HMAS Bataan in company with USS Bataan off the Korean coast, 17 April 1951.
Neither of the Korean navies was large; United Nations forces encountered more mines than DPRK ships. Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships, working as part of the (British) Commonwealth naval force, operated mostly in the often-shallow waters of Korea's west coast—though the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney (III) deployed off both coasts. Naval operations comprised mostly: minesweeping, landing ground forces, providing supporting fire, surveying, escort duties, carrying supplies, and carrier-based combat air patrols. Ships sometimes encountered fire from shore batteries, such as HMAS Murchison in the Han River in September 1951.
Most RAN ships worked rotating deployments of one year. In total, over 4500 RAN personnel aboard nine different RAN ships served in operations in Korea. Three pilots from 805 Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm were the only RAN fatalities.
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