Historical weaponry of the Australian Army

Since the formation of the Australian Army on 1 March 1901, it has used a variety of weaponry and equipment, sourced mainly from British, American and less frequently, other European manufacturers, but also weapons and equipment produced by local Australian manufacturers.

The Australian Army came into being when the six British colonies of Australia all held referendums to join together, and voted in favour of forming a federation, creating the modern nation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Prior to doing so, each of the Australian colonies were responsible for their own defence, and all had separate colonial armies. As each colonial army was responsible for the defence of their own colony, each colony separately contracted the purchase of their own equipment, so at the time that each colonial army merged into the newly formed Australian Army, there was a variety of incompatible equipment used by the various interstate units.

One of the first tasks of the newly formed Army following restructure and the creation of unified hierarchy and command chains, was to uniformly equip the new national army. This was no easy task, as at the time of the foundation of the Australian Army, all six colonial armies were in the field involved in the Second Boer War. Whilst badge-changing ceremonies were performed and hats and uniforms supplied, it proved impractical to fully re-equip in the field. Consequently the Martini-Henry rifle, which was favoured by the majority of colonial units, continued in use until about 1910.

Second Boer War 1899–1902
The Australian Army was founded by a merger of the six separate armies of the six independent Australian British colonies. When those forces merged officially on 1 March 1901, during the Second Boer War in South Africa, all six colonies had troops already engaged in combat in the field. It was obviously impossible and unnecessary to completely re-equip and re-uniform the forces while they were deployed, and most of the colonial armies wore similar khaki uniforms anyway. A symbolic ceremony to replace colonial badges was held in the field during which Australian soldiers were given the Rising Sun Badge, the new symbol of the Australian Army, for the first time.

Side-arms

 * 🇬🇧 Beaumont-Adams Revolver (.450 calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Enfield Revolver (.476 calibre)

Long-arms

 * 🇬🇧 Martini-Henry Rifle (.577/.450 calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Snider-Enfield Rifle (.577 calibre)

Horses

 * Flag of New South Wales.svg Waler horse

World War I 1914–1918
By the outbreak of World War I, the equipment of the Australian Army had become standardised, and was essentially the same as most of the armies of the British Empire. The one major difference was the preference of kangaroo leather over canvas for webbing and other equipment, straps and belts.

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Side-arms

 * 🇬🇧 Enfield Revolver (.476 calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Webley Revolver (.455 calibre)

Long-arms

 * 🇬🇧 Lee-Enfield Rifle (.303 calibre)

Grenade

 * 🇬🇧 Mills Bomb

Light machine-gun

 * 🇺🇸 Lewis Gun (.303 calibre)

Heavy machine-gun

 * 🇬🇧 Vickers Machine Gun (.303 calibre)
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Infantry-Support

 * 🇬🇧 Stokes Mortar (3 inch calibre)

Horses

 * Flag of New South Wales.svg Waler horse

Trench Mortar

 * 🇬🇧 2 inch Medium Mortar

Heavy Mortar

 * 🇬🇧 9.45 inch Heavy Mortar

Field Guns

 * 🇬🇧 4.5 inch Howitzer
 * 🇬🇧 18-Pounder Field Gun
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Vehicles
Armoured Cars
 * 🇺🇸 Model T Ford (with mounted Lewis Gun)
 * 🇬🇧 Rolls-Royce Type A (with mounted Lewis Gun)
 * Flag of the German Empire.svg 50 HP Daimler (with mounted M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun)
 * Flag of the German Empire.svg 60 HP Mercedes (with mounted M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun)
 * 🇧🇪 50 HP Minerva (with mounted M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun)
 * }

Aircraft
(The Australian Flying Corps which served in WWI was an Army unit, not a separate airforce.)

World War II 1939–1945
At the beginning of World War II, the Australian Army was continuing with the practice of sourcing military equipment from the United Kingdom as it had done in the colonial era and the first three decades of the twentieth century. However, as the war progressed, Britain's difficulties in keeping up production demand, Australia's geographic isolation, and a differing focus on war policies and theatres, caused Australia increasingly to obtain arms, equipment, and military assistance from the United States. {| border=0 style="font-size:100%; text-align:left;"
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Side-arms

 * 🇬🇧 Enfield Revolver MK II (.38 calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Webley Revolver MK IV (.38 calibre)
 * 🇺🇸 Colt 1911A1 (.45 calibre)
 * 🇺🇸 Smith & Wesson Victory (.38 calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Webley Revolver MK VI (.455 calibre)

Rifle

 * 🇬🇧 Lee-Enfield SMLE No.1 MkIII* Rifle (.303 calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Lee-Enfield No.4 MkI/MkI* Rifle (.303 calibre) (used in small quantities. Mostly went to arm secondary units and the Volunteer Defence Corps)
 * 🇺🇸 M1 Garand (.30-06 Springfield) (Issued to Australian infantry units attached to US Army units in New Guinea)

