number of civilian-crewed vessels under contract to the Australian Defence Force. RAN personnel utilise the following small arms: There are currently several major projects underway that will see upgrades to RAN capabilities. The RAN currently has forces deployed on seven major operations: HMS Victoria (1855) HMVS Victoria (Her Majesty's Victorian Ship; also referred to with
488-548: A battle that became known as the Battle of Calabria began. Four vessels of the RAN took part in the battle; HMA Ships Sydney , Stuart , Vampire , and Voyager . Sydney was the first RAN vessel to engage the enemy, and at 15.20 opened fire on an Italian cruiser. When the Italian fleet began to withdraw, the Allied destroyer squadron was ordered forward. Stuart , leading the destroyer force,
610-501: A bloodless takeover of German Samoa. Additionally, the RAN captured German merchant vessels, disrupting German merchant shipping in the Pacific. On 7 September, the ANMEF, now including HMAS Australia , three destroyers, and two each of cruisers and submarines, departed for Rabaul. A few days later, on 9 September, HMAS Melbourne landed a party to destroy the island's wireless station, though
732-609: A destroyer depot ship, eight submarines, one submarine depot ship, and a small number of additional auxiliary ships. The annual cost and depreciation of the fleet was estimated to be £4,024,600. Except for implementing closer ties with the Royal Navy, none of Jellicoe's major recommendations were carried out. With the end of World War I, the Australian Government began to worry about the threat Japan posed to Australia. Japan had extended its empire 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) to
854-520: A fleet unit within the Royal Navy, albeit without central control. As a result, the navy's force structure was set at "one battlecruiser, three light cruisers, six destroyers and three submarines". The first of the RAN's new vessels, the destroyer HMAS Yarra , was completed in September 1910, and by the outbreak of the First World War the majority of the planned fleet had been realised. On 10 July 1911,
976-458: A further 600 small civilian vessels were put into service as auxiliary patrol boats. (Contrary to some claims, however, the RAN was not the fifth-largest navy in the world at any point during World War II.) Following World War II, the RAN saw action in Korea , Vietnam , and other smaller conflicts. Today, the RAN consists of a small but modern force, widely regarded as one of the most powerful forces in
1098-731: A modern navy and led to the order of two 700-ton River-class torpedo-boat destroyers . The surge in German naval construction in 1909 led the Admiralty to change its position on an Australian navy, which resulted in the Naval Defence Act of 1910 being passed which created the Australian navy. The first Australian warship, the destroyer HMAS Parramatta , was launched at Govan in Scotland on Wednesday 9 February 1910. Sister ship HMAS Yarra
1220-563: A small fleet of auxiliary ships was also being maintained. As a consequence the Royal Australian Navy at the start of the war was a small but formidable force. Australian ships first saw action in the Asian and Pacific theatre ; assisting in the attack on German New Guinea by the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF). Germany had colonised the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups in 1884, and
1342-510: Is composed of two Clearance Diving Teams (CDT) that serve as parent units for naval clearance divers: When clearance divers are sent into combat, Clearance Diving Team Three (AUSCDT THREE) is formed. The CDTs have two primary roles: As of June 2023, the RAN has 14,745 permanent full-time personnel, 172 gap-year personnel, and 4,607 reserve personnel. The permanent full-time trained force consists of 3,070 commissioned officers, and 9,695 enlisted personnel. While male personnel made up 75.9% of
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#17328633242851464-525: Is currently held by Charles III , King of Australia . O-8 (rear admiral) to O-11 (admiral of the fleet) are referred to as flag officers , O-5 (commander) and above are referred to as senior officers , while S-1 (midshipman) to O-4 (lieutenant commander) are referred to as junior officers . All RAN Officers are issued a commission by the Governor-General as Commander-in-Chief on behalf of His Majesty King Charles III. Naval officers are trained at
1586-782: Is the Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army (RSM-A) and the Royal Australian Air Force equivalent is the Warrant Officer of the Air Force (WOFF-AF). Chaplains in the Royal Australian Navy are commissioned officers who complete the same training as other officers in the RAN at the Royal Australian Naval College, HMAS Creswell. From July 2020, Maritime Spiritual Wellbeing Officers (MSWOs) were introduced to
1708-540: The Espero was incapacitated and Sydney was signalled to sink her. As Sydney approached, Espero launched torpedoes, but failed to hit any targets. Sydney fired four salvos, scoring ten direct hits on Espero . Sydney remained at the scene for two hours picking up survivors. Also on 27 June 1940, the Console Generale Liuzzi was scuttled south of Crete after being depth-charged by HMAS Voyager and
1830-590: The Albert River in the Gulf of Carpentaria at the end of September 1861. Also aboard was the botanist Diedrich Henne . On 29 September, the party formed a land base on Sweers Island , and also visited Bentinck Island , both part of the South Wellesley Islands . After finding traces of the explorers, they returned to Melbourne on 31 March 1862. On 14 July 1866, Netherby , carrying immigrants to Queensland,
1952-786: The Antarctic Circle . The boundaries were modified in 1864, 1872 and 1893. At its largest, the Australia Station reached from the Equator to the Antarctic in its greatest north–south axis, and covered 1 ⁄ 4 of the Southern Hemisphere in its extreme east–west dimension, including Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Melanesia and Polynesia. In 1911 the Australia Station passed to the Commonwealth Naval Forces (initially under
2074-663: The Asia Pacific Region . In the years following the establishment of the British colony of New South Wales in 1788, Royal Navy ships of the East Indies Squadron under the command of the East Indies Station would be station in or visit Australian waters. From the 1820s, a ship was sent annually to New South Wales, and occasionally to New Zealand. In 1848, an Australian Division of the East Indies Station
