A beginning

The first purpose-built warship to be acquired by an Australian colony was the small sail gunboat Spitfire. Spitfire was built for the New South Wales Government in Sydney in April 1855 and was armed with a single smooth bore 32-pounder gun.

The colony of Victoria, also concerned with its security, acquired the steam sloop Victoria in 1855. Victoria arrived in Australia in 1856 and undertook a variety of tasks. In April 1860 Victoria was dispatched to New Zealand to assist British forces in the Maori Wars. This was the first deployment of Australian military forces overseas. The use of Victoria in this manner also raised questions as to the legal standing of colonial navies.

In 1865 in order to provide a legal status for colonial warships, and hopefully reduce the cost to Britain of maintaining additional naval forces, the British Parliament passed the Colonial Naval Defence Act. This Act allowed self-governing colonies to establish and maintain naval forces for local defence purposes. The Royal Navy remained responsible for the overall naval defence of the Empire. The Australian colonies took advantage of this Imperial legislation and established naval forces of various sizes and complexion. These colonial naval forces consisted in the main of torpedo boats, gunboats and other small craft. The largest vessel was the South Australian light cruiser Protector. This ship and Naval Brigades from New South Wales and Victoria were dispatched to China in 1900 as part of the international response to the Boxer Uprising.

The Commonwealth

When the Australian colonies joined to form the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, the newly created Commonwealth Government assumed responsibility for the naval and military defence of the nation. Administrative control of the defence forces was though still vested in the State Governments until this was transferred on March 1, 1901. Once the Commonwealth had assumed full responsibility of the naval and military defences it set about establishing the legal and administrative framework for the defence forces. Appropriate acts of Parliament were passed to govern the administration and discipline of the defence forces.

Interestingly, the Commonwealth Military Forces (Australian Army) were not allowed to serve overseas, a restriction that remained in place until after the WWII. However, no such restriction was placed on the Navy.

After much discussion it was decided at the 1909 Imperial Conference to create an Australian Fleet Unit to provide for the naval defence of Australia. Centrepiece of the new Fleet Unit was to be a battlecruiser (HMAS Australia) and a force of light cruisers. These ships were to be supported by six torpedo-boat destroyers, two submarines and support ships. For a young nation it was an ambitious program. Though most of the ships were to be built in the United Kingdom the Commonwealth Government took the opportunity to use this decision to help develop Australian industry.

As a consequence a torpedo boat destroyer (HMAS Warrego) was built in England and then shipped to Australia for assembly. Subsequent ships of the type were to be built in Australia.

Name change

As the groundwork for the new navy was being laid, the Commonwealth Naval Forces continued to train and operate with the residual vessels of the old colonial navies. On July 10, 1911 HM King George V granted the title Royal Australian Navy to the Commonwealth Naval Forces. Two years later, on October 4, 1913, Australia's new fleet made its first formal entry to Port Jackson. In conjunction with the development of the fleet unit the Navy established training facilities for officers and sailors.

On arrival of the fleet unit, the RAN assumed the responsibility for the naval defence of Australia. The Royal Navy's facilities in Sydney were transferred to the RAN and the ships of the Royal Navy's Australia Squadron departed for New Zealand.

The Great War

Less than a year after its entry to Sydney, Australia's fleet was off to war. With the outbreak of war the Royal Australian Navy's first task was to protect Australia's ports, shipping and trade routes. One of the RAN's first achievements in the war was the capture of German naval codes. These codes provided invaluable intelligence on German naval operations.

The greatest threat to Australia however, lay in the German Pacific Squadron and Pacific colonies that could serve as bases for German warships. To remove this threat the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force was organised and dispatched to capture the colonies. On September 7, 1914 the personnel from the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force landed at Rabaul covered by the guns of the RAN. Though Australia suffered its first war casualties, including the loss of HMA Submarine AE1, Rabaul and the other German colonies were quickly occupied. The Navy's ships then joined the hunt for von Spee. After the loss of the German colonies, and not wanting to engage Australia in battle, von Spee departed the Pacific in an attempt to reach Germany.

