Five ships of the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 (RAN) have been named HMAS Sydney, for Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, the capital city of New South Wales.

, a Chatham-class light cruiser launched in 1912, decommissioned in 1928, and broken up for scrap, a Leander-class light cruiser launched in 1934, and sunk following an engagement with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran on 19 November 1941. The wreck was rediscovered in 2008, a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier launched in 1944, decommissioned in 1973, and broken up for scrap, an Adelaide-class guided missile frigate launched in 1980, expected to remain in service until 2013, a Hobart-class guided-missile destroyer slated to enter service in 2017

Battle honours

Between them, vessels named HMAS Sydney have been awarded fourteen battle honour

Battle honour

A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....

s 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
  Battle of Cocos
  The Battle of Cocos took place on 9 November 1914 during the First World War off the Cocos Islands, in the north east Indian Ocean. The German light cruiser attacked the British cable station on Direction Island and was engaged several hours later by the Australian light cruiser...
  
   1914
• North Sea 1916–18
• Calabria
  Battle of Calabria
  The Battle of Calabria, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in World War II. It was fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. The battle occurred 30 miles to the east of Punta Stilo, the "toe" of Italy , on 9 July 1940...
  
   1940
• Spada
  Battle of Cape Spada
  The Battle of Cape Spada was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in Second World War. It took place on 19 July 1940 in the Mediterranean Sea off Cape Spada, the north-western extremity of Crete.-Prelude:...
  
   1940
• Mediterranean
  Battle of the Mediterranean
  The Battle of the Mediterranean was the name given to the naval campaign fought in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II, from 10 June 1940-2 May 1945....
  
   1940
• Kormoran 1941
• Korea
  Korean War
  The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
  
   1951–52
• Malaysia 1964
• Vietnam
  Vietnam War
  The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
  
   1965–72
• Kuwait
  Gulf War
  The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
  
   1991
• East Timor 1999
• Persian Gulf
  War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
  The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
  
   2001–03
• Iraq
  2003 invasion of Iraq
  The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
  
  2003