2196-615: The British Grand Fleet in 1918; the Australian cruisers assigned to the fleet suffered high casualties, with up to 157 casualties in one ship alone. Outbreaks in the Mediterranean fleets were more severe than those in the Atlantic. HMAS Brisbane recorded 183 casualties between November and December 1918, of those casualties 2 men died of pneumonia . The RAN lost a total of 26 men to the disease; further loss prevented primarily by
2318-803: The Chief of the Defence Force (CDF). The Department of Defence , which is a part of the Australian Public Service , administers the ADF, and ergo, the Royal Australian Navy. In 2023, the Surface Fleet Review was introduced to outline the future of the Navy. The navy was formed in 1901 as the Commonwealth Naval Forces ( CNF ) through the amalgamation of the colonial navies of Australia following
2440-680: The China Station and called the New Zealand Naval Forces. The Navy was to operate under the authority of the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board , which functioned from 1 March 1911. At the 1911 Imperial Conference Australia expressed concern about Japan's growing naval power and it was agreed that the British government would consult Australia when negotiating renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance . It
2562-598: The Cocos (Keeling) Islands . The inhabitants of the island managed to transmit a distress signal, which was received by Sydney , only 50 miles (80 km) away. Sydney arrived within two hours, and was engaged by Emden . Sydney was the larger, faster and better armed of the two, and eventually overpowered Emden , with captain Karl von Müller running the ship aground on North Keeling Island at 11:15 am. At first, Emden refused to strike its colours and surrender; Sydney fired on
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#17328633242852684-572: The Department of Defence and for overseeing tactical and operational issues that are the purview of the subordinate commands. Beneath NHQ are two subordinate commands: Fleet Command was previously made up of seven Force Element Groups , but after the New Generation Navy changes, this was restructured into four Force Commands: The Royal Australian Navy consists of over 50 commissioned vessels and over 16,000 personnel. Ships commissioned into
2806-782: The First Taranaki War . Victoria was the first warship to be built in England for one of the British colonies. She was the second ship ordered for an Australian colonial navy, after the Australian-built gunboat Spitfire for the New South Wales colony. She was designed by the British naval architect Oliver Lang and launched in London on 30 June 1855 by Lady Constance Talbot. Commander William Henry Norman sailed Victoria from Plymouth to Hobsons Bay, arriving on 31 May 1856. The ship
2928-656: The First Taranaki War . On 19 April 1860, Victoria sailed to Hobart, embarked 134 troops from the 40th Regiment of Foot , and transported them to New Zealand. Prior to her departure, the colonial government passed an Act giving the ship legal status, but this law was overturned by Britain as an attempt to create a naval force independent of the Royal Navy . After delivering the soldiers to Auckland , Victoria performed shore bombardments and coastal patrols, while maintaining supply routes between Auckland and New Plymouth . In July, she sailed to Sydney to transport General Thomas Pratt and his staff to New Zealand. Victoria
3050-570: The Gallipoli campaign . After the failure of the naval strategy, an amphibious assault was planned to enable the Allies' warships to pass through the Dardanelles and capture Constantinople . The RANBT was sent ashore, along with the invasion, for engineering duties. Later in the war, most of the RAN's major ships operated as part of Royal Navy forces in the Mediterranean and North Seas, and then later in
3172-586: The Gulf of Carpentaria , the Royal Society of Victoria decided to send a number of search parties to search for them. Commander William Henry Norman sailed from Hobson's Bay in Victoria on 4 August 1861 for Brisbane, where William Landsborough and the Queensland Relief Expedition boarded. Accompanied by Firefly (188 tons, built 1843), Victoria departed Brisbane on 24 August 1861, arriving at
3294-714: The Khedivate of Egypt , which was soon to become the Sultanate of Egypt . On 9 November, HMAS Sydney began hunting for SMS Emden , a troublesome German coastal raider. The SMS Emden and HMAS Sydney met in the Battle of Cocos, the Emden was destroyed in Australia's first naval victory. Following the almost complete destruction of the East Asia Squadron in the Battle of the Falklands by
3416-624: The Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign the Australian submarine AE2 became the first Allied warship to breach the Turkish defences of the Dardanelles . AE2 spent five days in the area, was unsuccessfully attacked several times, but was unable to find any large enemy troop transports. On 29 April 1915, she was damaged in an attack by the Turkish torpedo-boat Sultan Hisar in Artaki Bay and
3538-626: The Report on the Naval Mission to the Commonwealth . The report outlined several policies designed to strengthen British naval strength in the Pacific Ocean. The report heavily stressed a close relationship between the RAN and the Royal Navy. This would be achieved by strict adherence to the procedures and administration methods of the Royal Navy. The report also suggested constant officer exchange between
3660-662: The Royal Australian Naval College (HMAS Creswell ) in Jervis Bay as well as the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra. Royal Australian Navy Other Ranks wear "right arm rates" insignia, called "Category Insignia" to indicate specialty training qualifications. This is a holdover from the Royal Navy. The Warrant Officer of the Navy (WO-N) is an appointment held by the most senior sailor in
3782-602: The federation of Australia . Although it was originally intended for local defence, it became increasingly responsible for regional defence as the British Empire started to diminish its influence in the South Pacific. The Royal Australian Navy was initially a green-water navy , as the Royal Navy provided a blue-water force to the Australian Squadron , which the Australian and New Zealand governments helped to fund;
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3904-656: The 23-foot whaleboat at the lighthouse and, despite high winds and rough seas, managed to reach the Australian mainland between Point Roadknight and Barwon Heads , where they met a party of surveyors who immediately assisted them. Parry then took a horse and rode the 26 miles to Geelong from where he raised the alarm by telegram to Melbourne on 21 July. The Victorian Government immediately summoned Captain Norman to load supplies of food, blankets, tents and medicine onto Victoria and then proceed at full speed to King Island to rescue