With the removal of the German naval threat to Australia the RAN set about preparing for its next task. This was the escort of the 1st Australian Imperial Force to the Middle East. Though administered by the Military Board, the 1st AIF was a specially raised expeditionary force and not a formal part of the Australian Army. Whilst the convoy was en-route HMAS Sydney was detached to investigate the sighting of a strange warship off the Cocos-Keeling Islands. This ship turned out to be the German light cruiser SMS Emden. In the ensuing battle Sydney destroyed the Emden and thus won the RAN's first battle honour.

The Navy had been fighting the war at sea for some nine months before the Australian soldiers landed at Gallipoli. Even at Gallipoli the navy was in action. HMA Submarine AE2 became the first allied warship to penetrate the Dardanelles; her feat was instrumental in the decision not to withdraw the soldiers after the first day. The Turkish Navy in the Sea of Marmora eventually sank AE2, and her ship's company became prisoners of war. On the peninsular the RAN Bridging Train provided vital service to the troops, as well as being the last Australians to leave the Gallipoli peninsular.

For most of the Great War Australian ships served in foreign waters. The newer cruisers operated with the Grand Fleet in the North Sea. The old cruiser HMAS Pioneer had the distinction of firing her guns in anger more than any other RAN ship. Pioneer was part of the force blockading the German cruiser SMS Konigsberg in the Rufiji River, East Africa.

The torpedo boat destroyers, after service in Asian waters, were transferred to the Mediterranean and operated as part of the naval force hunting enemy submarines. Still other ships patrolled the Indian Ocean and waters closer to home. For the RAN it was truly a world war.

With the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet after the Armistice in 1918, Australia and the Australian light cruisers were given pride of place in the Grand Fleet. Though Australia's naval casualties were light she had lost both her submarines and the other ships were showing the signs of five years of war service.

Peacetime routine

Australia and the fleet returned to Australia in 1919 and reverted to the peacetime routine of training exercises and cruises. The monotony of peacetime exercises was only broken by a punitive expedition to the Solomon Islands in 1927. Members of the RAN could also look forward to the possibility of exchange service with the Royal Navy or the occasional overseas deployment.

During the inter-war years the overall fortunes of the RAN fluctuated and reflected the general economic and social trends. Diminishing budgets and increasing operating costs coupled to a general desire for disarmament, all combined to reduce the size and operating tempo of the Navy. Following the scuttling of the battlecruiser Australia, as part of the Washington Naval Treaty, and due to the age of the other cruisers, a small re-armament program was instituted. This program resulted in the acquisition of the heavy cruisers HMA Ships Australia (II) and Canberra and a number of other smaller ships. In order to support Australian industry the government ordered the seaplane tender HMAS Albatross from Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney.

Fortunately, the government saw the Navy as having a wider role in collective security and international operations, whereas the Army, was deemed as being purely for home defence, the small permanent land force existing to administer and train the militia. As such funding for the Navy, whilst not extravagant, tended to exceed that of the Army and Air Force.

Second World War

In 1939 the men of the RAN once again answered the nation's call. The role of the RAN during the Second World War was much as it was in the first; securing Australia's sea lines of communication and assisting Allied naval forces. The RAN distinguished itself in the Mediterranean through the exploits of the Scrap Iron Flotilla and the cruisers, most notably by the light cruiser HMAS Sydney (II) with her destruction of the Italian cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni and damage to Giovanni delle Bande Nere. Unfortunately, shortly after her return to Australia, Sydney was to be lost with all hands on November 19, 1941.

The distinction earned by the RAN was to come at a high price. Two ships, HMA Ships Waterhen and Parramatta, were sunk whilst helping to sustain the besieged garrison at Tobruk. Other ships were damaged, and casualties suffered, in evacuating the soldiers from Greece and Crete.

The war changed many aspects of the RAN. Rapid mobilisation and the introduction of women saw the social face of the Navy change. Australian industry was called on to support the Navy more than ever before. Not only did warships have to be built in Australia but also repaired, merchant ships were also converted for war use. Weapons, munitions and other equipment were all produced to support naval operations.

A new dimension was added to the war on December 7-8, 1941. War broke out in the Pacific, as a result of Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor and Malaya. RAN ships were involved in the futile attempt to hold the Malay Barrier. Following the defeat of the combined allied task force at the Battle of the Java Sea, the light cruiser HMAS Perth in company with USS Houston attempted to reach Australia. Both were to be sunk by superior Japanese naval forces in the Battle of Sunda Strait. February 1942 saw the first of many Japanese air raids on Darwin. These raids were to be extended to other targets in northern Australia and the Australian administered territories of Papua and New Guinea.

