Five ships of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) have been named HMAS Sydney, after Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales.
HMAS Sydney (1912), a Town-class light cruiser launched in 1912, decommissioned in 1928, and broken up for scrap
HMAS Sydney (D48), a Leander-class light cruiser launched in 1934, and sunk following a battle with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran on 19 November 1941
HMAS Sydney (R17), a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier launched in 1944, decommissioned in 1973, and broken up for scrap
HMAS Sydney (FFG 03), an Adelaide-class guided missile frigate launched in 1980, and decommissioned in 2015
HMAS Sydney (DDGH 42), a Hobart-class air warfare destroyer slated to enter service in 2020
Between them, vessels named HMAS Sydney have been awarded fourteen battle honours by the Royal Australian Navy. These include two of the only three battle honours awarded in the 20th century for an action involving a single opposing ship:
Rabaul 1914
Emden 1914
North Sea 1916–18
Calabria 1940
Spada 1940
Mediterranean 1940
Kormoran 1941
Korea 1951–52
Malaysia 1964
Vietnam 1965–72
Kuwait 1991
East Timor 1999
Persian Gulf 2001–03
Iraq 2003