4026-743: The Admiralty and the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board agreed to deploy the RAN Destroyer Flotilla outside the Australia Station ; the five ships of what was to become known as the Scrap Iron Flotilla arrived at Malta in mid-December. HMAS Sydney deployed in May 1940 and was later joined by Hobart . When Italy declared war on 10 June 1940, the Australian warships made up five of the twenty-two Allied destroyers and one of
4148-407: The Adriatic, and then the Black Sea following the surrender of the Ottoman Empire . In 1919, the RAN received a force of six destroyers, three sloops and six submarines from the Royal Navy, but throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, the RAN was drastically reduced in size due to a variety of factors including political apathy and economic hardship as a result of the Great Depression . In this time
4270-404: The Australian Navy's (AN) Commonwealth Naval Force which received Royal patronage in July 1911 and was from that time referred to as Royal Australian Navy (RAN). 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
4392-551: The Australian Station. Indeed, on 12 June 1940, after a prolonged chase, the Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC) HMAS Manoora forced the Italian merchant ship Romolo (9,780 tons) to scuttle south-west of Nauru . On 27 June 1940, Admiral Cunningham commander of the Mediterranean Fleet ordered the 7th Cruiser Squadron, which included HMAS Sydney , to rendezvous with an Egypt -bound convoy near Cape Matapan . The cruiser squadron sighted three Italian destroyers at 18.00 on 28 June 1940 and immediately engaged them . Within an hour,
4514-472: The British destroyers Dainty , Ilex , Decoy , and Defender . On 29 June 1940, another Italian submarine, the Uebi Scebeli , was sunk west of Crete by the same ships. On 7 July 1940, a 25-ship fleet departed Alexandria , intending to meet a convoy east of Malta . The next day, a submarine sighted an Italian fleet 500 miles (800 km) away; the Allied fleet altered course to intercept. The two fleets sighted each other at 15.00 on 9 July 1940, and
4636-432: The CNF was granted "Royal" status by King George V . Following the British Empire's declaration of war on Germany , the British War Office tasked the capture of German New Guinea to the Australian Government . This was to deprive the Imperial German Navy 's East Asia Squadron of regional intelligence by removing their access to wireless stations. On 11 August, three destroyers and HMAS Sydney prepared to engage
4758-431: The Commonwealth Naval Forces in 1911 and the Australian Squadron was disbanded. On 10 July 1911, King George V granted the title of " Royal Australian Navy " to the Commonwealth Naval Forces, and RAN ships could carry the prefix " His Majesty's Australian Ship " (HMAS). The Station was reduced to cover Australia and its island dependencies to the north and east, excluding New Zealand and its surrounds, which became part of
4880-414: The Commonwealth of Australia. The Royal Navy continued to support the RAN and provided additional blue-water defence capability in the Pacific up to the early years of World War II . Before the Federation of Australia in 1901, five of the six self-governing colonies in Australia operated a navy, the exception being Western Australia which did not have a naval force. The colonial navies were supported by
5002-446: The Commonwealth of Australia. The first commanding officer was Admiral George Edwin Patey , Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Fleet , on loan from the Royal Navy. On Saturday 4 October 1913 the Australian fleet, consisting of the battle cruiser Australia , the cruisers Melbourne and Sydney , the protected cruiser Encounter , and the torpedo-boat destroyers Parramatta , Yarra and Warrego , entered Sydney Harbour for
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5124-536: The First and Second World Wars, Korean War, Malayan Emergency, Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation and the Vietnam War. As of 2024, the RAN consists of over 52 commissioned vessels, 11 non-commissioned vessels and over 16,000 personnel. The navy is one of the largest and most sophisticated naval forces in the South Pacific region , with a significant presence in the Indian Ocean and worldwide operations in support of military campaigns and peacekeeping missions. The Commonwealth Naval Forces were established on 1 March 1901, with
5246-442: The Gallipoli Peninsula. After Gallipoli, the Train was sent to the Middle East, where they made a second amphibious landing at the Battle of Magdhaba , before returning to Australia and being disbanded after a series of miscommunications during May 1917. Expansion during the war had been limited, with the RAN growing to include thirty-seven ships and more than 5,000 personnel by 1918. The RAN's losses had also been modest, only losing
5368-458: The German administration promptly surrendered. Between 11 and 12 September, landings were put ashore at Kabakaul, Rabaul and Herbertshohe; it was during this period that the first Australian casualties and deaths of the war occurred. On 14 September, HMAS Encounter barraged an enemy position at Toma with shells; it was the first time the RAN had fired upon an enemy and had shelled an inland location. On 17 September, German New Guinea surrendered to
5490-506: The Governor-General officially transferred control of the Royal Australian Navy to the British Admiralty, which would retain control until 19 August 1919. At the outbreak of war, the RAN stood at 3,800 personnel and consisted of sixteen ships, including the battlecruiser Australia , the light cruisers Sydney and Melbourne , the destroyers Parramatta , Yarra , and Warrego , and the submarines AE1 and AE2 . The light cruiser Brisbane and three destroyers were under construction, and
5612-433: The Imperial Conference in London, sought the British Government's agreement to end the subsidy system and develop an Australian navy. The Admiralty rejected the idea, but suggested diplomatically that a small fleet of destroyers and submarines would be sufficient. Deakin was not impressed with the Admiralty, and in 1908 invited the United States Great White Fleet to visit Australia. The visit prompted public enthusiasm for