May 1942 witnessed the first allied naval victory. The Japanese had planned to capture Port Moresby by amphibious assault. An invasion force covered by the light aircraft carrier Shoho and the fleet carriers Zuikaku and Shokaku was organised and sailed from Rabaul. Japanese preparations for the attack were discovered through signals intelligence and a combined USN and RAN task force assembled under the command of ADML Jack Fletcher USN.

During the period May 5 to 11, a series of engagements were fought between Japanese and American carrier-based aircraft. As part of his force disposition ADML Fletcher dispatched a cruiser squadron, including Australia and Hobart, to cover the Jomard Passage on the eastern tip of New Guinea. These ships prevented the Japanese invasion forces from reaching, and in all probability, capturing Port Moresby. Defeat at the Battle of the Coral Sea forced the Japanese to attempt to capture Port Morseby by the arduous and more dangerous land route. Once again naval power assisted in defeating this threat by sustaining Australian and American forces in New Guinea and attacking Japanese sea lines of communications.

Victory at Coral Sea did not mean that Australia was no longer threatened. Japanese midget submarines entered Sydney Harbour on the night of May 31-June 1, 1942. Apart from sinking the accommodation ship HMAS Kuttabul, with the loss of 21 lives, the attack caused little other damage. However, the presence of Japanese and German submarines and raiders in Australian waters was a real threat. These ships accounted for the sinking or damaging of a number of warships and merchant ships. Additionally the RAN was required to dedicate a large amount of resources to combating this threat in home waters. The last sinking in Australian coastal waters credited to these submarines was the US Liberty ship Robert J Walker off Jervis Bay on December 25, 1944.

In June 1942, the Japanese suffered another major defeat when American aircraft carriers, once more commanded by ADML Fletcher, sunk four Japanese aircraft carriers at the Battle of Midway. Shortly after this the Allies went on the offensive with the invasion of Guadalcanal in August 1942. During this campaign the Allies suffered a major defeat losing four cruisers, including HMAS Canberra. However after much bitter fighting the island was secured and the American and Australian navies commenced the long fight to the Japanese home islands.

Following Japan's entry into the war, the RAN's main theatre of operations was the Pacific. But Australian ships and sailors continued to serve all over the globe. Australians served in the Battle of the Atlantic and on Russian convoys as either DEMS gunners or on escorts. In the United Kingdom, a select group of naval reservists were engaged in the dangerous job of mine and bomb disposal. As a single group this is the most highly decorated group of Australian servicemen.

Ships of the RAN were present at the invasion of Sicily and RAN personnel manned a number of the small craft during the invasion of Normandy. As in the Great War the RAN served around the globe.

From 1943 onwards, the Allies increased the offensive tempo of the war in the Pacific. This saw RAN ships supporting amphibious landings along the north coast of New Guinea, Borneo and the Philippines. During the Philippines campaign HMAS Australia (II) was hit by a kamikaze resulting in the deaths of her captain CAPT E Dechaineux and other crew members. Other RAN ships, including the landing ships infantry, HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora took part in the invasion, and on the night of October 25, 1944, HMA Ships Shropshire and Arunta fought in the Battle of Surigao Strait. The liberation of the Philippines was followed by the assault on Okinawa. Here again ships of the RAN acted in support of ships of the British Pacific Fleet.

As the Allies prepared for the invasion of Japan RAN ships were operating off the coast of Japan. The surrender of the Japanese after the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ensured the orderly surrender of the enemy forces throughout Asia and the Pacific. The road to Tokyo Bay and the Japanese surrender had cost the RAN dearly with the heaviest losses resulting from the sinking of the cruisers Perth and Canberra.

Post War

After the war, Australian ships and sailors served in Japanese waters as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces. Shortly after the end of the Second World War the RAN was once again in action. This time it was to support United Nations' forces fighting the North Koreans and their Communist allies. On June 29, 1950, the Australian government placed HMA Ships Bataan and Shoalhaven at the disposal of the United Nations. From this moment until the cessation of maritime operations on July 27, 1953, ships of the RAN served in Korean waters.

