This book offers a penetrating analysis of the Royal Australian Navy in the twentieth century. Written by a team of leading naval historians, it chronicles both naval activities and explores the effects of changing strategic circumstance, technological innovation, and differing national needs and expectations. Reviewing Australia's naval involvement in operations that have ranged from global war through to peacekeeping and natural disaster, the authors explain how the Senior Service developed from a collection of colonial gunboats into a vital element in today's national defence.