5734-565: The Imperial government to help fund the Royal Navy's Australian Squadron, while the Admiralty committed itself to maintain the Squadron at a constant strength. In 1902, the commander of the Australia Station was upgraded to the rank of vice admiral . The boundaries were again modified in 1908. A growing number of people, among them Captain William Rooke Creswell , the director of the Commonwealth Naval Forces, demanded an autonomous Australian navy, financed and controlled by Australia. In 1907 Prime Minister Alfred Deakin and Creswell, while attending
5856-404: The Italian warship was out of range, and Sydney was dangerously low on ammunition. The only damage to Sydney during the battle was caused by a shell at 09.21, which knocked a hole in the forward funnel, and wounded a sailor through splinter damage. On 30 September 1940, HMAS Stuart destroyed the Italian 600-Serie Adua class submarine Gondar , killing two of its crew. Twenty-eight survivors
5978-426: The Naval Auxiliary Services. By 1932, the strength of the Reserves stood at 5,446. In the early 1930s, lack of funds forced the transfer of the Royal Australian Naval College from Jervis Bay to Flinders Naval Depot in Victoria . In 1933 the Australian Government ordered three light cruisers; HMA Ships Perth , Hobart , and Sydney ; selling the seaplane carrier Albatross to fund Hobart . During this time,
6100-402: The Naval Board began forming a joint relief expedition from available military medical personnel. The commanding officer of HMAS Encounter was then ordered to embark the expedition in Sydney and sail as soon as possible. Encounter departed Sydney on 24 November 1918, ten minutes after completing loading. As a precaution, all 450 members of Encounter ' s crew were doubly inoculated;
6222-557: The Navy Chaplaincy Branch, designed to give Navy people and their families with professional, non-religious pastoral care and spiritual support. In the Royal Australian Navy, Chaplains and MSWOs are commissioned officers without rank. For reasons of protocol, ceremonial occasions and for saluting purposes, they are, where appropriate, normally grouped with Commanders (O-5). . The more senior Division 4 Senior Chaplains are grouped with Captains (O-6) and Division 5 Principal Chaplains are grouped with Commodores (O-7), but their rank slide remains
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#17328633242856344-447: 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. During the course of World War II, the RAN operated more than 350 fighting and support ships;
6466-402: The RAN also purchased destroyers of the V and W destroyer classes , the ships that would become known as the Scrap Iron Flotilla . With the ever-increasing threat of Germany and Japan in the late 1930s, the RAN was not in the position it was at the outbreak of World War I. Australia declared war on Nazi Germany one hour after the United Kingdom's declaration of war on 3 September 1939. Unlike
6588-462: The RAN and holds the rank of warrant officer (WO). However, the WO-N does not wear the WO rank insignia; instead, they wear the special insignia of the appointment. The WO-N appointment has similar equivalent appointments in the other services, each holding the rank of warrant officer, each being the most senior sailor/soldier/airman in that service, and each wearing their own special insignia rather than their rank insignia. The Australian Army equivalent
6710-512: The RAN are given the prefix HMAS ( His/Her Majesty's Australian Ship ). The RAN has two primary bases for its fleet: the first, Fleet Base East , is located at HMAS Kuttabul , Sydney and the second, Fleet Base West , is located at HMAS Stirling , near Perth. In addition, three other bases are home to the majority of the RAN's minor war vessels: HMAS Cairns , in Cairns, HMAS Coonawarra , in Darwin, and HMAS Waterhen , in Sydney. The Clearance Diving Branch
6832-462: The RAN served in every theatre of operations, from the tropical Pacific to the frigid Russian convoys and grew exponentially. The table illustrates the growth of the RAN between the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939 and 30 June 1945. From mid-1940, ships of the RAN, at the request of the Admiralty , began to deploy to the Mediterranean Sea to take part in the Battle of the Mediterranean against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy . In September 1939,
6954-411: The Royal Navy, the RAN became able to be reassigned to other naval theatres of the war. On 28 February 1915, the Royal Australian Naval Bridging Train (RANBT) was formed with members of the Royal Australian Naval Reserve who could not find billets in the RAN. Following the entrance of the Ottoman Empire in alliance with the Central Powers, HMAS AE2 was committed to the initial naval operation of
7076-430: The air force. Between World War I and World War II , the Royal Australian Navy underwent a severe reduction in ships and manpower. As a result of the Washington Naval Treaty , the flagship HMAS Australia was scrapped with her main armaments and sunk outside Sydney Heads in 1924. In the same year, the RAN began a five-year program of obtaining new ships from Britain: the heavy cruisers Australia and Canberra and
7198-457: The alliance was agreed on, and the discussion was shelved pending the outcome of the Washington Naval Treaty . The results of the treaty, which allowed the British to retain naval supremacy in the Pacific Ocean, created a sense of security in Australia. Many Australians saw the Four Powers Pact as replacing the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. This sense of security became known as the Ten Year Rule . This led to defence retrenchments in Australia, following
7320-445: The amalgamation of the six separate colonial naval forces , following the Federation of Australia . The Royal Australian Navy initially consisted of the former New South Wales, Victorian, Queensland, Western Australian, South Australian and Tasmanian ships and resources of their disbanded navies. The Defence Act 1903 established the operation and command structure of the Royal Australian Navy. When policymakers sought to determine
7442-421: The arrangements with the British Admiralty at the start of the First World War, during World War II RAN ships remained under Australian command. At the onset of war the RAN was relatively modest, even if it was arguably the most combat-ready of the three services. Major units included: Following the call up of reserves in 1939 the permanent forces grew from 5,440 to 10,259. During the war the men and vessels of
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#17328633242857564-430: The cabmen) to be accommodated in the Immigration Depot and Exhibition Building (not the present Royal Exhibition Building ). Little of the luggage of the survivors was recovered and most were in a wretched state after their ordeal; the Victorian public donated clothing and funds to assist the survivors, many of whom decided to settle in Victoria rather than undertake another sea voyage to Queensland. In 1867, Victoria
