page_title: History of the Royal Australian Navy
section_title: The defence of Australian shipping
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Royal Australian Navy / World War II / War with Japan / The defence of Australian shipping
caption_attribution_description: English: June 1, 1942. A Japanese Ko-hyoteki class midget submarine, believed to be the vessel known as Midget No. 14, is raised from the bed of Sydney Harbour. The night before the picture was taken, the submarine's two crew members were part of a raid on shipping in Sydney Harbour.
context_page_description: The history of the Royal Australian Navy traces the development of the Royal Australian Navy from the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788. Until 1859, vessels of the Royal Navy made frequent trips to the new colonies. In 1859, the Australia Squadron was formed as a separate squadron and remained in Australia until 1913. Until Federation, five of the six Australian colonies operated their own colonial naval force, which formed on 1 March 1901 the Australian Navy's Commonwealth Naval Force which received Royal patronage in July 1911 and was from that time referred to as Royal Australian Navy. On 4 October 1913 the new replacement fleet for the foundation fleet of 1901 steamed through Sydney Heads for the first time.
  The Royal Australian Navy has seen action in every ocean of the world. It first saw action in World War I, in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Between the wars the RAN's fortunes shifted with the financial situation of Australia: it experienced great growth during the 1920s, but was forced to reduce its fleet and operations during the 1930s. Consequently, when it entered World War II, the RAN was smaller than it had been at the start of World War I.
context_section_description: In late May and early June 1942, a group of five Imperial Japanese Navy submarines made a series of attacks on Sydney and the nearby port of Newcastle. On the night of 31 May – 1 June, the submarines launched three Ko-hyoteki-class midget submarines against Allied shipping in Sydney Harbour. A torpedo intended for the cruiser USS Chicago exploded under the depot ship HMAS Kuttabul, killing 21. On 8 June, two of the submarines shelled Sydney and Newcastle, with little effect. In response, the RAN instituted convoys between Brisbane and Adelaide. All ships of over 1,200 tons and with speeds of less than 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) were required to sail in convoy when travelling between cities on the east coast.
  The attack on Sydney and Newcastle marked the start of a sustained Japanese submarine campaign against Australia. During 1942, Japanese submarines sank 17 ships in Australian waters, although none of these ships were sailing as part of a convoy. 16 ships were sunk in Australian waters during 1943, before the Japanese ended the campaign in July. Five of these ships were sunk while sailing in escorted convoys. The Australian naval authorities gradually dismantled the coastal convoy system between December 1943 and March 1944. By the end of the war, the RAAF and RAN had escorted over 1,100 convoys along the Australian coastline.
  While the scale of the Japanese naval offensive directed against Australia was small compared to other naval campaigns of the war such as the Battle of the Atlantic, these attacks were "the most comprehensive and widespread series of offensive operations ever conducted by an enemy against Australia". Although the RAN only sank a single full-sized Japanese submarine in Australian waters (I-124 in January 1942) convoy escorts may have successfully reduced the threat to shipping in Australian waters by making it harder for Japanese submarines to carry out attacks.
  Whilst escorting convoys between Australia and New Guinea, HMAS Arunta attacked and sank the Japanese Kaichu type submarine RO-33 off Port Moresby on 24 August 1942, killing all 42 men aboard.
caption: A Japanese Ko-hyoteki-class midget submarine, believed to be Midget No. 14, is raised from Sydney Harbour
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