Predominantly it was the destroyers and frigates of the Navy that served. Bataan and Warramunga were both present during the amphibious assault at Inchon on September 15, 1950. The Korean War also represented the baptism of fire for the RAN's newly-created Fleet Air Arm. The carrier HMAS Sydney (III) served in Korea from August 31, 1951 through to February 22, 1952. During this period her aircraft flew a total of 2,366 sorties. Predominantly her aircraft were used on strikes against enemy lines of communications, troop concentrations and industrial infrastructure. During her deployment Sydney embarked an American helicopter for search and rescue work.

The destroyers and frigates, which operated closer to shore, were often the target of enemy shore batteries. HMAS Murchison gained fame whilst operating in the Han River area in September/October 1951, when she was hit by communist shore positions. For the Navy the end of the war in 1953 did not mean the end of Korean deployments. Ships of the RAN continued to operate in Korean waters in support of the United Nations.

The Far East

Much of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s was a period of turmoil in the region, as colonies attempted to gain independence or, having obtained it, were fighting off other countries with territorial ambitions. On April 1, 1955, the Prime Minister announced the decision to commit Australian forces to the Far East Strategic Reserve based in Malaya. The Navy's contribution was to include two frigates or destroyers and an annual visit by the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne. The first ships attached to the Far East Strategic Reserve were the destroyers Arunta and Warramunga.

During the course of their deployments to the Far East Strategic Reserve, Australian warships took part in international exercises and goodwill visits throughout the region. Four ships, Queensborough, Quickmatch, Anzac and Tobruk undertook bombardments of communist terrorist positions during the Malay Emergency. Australian naval personnel also played a major role in the development of the Royal Malaysian Navy. From 1960 through to 1967 an Australian naval officer was commander of the Royal Malaysian Navy. A number of other officers also served on loan in other positions.

As the Malay Emergency drew to a close, new threats emerged in the region. In 1962 President Sukarno of Indonesia initiated a policy of confrontation in an attempt to destabilise Malaysia. Like the Malay Emergency before it, confrontation was predominantly a ground war. Australian naval forces, especially the Ton class minesweepers, were primarily concerned with security of outlining ports and intercepting sea borne infiltrators. Many of the duties undertaken by the RAN during confrontation would be repeated, but in a larger scale, off Vietnam.

Vietnam

In 1965, the Australian Government committed Australian forces to the war in Vietnam. On May 27, 1965, the fast troop transport HMAS Sydney (III) sailed on her first voyage to Vietnam carrying Australian personnel. Sydney and the requisitioned merchant ships Boonaroo and Jeparit were the logistic lifeline for Australian forces in Vietnam. In part, as a consequence of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, the Government decided that the RAN should fly a uniquely Australian white ensign. This new ensign was hoisted for the first time on March 1, 1967. March 1967 also saw the first deployment of a RAN guided missile destroyer to Vietnam, when HMAS Hobart departed for the war zone.

The introduction of the American Charles F Adams class guided missile destroyers into the RAN marked a major shift in the acquisition of equipment for the RAN. No longer would Britain be the major source of the Navy's ships.

The Navy's role in Vietnam was further expanded in 1967 with the commitment of RAN clearance divers and Fleet Air Arm personnel to the conflict. In 1968 the Navy suffered its first casualty when LCDR P Vickers was mortally wounded on February 22. The Navy's role in Vietnam came to an end with the departure from Vietnam of Sydney and Jeparit in February and March 1972. Service in Vietnam demonstrated the utility of modern naval forces. The RAN's contribution to the allied effort consisted of naval, air and ground forces.

Flying the flag

With the end of the war in Vietnam the RAN entered the longest single period of peace in its history. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s the Navy maintained a cycle of regular international exercises and deployments. Though not engaged in combat operations the Navy became committed to a number of international operations. These included peace-keeping in the Middle East, disaster relief in the South Pacific and aiding in the rescue of Indo-Chinese boat people.

In Australia, the RAN played a significant role in the relief of Darwin after Cyclone Tracy devastated the city in 1974. A naval task force of 13 ships was deployed to the city. The fleet carried hundreds of tons of urgently needed relief supplies and equipment. Just as important as the supplies were the more than 1000 sailors. These personnel provided a significant-trained workforce that was independent of the city's devastated support structure.