7686-404: The colony was currently used as a wireless radio base, Britain required the wireless installations to be destroyed because they were used by the German East Asia Squadron which threatened merchant shipping in the region. The objectives of the force were the German stations at Yap in the Caroline Islands , Nauru , and Rabaul in New Britain . On 30 August 1914, the AN&MEF left Sydney under
7808-429: The command of RN officers) and the Australian Squadron was disbanded. The Station, now under nominal Australian command, was reduced to only cover Australia and its island dependencies to the north and east. In 1911, the Commonwealth Naval Forces was renamed the Royal Australian Navy, which in 1913 came under Australian command. The Royal Navy's Australia Station's Sydney based depots, dockyards and structures were gifted to
7930-405: The current senior Royal Australian Navy officers: Commissioned officers of the Australian Navy have pay grades ranging from S-1 to O-10. The highest rank achievable in the current Royal Australian Navy structure is O-10, an admiral who serves as the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) when the position is held by a Naval Officer. The navy has a O-11 position Admiral of the Fleet that is honorary and
8052-408: The direct control of the British Admiralty, while the RAN remained responsible for the upkeep of the ships and training. In 1913, responsibility for the reduced Australia Station passed to the new Royal Australian Navy under nominal Australian command, with the Australia Squadron of the Royal Navy's Australia Station coming to an end and its Sydney based depots, dockyards and structures being gifted to
8174-456: The encroaching ANMEF, with the overall campaign a success and exceeded the objectives set by the War Office. However, the RAN submarine HMAS AE1 became the first ever vessel of the new navy to be sunk. The Australian Squadron was placed under control of the British Admiralty , and was moreover tasked with protecting Australian shipping. On 1 November, the RAN escorted the First Australian Imperial Force convoy from Albany, WA and set for
8296-524: The end of the Cold War, the RAN has been part of Coalition forces in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean, operating in support of Operation Slipper and undertaking counter piracy operations. It was also deployed in support of Australian peacekeeping operations in East Timor and the Solomon Islands . The high demand for personnel in the Second World War led to the establishment of the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) branch in 1942, where over 3,000 women served in shore-based positions. The WRANS
8418-466: The evening of the same day and arrived off Apia on 3 December. Within six hours, the medical landing party assigned to Apia and their stores were ashore. Encounter then departed for the Tongan capital of Nukuʻalofa , arriving on 5 December. The last of the medical staff and supplies were unloaded, and Encounter sailed for Suva on 7 December to re-coal. On arriving in Suva, Encounter received orders to return to Sydney, where reached on 17 December and
8540-401: The first occasion that an Australian warship had been deployed overseas. In the years leading up to Federation, Victoria had the most powerful of the colonial navies. Victoria had HMVS Cerberus since 1870, as well as HMVS Nelson , three small gunboats and five torpedo-boats. NSW had two very small torpedo boats , and the corvette Wolverine . The colonial navies were expanded greatly in
8662-445: The first shots of the Battle of Cape Spada at a range of 17,360 metres (56,960 ft). Within minutes, Sydney had successfully damaged Bande Nere , and when the Italians withdrew to the south, the six Allied ships pursued. At 0848, with Bande Nere hiding behind a smoke screen, Sydney shifted her fire to Bartolomeo Colleoni , which was disabled by 0933. The Australian cruiser left to pursue Bande Nere , but broke off at 10.27 as
8784-414: The first time. The manpower of the fleet stood at four hundred officers and men and, for the next two years, ships were built for the fledgling navy. The Royal Navy continued to support the RAN and provide blue-water defence capability in the Pacific up to the early years of World War II . In 1958, the boundaries of Australia Station was redrawn again, now to include Papua New Guinea. On 3 August 1914, as
8906-484: The five modern light cruisers on station in the Mediterranean. The RAN then offered the services of Australia to the Admiralty, and was accepted. When Australia arrived in the Mediterranean, the RAN had sent nearly the entire combat fleet to the Northern Hemisphere , leaving Australia open to possible attack. The entry of Italy into the war also lead to a far more active role for the few remaining RAN vessels on
9028-518: The fleet retired on 25 September the battle became known as the Battle of Dakar . Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy ( RAN ) is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. The Chief of Navy is also jointly responsible to the Minister for Defence (MINDEF) and
9150-399: The fleet two days later. On 23 September Australia came under heavy fire from shore batteries, then drove two Vichy destroyers back into port. Australia then engaged and sunk the destroyer L'Audacieux with eight salvos in sixteen minutes. Over the next two days French and Allied forces exchanged fire; Australia was struck twice and lost her Walrus amphibian. Australia and the rest of
9272-401: The focus of Australia's naval policy shifted from defence against invasion to trade protection, and several fleet units were sunk as targets or scrapped. By 1923, the size of the navy had fallen to eight vessels, and by the end of the decade it had fallen further to five, with just 3,500 personnel. In the late 1930s, as international tensions increased, the RAN was modernised and expanded, with
9394-402: The immediate impact of the flu, the nation's death toll surpassed 11,500. When the pandemic struck in 1918, the ships of the Royal Australian Navy were dispersed throughout the world. The speed at which the flu spread, coupled with the cramped mess decks and poorly ventilated living spaces on early 20th century warships, created a favourable environment for the disease. The pandemic swept through
9516-466: The international trend, and a £500,000 reduction in expenditure. The Governor-General Henry Forster when opening parliament on 22 June 1922 was quoted as saying: In view of the result of attained at the Washington Treaty which, my advisors believe, guarantee peace in the Pacific for some time to come, it is proposed to reduce the establishment of the navy and army, and postpone the expansion of
