The Military of Australia Portal
The Military of Australia officially known as the Australian Defence Force (ADF) since 1976 consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The Australian Department of Defence administers the Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) which consists of the ADF and the civilian personnel supporting the ADF. Approximately 53,000 men and women serve in the ADF with another 21,600 serving in the three reserve components.
The ADF is constituted under the Executive Government sections of the Australian Constitution, Section 68, that says, "The command in chief of the naval and military forces of the Commonwealth is vested in the Governor-General as the Queen's representative." In practice, the control of the ADF is, politically, vested in the Minister for Defence and several subordinate ministers. The Minister acts on most matters alone, however, important matters are considered by the National Security Committee of Cabinet. The Minister then advises the Governor-General who acts as advised in the normal form of executive government. The current Chief of the Australian Defence Force is Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston.
The Military history of Australia covers a period of around 200 years starting with the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788. Australians have fought in nearly every major war of the 20th Century including the Second Boer War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War as well as numerous UN peace keeping missions.
The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the First Battle of the Solomon Sea, took place August 8–9, 1942, and was a naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval forces. The battle was the first major naval engagement during the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands campaign and a victory for Japan. Australia contributed two heavy cruiser to the battle, HMAS Australia and Canberra, navy Coastwatchers and a small number of Air Force aircraft. On August 9 Canberra was struck by two torpedoes and over 20 salvoes of 8 inch shellfire, Canberra was later scuttled by United States Navy destroyers.
"Australian troops had, at Milne Bay, inflicted on the Japanese their first undoubted defeat on land. Some of us may forget that, of all the allies, it was the Australians who first broke the invincibility of the Japanese army."
- — Field Marshal Sir William Slim.
The second HMAS Sydney was a modified Leander-class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy. The ship had great success in the first years of World War II, but controversy and mystery surrounds her loss on 19 November 1941. Sydney's sinking with all hands represents the greatest ever loss of life in an Australian warship; Sydney was also the largest vessel of any country to be lost with no survivors during the war. The wreck of Sydney remains undiscovered till this day.
The Yeramba was a self-propelled artillery vehicle built in Australia after the end of the Second World War. They were produced by mounting the 25 pounder gun howitzer on an American M3A5 Grant tank hull, converted by the Ordnance Factory Bendigo from 1950 to 1952. Along with most other WWII era tanks in Australia they were disposed of in 1956. Surviving Yerambas can be seen at the RAAC tank museum at Puckapunyal, Victoria, and at the Melbourne Tank Museum in Narre Warren.
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Army • History
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RAN • History
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