After almost 20 years, the Navy was once again preparing for war. Following the August 2 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, the United Nations' Security Council imposed sanctions and passed resolutions calling for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait. In support of United Nations sanctions, Australia deployed a self-contained task force to the region. HMA Ships Adelaide, Darwin and Success departed Australia in mid-August. The frigates conducted operations as part of the international maritime interdiction force intercepting and examining merchant ships in the region. In early December, Brisbane and Sydney replaced the frigates. On January 16, 1991, the deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces passed and Operation Desert Storm started. The Australian ships, with their surface-to-air missile systems and close-in weapons systems, formed an important part of the force screening the aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf.

The underway replenishment ship Success helped sustain the force by conducting replenishment operations with coalition ships, including the USN hospital ship USS Comfort. Westralia relieved Success on January 26, 1991. As well as the ships, the RAN committed a clearance diving team and contributed to a joint services medical team. After the Gulf War, naval personnel served as part of the United Nations weapons inspection teams and RAN ships continued to be deployed to the region in support of United Nations sanctions for many years and in 2001, another frigate was on station in the Gulf.

Throughout the 1990s, the RAN was extensively involved in peace-keeping operations. HMA Ships Tobruk and Jervis Bay deployed to Somalia to support Australian troops. Tobruk and Success were involved in the peace talks in an attempt to resolve the civil dispute on Bougainville.

A peace agreement was eventually signed onboard Tobruk in 1998. After the initial agreement, RAN ships and personnel were also deployed to Bougainville to support and enhance the peace agreement.

During the 1990s, Navy personnel were also deployed in support of peace-keeping and humanitarian operations to Cambodia, Rwanda, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

East Timor

The largest and most complex peacetime operation undertaken by the Navy occurred in September 1999 when a naval task force arrived off Dili prior to the deployment of the Australian led International Force East Timor. As the soldiers arrived in East Timor a wall of friendly grey warships greeted them. These ships not only ensured the security of the initial deployment but also provided for the logistic support of the force. In anticipation of the requirement to provide rapid seaborne lift, the RAN leased a high-speed catamaran and commissioned her as HMAS Jervis Bay (II). Jervis Bay (II) and her ship's company played a significant role, not only in the support of INTERFET, but also United Nations forces and in humanitarian work with refugees. Navy's contribution was not just limited to warships and sealift, with personnel serving in medical teams, conducting hydrographic work and in ordnance disposal.

Maintaining security

As well as providing for these operations, naval forces continued with their day-to-day tasks. Fremantle class patrol boats maintained sovereignty patrols throughout Australia's 200-mile exclusive economic zone and along the maritime borders.

At times they aided customs and other law enforcement agencies to arrest illegal immigrants, smugglers and others engaged in unlawful activities. This role was dramatically illustrated by the arrest of illegal fishermen operating within the EEZ in the Southern Ocean during 1997.

Australia's Navy is also responsible for search and rescue in the waters around Australia and to the south. It was in the waters to the south of Australia that some of the more dramatic rescues have occurred. One of the more memorable being the rescue of Englishman Tony Bullimore and other yachtsmen after their vessels became disabled in January 1997.

The dawn of the new millennium saw the Navy continuing to perform its assigned tasks. HMA Ships Tobruk and Manoora continued to provide support to Australians in the Solomon Islands.

Meanwhile, as HMAS Jervis Bay (II) made her final run to Dili on April 24/25 2001, other units of the RAN were preparing for the major international Exercise Tandem Thrust.

In June 2001, HMAS Anzac became the latest RAN ship to deploy for operations with the Multinational Interception Force enforcing United Nations sanctions against Iraq, while the patrol boats, HMAS Dubbo and HMAS Geraldton were ordered to Ashmore Reef on a humanitarian mission.

The Navy has made, and in 2001 continues to make, significant contributions to the social, industrial, scientific and economic development of Australia.

In its 100 years of serving Australia, the Navy has experienced its share of triumphs and tragedies but through these events the professionalism, dedication and loyalty of those who served has never been in doubt.

By Joe Straczek Senior Naval Historical Officer