9638-453: The island. Then Pharos arrived and took on board the remaining 60 survivors near the wreck site, the other 117 survivors having left the wreck site heading to the lighthouse. Having taken the rescued people to Melbourne, Victoria and Pharos returned to the lighthouse at King Island where they rescued the remaining survivors and replaced the lost whaleboat at the lighthouse. The survivors were taken by train and then by cab (a free service by
9760-523: The mid-1880s and usually consisted of gunboats and torpedo-boats for coastal defence of harbours and rivers, and naval brigades to man vessels and forts. On 1 January 1901, Australia became a federation of six States, as the Commonwealth of Australia , which on 1 March 1901 took over the defence forces from the States, to form the Commonwealth Naval Forces . The Australian and New Zealand governments agreed with
9882-551: The military governor of Apia requested assistance from Wellington ; the request was turned down because all doctors were needed in New Zealand. Australia offered the only alternate source of aid. The Commonwealth Naval Board was aware of the worsening situation in the region; the sloop HMAS Fantome reported its first case on 11 November 1918 while stationed in Fiji, with half her complement eventually affected. On 20 November 1918,
10004-500: The newly established force's requirements and purpose, there were arguments about whether Australia's naval force would be structured mainly for local defence or designed to serve as a fleet unit within a larger imperial force, controlled centrally by the British Admiralty . In 1908–09, a compromise solution was pursued, with the Australian government agreeing to establish a force for local defence but that would be capable of forming
10126-550: The perceived threat, and bilateral support in Australia for the White Australia Policy, the Australian Government became a vocal supporter of the continuance of the 1902 Anglo-Japanese Alliance . Australia was joined in its support for the alliance by New Zealand but was heavily opposed by Canada, which believed that the alliance had hindered the British Empire's relationship with China and the United States. No decision on
10248-472: The permanent full-time force, while female personnel made up 24%. The RAN has the second-highest percentage of women in the permanent forces, compared to the RAAF's 26.6% and the Army's 15.3%. Throughout the 2022-23 financial year 1,141 enlisted in the RAN on a permanent basis while 1,354 left, representing a net loss of 213 personnel. The following are some of
10370-484: The prefix HMCSS -Her Majesty's Colonial Steam Sloop) was a 580-ton combined steam/sail sloop-of-war built in England in the 1850s for the colony of Victoria, Australia. She was the second warship to be built for an Australian colonial navy , the first British-built ship given to a colony of the British Empire , and the first Australian warship to be deployed overseas when she supported New Zealand colonists during
10492-520: The prospect of war with the German Empire loomed, the Australian Government sent the following message to the Admiralty. In the event of war Government prepared place vessels of Australian Navy under control British Admiralty when desired. The United Kingdom declared war on Germany the next day, and on 8 August, the Australian Government received a reply, requesting that the transfer be made immediately, if not already done. Two days later, on 10 August,
10614-501: The protection of Australia and Melbourne for Port Moresby , where the force met the Queensland contingent, aboard the transport HMAHS Kanowna . The force then sailed for German New Guinea on 7 September, leaving Kanowna behind when her stokers refused to work. Sydney and her escorting destroyers met the AN&;MEF off the eastern tip of New Guinea. Melbourne was detached to destroy
10736-468: The ready availability of professional medical treatment. The disease arrived in the South Pacific on the cargo vessel SS Talune , which sailed from Auckland on 30 October 1918 whilst knowingly carrying sick passengers. Talune stopped in Fiji , Samoa , Tonga and Nauru : the first outbreaks in these locations occurred within days of the ships visits. The local authorities were generally unprepared for
10858-590: The same day that the taskforce arrived in New Britain , and consisted of two battalions: one of 1,000 men, and the other with 500 serving and former seamen. On 19 August, the ANMEF departed Sydney for training in Townsville before the rendezvous with other RAN vessels in Port Moresby . On 29 August, four cruisers and HMAS Australia assisted New Zealand's Samoa Expeditionary Force in landing at Apia , and committing
10980-677: The same. Principal Chaplains and MSWOs, however, have gold braid on the peak of their white service cap. From January 2021, MSWOs and all chaplains wear the branch's new non-faith-specific rank insignia of a fouled anchor overlaying a compass rose, which represents a united team front, encompassing all faiths and purpose. Chaplains and MSWOs have insignia that reflect their religion on collar mounted patches (Cross for Christian, Crescent for Muslim etc, Compass rose for MSWOs.) The RAN currently operates nearly 50 commissioned vessels, made up of nine ship classes and three individual ships, plus 11 non-commissioned vessels. In addition, DMS Maritime operates
11102-429: The seaplane carrier Albatross . This purchase was partly paid for by scrapping Brisbane , Melbourne , Sydney , and most of the destroyers. The Great Depression of 1929 led to another reduction of manpower; although reduced in size, the available posts were easily filled as many men were unemployed and the offered pay was greater than most jobs. The RAN's personnel strength fell to 3,117 personnel, plus 131 members of
11224-838: The service receiving primacy of funding over the Army and Air Force during this time as Australia began to prepare for war. Early in the Second World War , RAN ships again operated as part of Royal Navy formations, many serving with distinction in the Mediterranean , the Red Sea , the Persian Gulf , the Indian Ocean , and off the West African coast . Following the outbreak of the Pacific War and
11346-570: The ship had suffered 74 cases earlier in the year at Fremantle and the captain did not want a repeat. Encounter arrived in Suva on 30 November and took on half of the available coal and 39 tonnes of water. Spanish flu was rampant in Suva; Captain Thring implemented a strict quarantine, placed guards on the wharf, and ordered that coaling be carried out by the crew instead of native labour. Encounter departed Suva in
