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/na ...
used for commissioned units of the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
(RAN). This prefix is derived from
HMS (Her/His Majesty's Ship), the prefix used by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and can be equally applied to warships and shore bases (as Australia follows the British tradition of referring to naval establishments as
stone frigate
A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land.
'Stone frigate' is an informal term which has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy (RN), after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the First French ...
s).
By the early 21st century, especially when RAN vessels were deployed as part of international coalitions, an unofficial, alternative prefix was sometimes used: "Australian navy ship" (which was not abbreviated). This was typically used in communications at sea with other navies or merchant vessels. This avoided any confusion that may have resulted from RAN ("HMAS") vessels serving alongside British RN ("HMS)" vessels and/or those of other Commonwealth navies.
On 10 July 1911,
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
George was born during the reign of his pa ...
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, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived in ...
commissioned with the HMAS prefix on 1 March 1911.
References
External links
List of current Royal Australian Navy Ships
{{Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
Ship prefixes