Editing Royal Australian Navy (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of the Royal Australian Navy}}

=== Formation ===
The Commonwealth Naval Forces were established on 1 March 1901, with the amalgamation of the six separate [[Colonial navies of Australia|colonial naval forces]], following the [[Federation of Australia]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greg |first=Swinden |date=2011-06-14 |title=Australasian Naval Forces and Commonwealth Naval Forces |url=https://navyhistory.au/australasian-naval-forces-and-commonwealth-naval-forces/ |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=Naval Historical Society of Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Defence Act 1903|url=https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00188|url-status=live|access-date=6 November 2020|website=Federal Register of Legislation|date=10 June 2019 |archive-date=22 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200822041605/https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00188}}</ref> When policymakers sought to determine 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]].<ref name="Dennis516">Dennis et al. 1995, p. 516.</ref> 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 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 (I)|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.<ref name="Whitley17">Whitley 2000, p. 17.</ref> On 10 July 1911, the CNF was granted "Royal" status by King [[George V]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/ran-brief-history |title=The R.A.N. – A Brief History |last=Stevens |first=David |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |access-date=10 August 2013 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203012946/http://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/ran-brief-history |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== World War I ===

==== Pacific ====
Following [[British entry into World War I|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 (I)|HMAS ''Sydney'']] prepared to engage 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 (I)|HMAS ''Australia'']] was tasked with scouring the Pacific Ocean for the German squadron.

The [[Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force]] (ANMEF) began recruiting on 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]].<ref name=":2" /> On 29 August, four cruisers and HMAS ''Australia'' assisted New Zealand's [[Samoa Expeditionary Force]] in landing at [[Apia]], and committing 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 (I)|HMAS ''Melbourne'']] landed a party to destroy the island's wireless station, though 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 (1902)|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 the encroaching ANMEF, with the overall campaign a success and exceeded the objectives set by the War Office. However, the RAN submarine [[HMAS AE1|HMAS ''AE1'']] became the first ever vessel of the new navy to be sunk.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Before Gallipoli – Australian Operations in 1914|url=https://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/gallipoli-australian-operations-1914|url-status=live|access-date=13 September 2021|website=Navy|archive-date=13 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913000343/https://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/gallipoli-australian-operations-1914}}</ref> The Australian Squadron was placed under control of the [[British Admiralty]],<ref>Dennis et al. 1995, p. 517.</ref> and was moreover tasked with protecting Australian shipping.<ref name=":2" />

On 1 November, the RAN escorted the [[First Australian Imperial Force]] convoy from [[Albany, WA]] and set for the [[Khedivate of Egypt]], which was soon to become the [[Sultanate of Egypt]]. On 9 November, HMAS ''Sydney'' began hunting for [[SMS Emden|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 the Royal Navy, the RAN became able to be reassigned to other naval theatres of the war.<ref name=":2" />

==== Atlantic and Mediterranean ====
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.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Perryman|first1=John|last2=Swinden|first2=Greg|title=1st Royal Australian Naval Bridging Train|url=https://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/1st-royal-australian-naval-bridging-train|url-status=live|access-date=1 October 2021|website=Navy|archive-date=30 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930235545/https://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/1st-royal-australian-naval-bridging-train}}</ref> Following the entrance of the Ottoman Empire in alliance with the Central Powers, [[HMAS AE2|HMAS ''AE2'']] was committed to the initial naval operation of 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stevens|first=David|title=Gallipoli as a Joint Maritime Campaign|url=https://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/gallipoli-joint-maritime-campaign|url-status=live|access-date=2 October 2021|website=Navy|archive-date=1 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001234705/https://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/gallipoli-joint-maritime-campaign}}</ref>

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 the Adriatic, and then the Black Sea following the surrender of the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name="Whitley17" />

=== Interwar years ===
In 1919, the RAN received a force of six destroyers, three sloops and six submarines from the Royal Navy,<ref>Gillett & Graham 1977, p. 193.</ref> 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]].<ref name=Gillett61>Gillett & Graham 1977, p. 61.</ref> In this time the focus of Australia's naval policy shifted from defence against invasion to trade protection,<ref name=Dennis518>Dennis et al. 1995 p. 518.</ref> and several fleet units were sunk as targets or scrapped. By 1923, the size of the navy had fallen to eight vessels,<ref name=Gillett61/> and by the end of the decade it had fallen further to five, with just 3,500 personnel.<ref name=Dennis518/> In the late 1930s, as international tensions increased, the RAN was modernised and expanded, with the service receiving primacy of funding over the [[Australian Army|Army]] and [[Royal Australian Air Force|Air Force]] during this time as Australia began to prepare for war.<ref name=Dennis518/>

=== World War II ===
Early in the [[Second World War]], RAN ships again operated as part of Royal Navy formations, many serving with distinction in the [[Battle of the Mediterranean|Mediterranean]], the [[East African Campaign (World War II)|Red Sea]], the [[Anglo-Iraqi War|Persian Gulf]], the [[Battle of Madagascar|Indian Ocean]], and off the [[Battle of Dakar|West African coast]].<ref>Gillett & Graham 1977, pp. 69–76.</ref> Following the outbreak of the [[Pacific War]] and 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.<ref name=Dennis518/> A total of 34 vessels were lost during the war, including three cruisers and four destroyers.<ref>Gillett & Graham 1977, p. 93.</ref>

=== Post war to present ===
[[File:Wessex 92.jpg|thumb|RAN Wessex helicopter in 1962]]
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, [[HMAS Sydney (R17)|''Sydney'']] and [[HMAS Melbourne (R21)|''Melbourne'']].<ref>Gillett & Graham 1977, p. 94.</ref> 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.<ref>Dennis et al. 1995, pp. 519–520.</ref> Since 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 [[INTERFET|East Timor]] and the [[RAMSI|Solomon Islands]].<ref name=workingpaper>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Working_Paper_18.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227081723/http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Working_Paper_18.pdf |title=Database of Royal Australian Navy Operations, 1990–2005 |publisher=Sea Power Centre |series=Working Paper No. 18 |archive-date=27 February 2012 |access-date=24 August 2014}}</ref>

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 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.<ref name=Dennis607>Dennis et al. 1995, pp. 607–608.</ref>