11468-430: The ships of the Royal Navy's Australian Station which was established in 1859. In 1856, Victoria received its own naval vessel, HMCSS Victoria , which in 1860 was deployed to assist the New Zealand colonial government during the First Taranaki War . When Victoria returned to Australia, the vessel had taken part in several minor actions, with the loss of one crew member. The deployment of Victoria to New Zealand marked
11590-414: The size of the outbreak, allowing the infection to spread uncontrollably. The German territory of Samoa was the worst affected of the small islands, the New Zealand administration carried out no efforts to lessen the outbreak and rejected offers of assistance from nearby American Samoa . The New Zealand government officially apologised to Samoa in 2002 for their reaction to the outbreak. On 29 November 1918
11712-513: The south, bringing it right to Australia's doorstep. Japan had continued to build up its naval force, and had reached the point where it outgunned the Royal Navy in the Pacific. The RAN and the government believed that the possibility of a Japanese invasion was highly likely. In his report, Admiral Jellicoe believed that the threat of a Japanese invasion of Australia would remain as long as the White Australia Policy remained in place. Due to
11834-536: The squadron at German Anchorages in New Guinea, which did not eventuate as the vessels were not present. Landing parties were placed on Rabaul and Herbertshohe to destroy its German wireless station; however, the objective was found to be further inland and an expeditionary force was required. Meanwhile, HMAS Australia was tasked with scouring the Pacific Ocean for the German squadron. The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (ANMEF) began recruiting on
11956-459: The squadron was assigned to the Australia Station . This period lasted until 1913, when naval ships purchased from Britain arrived, although the British Admiralty continued to provide blue-water defence capability in the Pacific and Indian Oceans up to the early years of the Second World War. During its history, the Royal Australian Navy has participated in a number of major wars, including
12078-698: The stationary Emden until it eventually struck its colours. The Battle of Cocos was the first battle the RAN participated in. On 6 February 1915, the obsolescent light cruiser HMAS Pioneer joined the East African campaign . On 6 July, she engaged the German cruiser SMS Königsberg and German shore batteries, during the Battle of Rufiji Delta . Pioneer remained off East Africa and took part in many bombardments of German East Africa , including Dar-es-Salaam on 13 June 1916. Pioneer then returned to Australia, to be decommissioned in October 1916. During
12200-524: The strategic situation in the western Pacific in general, and in Tahiti and New Zealand in particular. In 1884, the commander of the Australia Station was upgraded to the rank of rear admiral . At its establishment, the Australia Station encompassed Australia and New Zealand, with its eastern boundary including Samoa and Tonga, its western edge in the Indian Ocean, south of India and its southern edge defined by
12322-500: The survivors; Parry (who had travelled to Melbourne by train from Geelong) joined the ship to help locate the survivors. Another ship, Pharos , had also independently sailed from Williamstown to render assistance to the survivors. On Monday 23 July, Norman located Netherby and, after discussions with Netherby's Captain Owens, took 230 passengers on board Victoria (as many as was possible), while off-loading supplies for those remaining on
12444-520: The two forces. Jellicoe also called for the creation of a large Far East Imperial Fleet, which would be based in Singapore and include capital ships and aircraft carriers. The creation cost for this fleet was to be divided between Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand: contributing 75%, 20%, and 5% respectively. The suggested makeup of the RAN would include; one aircraft carrier, two battlecruisers, eight light cruisers, one flotilla leader, twelve destroyers,
12566-484: The two submarines AE1 and AE2 , whilst casualties included 171 fatalities – 108 Australians and 63 officers and men on loan from the Royal Navy, with less than a third the result of enemy action. Between April 1918 and May 1919, the Spanish flu killed approximately 25 million people worldwide, far more than had been killed in four years of war. A rigorous quarantine policy was implemented in Australia; although this reduced
12688-587: The virtual destruction of Allied naval forces in Southeast Asia , the RAN operated more independently, defending against Axis naval activity in Australian waters , or participating in United States Navy offensives. As the navy took on an even greater role, it was expanded significantly and at its height the RAN was the fourth-largest navy in the world, with 39,650 personnel operating 337 warships, but no active submarines. A total of 34 vessels were lost during
12810-469: The war, including three cruisers and four destroyers. After the Second World War, the size of the RAN was again reduced, but it gained new capabilities with the acquisition of two aircraft carriers, Sydney and Melbourne . The RAN saw action in many Cold War –era conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region and operated alongside the Royal Navy and United States Navy off Korea, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Since
12932-417: The wireless station on Nauru , while on 14 September, Encounter bombarded a ridge near Rabaul, while half a battalion advanced towards the town. The only major loss of the campaign was the disappearance of the submarine AE1 during a patrol off Rabaul on 14 September 1914. On 9 November 1914, the German light cruiser SMS Emden attacked the Allied radio and telegraph station at Direction Island in
13054-494: Was also decided that the Royal Navy would continue to support the RAN and provide blue-water defence capability in the Pacific and that if there was war the ships of the RAN would be transferred to British Admiralty control. Under the Naval Defence Act (1912) the power to make the transfer was conferred in the Governor-General . The RAN would become the Australia Squadron of the Royal Navy with all ships and personnel under
