Ships and units of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

have received numerous

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

s throughout the navy's history. Before 1947, battle honours awarded to RAN ships and units were administered solely by the British Admiralty.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 207 On 9 June 1947, an Australian "Badges, Names and Honours Committee" was established to administer and make recommendations to the Admiralty (and after the 1964 merger, the Naval department of the British Ministry of Defence) on battle honours,

naval heraldry Naval heraldry is a form of identification used by naval vessels from the end of the 19th century onwards, after distinguishing features such as figureheads and gilding were discouraged or banned by several navies. Naval heraldry commonly takes ...

, and ship names. The RAN used the same honours list as the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

until the 1980s, with the exception of adding a battle honour for service in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. A large scale overhaul of the RAN battle honours system was completed in 2010, which included recognition of post-Vietnam operations, along with previous battles and campaigns not included in the British honours list. Battle honours awarded to a ship are inherited by subsequent ships of the name.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 1 In addition, until 1989, Australian warships would inherit honours from British warships of the same name: for example, the ''Daring''-class destroyer inherited honours from both the RAN V-class destroyer of the same name and the Royal Navy submarine .Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', pgs 145, 233 One factor behind the change was so that Australia's , the first ship to be named after

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area ...

, would not inherit the battle honours of the eight British ships named after

Newcastle on Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the la ...

on entering service: most of the awards predated Australia's existence as a nation. In addition to honours for large-scale battles, naval battle honours also include actions where the opposing side consisted of a single ship.Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', p. 233 Only three 'action' honours were awarded during the 20th century, with RAN warships receiving all three. :''Note: The year ranges given are for the entire scope of the battle honour, particularly for campaigns. Individual ships that did not participate for the full duration were recognised with the battle honour, but with a reduced year range reflecting their participation.''

Pre-Federation conflicts

:''Note: Battle honours in this category were awarded to ships and units of the various colonial navies, and have been inherited by the RAN.''

World War I

World War II

1946 to present

Citations

References

;Books * * ;News articles *

External links

Royal Australian Navy Campaign and Battle Honours
a virtual battle honour board displaying the battle honours awarded to all Royal Australian Navy ships {{Royal Australian Navy History of the Royal Australian Navy Battle honours Military awards and decorations of Australia Royal Australian Navy lists