His Majesty's Australian Ship (HMAS) (or Her Majesty's Australian Ship when the monarch is female) is a

ship prefix A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship that has historically served numerous purposes, such as identifying the vessel's mode of propulsion, purpose, or ownership/n ...

used for commissioned units of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). This prefix is derived from HMS (Her/His Majesty's Ship), the prefix used by the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, and can be equally applied to warships and shore bases (as Australia follows the British tradition of referring to naval establishments as stone frigates). On 10 July 1911, King George V granted the title of Royal Australian Navy to the naval forces of Australia. At the same time, the prefix and acronym were approved for use in identifying units commissioned into the RAN. The prefix had been used prior to formal approval, with the

torpedo-boat destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in 1 ...

commissioned with the HMAS prefix on 1 March 1911. The prefix now refers to the King or Queen of Australia, who is also the British monarch. The first word of the prefix changes depending on the gender of the reigning monarch of Australia.

References

External links

List of current Royal Australian Navy Ships
{{Royal Australian Navy Royal Australian Navy Ship prefixes