13176-575: Was damaged in a collision with sister ship HMS New Zealand , and she did not return to service until June. Three RAN ships were present during the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet ; Australia , Sydney , and Melbourne , with Australia leading the port division of the Grand Fleet as it sailed out to meet the Germans. The most decorated Australian Naval unit of World War One, however
13298-548: Was disbanded in 1947, but then re-established in 1951 during the Cold War. It was given permanent status in 1959, and the RAN was the final branch to integrate women in the Australian military in 1985. The strategic command structure of the RAN was overhauled during the New Generation Navy changes. The RAN is commanded through Naval Headquarters (NHQ) in Canberra . NHQ is responsible for implementing policy decisions handed down from
13420-559: Was established, and in 1859 the British Admiralty established an independent command, the Australia Station , under the command of a Commodore who was assigned as Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station. The Australian Squadron was created to which British naval ships serving on the Australia Station were assigned. The changes were partially in recognition of the fact that a large part of the East Indies Station had been detached to Australian waters, and also reflecting growing concern for
13542-886: Was immediately placed into quarantine. The South Pacific aid mission is regarded as Australia's first overseas relief expedition, and set a precedent for future relief missions conducted by the RAN. Following the end of World War I , the Australian Government believed that an immediate evaluation of the RAN was necessary. Australia had based its naval policy on the Henderson Recommendations of 1911, developed by Sir Reginald Henderson. The government sent an invitation to Admiral John Jellicoe , he arrived in Australia in May 1919. Jellicoe remained in Australia for three months, before returning to England via New Zealand and Canada. Jellicoe submitted his findings in August 1919, titled
13664-456: Was initially equipped with three 32-pounder guns. Victoria ' s main duties were to protect the colony of Victoria, conduct hydrological surveys, recover passengers and crew from stricken ships, and serve as a lighthouse tender. During her career the sloop delivered the first trout eggs to the colony of Tasmania. In 1860, the colonial government of Victoria decided to send the sloop to New Zealand, to support British colonists fighting in
13786-445: Was launched at Dumbarton in Scotland on Saturday 9 April 1910. Both ships were commissioned into the Royal Navy on 19 September 1910 and sailed for Australia, arriving at Port Phillip on 10 December 1910. The event was marred by the death of Engineer Lieutenant W. Robertson, RN, who suffered a heart attack 8 miles (13 km) outside Port Phillip Heads whilst onboard HMAS Yarra , and drowned. The British Australia Station passed to
13908-602: Was not a ship at all, but the Royal Australian Navy Bridging Train , a land-based unit composed mostly of reservists which landed at Suvla Bay with the British IX Corps and was responsible for receiving, storing and distributing the supplies, including potable water, of the British troops at Suvla. Due to their position working the piers and landings at Suvla, the Train was the last Australian unit to depart
14030-572: Was ordered to sail to Freetown , Sierra Leone to join Operation Menace , the invasion of Vichy French -controlled Dakar in French West Africa . On 19 September, Australia and the cruiser HMS Cumberland sighted three Vichy cruisers heading south and shadowed them. When the French cruiser Gloire developed engine trouble, Australia escorted her towards Casablanca and returned to
14152-524: Was scuttled by her crew. The wreck of AE2 remained undiscovered until June 1998. Ships of the Royal Australian Navy also assisted the Royal Navy in the blockade of the German High Seas Fleet . In February 1915, HMAS Australia joined the British Grand Fleet , and was made flagship of the 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron . Australia was not involved in the Battle of Jutland ; in April, the battlecruiser
14274-435: Was subsequently rescued by Stuart , with a further nineteen picked up by other vessels. On 27 March 1941, an Allied fleet under Admiral Cunningham was ambushed by an Italian naval force off Cape Matapan , Greece. Three vessels of the RAN took part in the battle; HMA Ships Perth , Stuart , and Vampire . The victory at Cape Matapan allowed the evacuation of thousands of Allied troops from Crete . HMAS Parramatta
14396-495: Was the first time an Australian warship had been deployed to assist in a foreign war. The legal hazards of having a colonial warship operating outside her territorial limits was rectified by declaring that all Australian warships in international or foreign waters had to be commissioned into the Royal Navy . When news reached Melbourne in July 1861 that the explorers Burke and Wills were missing somewhere between Cooper Creek and
14518-545: Was the first to open fire; her opening salvo was a direct hit at a range of 12,600 yards (11,500 m). Both fleets retired, with the Italians withdrawing under smoke, but Italian aircraft continued to attack Allied ships. Sydney , which came under heavy air attack, was believed to have sunk. The fleet arrived back in Alexandria on 13 July. On 17 July 1940, HMAS Sydney and the destroyer HMS Havock were ordered to support
14640-422: Was torpedoed and sunk on 27 November 1941 by U-559 whilst escorting transports resupplying the Allied garrison at Tobruk . There were 24 survivors, but 138 men, including all officers, lost their lives. The Australians experienced further success on 15 December 1941 when HMAS Nestor attacked and sank the German submarine U-127 off Cape St. Vincent , Portugal. On 6 September 1940, HMAS Australia
14762-678: Was used to evacuate women and children from the town of New Plymouth , following Maori attacks on the town's fortifications. In October, the ship underwent refit in Wellington , and resumed duties by delivering British reinforcements to the combat areas. As the Victorian colonial government required the ship for urgent survey work, her return was requested at the end of the year, with Victoria arriving in Melbourne in March 1861. The New Zealand Wars deployment
14884-452: Was wrecked off King Island in Bass Strait and all 413 passengers and 49 crew made it onshore safely, but there they were without shelter and with very limited provisions. The second officer, John Parry, led a party of crew and passengers to procure assistance from the lighthouse on the island, but there were insufficient supplies there for the number of survivors. Parry and three others took
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