Grenade

 * 🇬🇧 Mills Bomb M36

Sub-machine-gun

 * 🇦🇺 Owen Gun (9mm calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Sten submachine gun (9x19mm Parabellum)
 * 🇦🇺 Austen MK I (and MK II) (9x19mm Parabellum)
 * 🇺🇸 Thompson submachine gun (.45 calibre)

Light machine-gun

 * 🇬🇧 Bren Gun (.303 calibre)

Heavy machine-gun

 * 🇬🇧 Vickers Machine Gun (.303 calibre)
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Infantry-Support

 * 🇬🇧 Stokes Mortar (3 inch calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Flamethrower, Portable, No 2 (flamethrower)

Anti-Armour

 * 🇬🇧 Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55 in, Boys (.551 calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 PIAT

Trench Mortar

 * 🇬🇧 2 inch Medium Mortar
 * 🇬🇧 3 inch Medium Mortar

Heavy Mortar

 * 🇬🇧 9.45 inch Heavy Mortar

Field Guns

 * 🇬🇧 4.5 inch Howitzer
 * 🇬🇧 Ordnance QF 18 pounder Field Gun
 * 🇬🇧 Ordnance QF 25 pounder Field Gun

Vehicles
Amphibious Vehicles Scout Cars
 * 🇺🇸 DUKW
 * 🇺🇸 Amphibious Jeep
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 * 🇦🇺 Dingo
 * 🇦🇺 S1 Scout Car

Armoured Cars
 * 🇦🇺 Rover Light Armoured Car
 * 🇬🇧 Bren Carrier
 * 🇦🇺 Staghound

Tanks
 * 🇦🇺 Australian Cruiser Tank Mk1 - Sentinel
 * 🇬🇧 Churchill Tank
 * 🇬🇧 Cruiser Tank
 * 🇬🇧 Matilda Tank
 * 🇺🇸 Grant Tank
 * 🇺🇸 Sherman Tank (3 for trials purposes only)
 * 🇺🇸 Stuart Tank
 * }

Korean War 1950–1953
When the Korean War began many Australian units were still equipped with weapons that they had used during World War II. Whilst there were minor changes such as the replacement of the British QF 4.5 inch Howitzer by the American-built 105 mm Howitzer M3 as the primary artillery piece, the most dramatic changes to Australian equipment during the Korean War period were to the aircraft used by the Royal Australian Air Force. Important lessons learned during the Korean War later influenced the way the Australian Army re-equipped to adapt to the needs of modern warfare in time for the Australian Army's entry into the Vietnam War. {| border=0 style="font-size:100%; text-align:left;"
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Side-arms

 * 🇬🇧 Enfield Revolver MK II (.380 calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Webley Revolver MK IV (.38 calibre)
 * 🇺🇸 Colt 1911A1 (.45 calibre)

Long-arms

 * 🇬🇧 Lee-Enfield SMLE No.1 MkIII* Rifle (.303 calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Lee-Enfield No.4 MkI Rifle (.303 calibre) (in limited use)

Grenade

 * 🇬🇧 Mills Bomb M36

Sub-machine-gun

 * 🇦🇺 Owen Gun (9mm calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Sten submachine gun (9x19mm Parabellum)
 * 🇦🇺 Austen MK I (and MK II) (9x19mm Parabellum)
 * 🇺🇸 Thompson submachine gun (.45 calibre)

Light machine-gun

 * 🇬🇧 Bren Gun (.303 calibre)

Heavy machine-gun

 * 🇬🇧 Vickers Machine Gun (.303 calibre)
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Infantry-Support

 * 🇬🇧 SBML 2 inch Mortar
 * 🇬🇧 Ordnance ML 3 inch Mortar
 * 🇺🇸 M2A2 flamethrower

Anti-Armour

 * 🇺🇸 M20 Bazooka (89 mm)
 * 🇸🇪 Carl Gustav recoilless rifle
 * 🇬🇧 Ordnance QF 17 pounder

Vehicles
Armoured Personnel Carriers
 * 🇬🇧 Alvis Saladin
 * 🇺🇸 A4 Alligator Landing Vehicle

Tanks
 * 🇬🇧 Centurion tank
 * }

Vietnam War 1962–1972
The Vietnam War proved to be a highly mobile operation for Australian forces, who often engaged their enemies during arduous jangle patrols through thick and difficult terrain. Much of the equipment used on the battlefields of the Korean War proved to be too cumbersome for this type of warfare, including long-arms such as the Lee-Enfield SMLEs. However the Australian Army had become an expert at jungle warfare during their campaigns in South-East Asia against the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II, and the lessons in jungle warfare they had learned proved invaluable in the choosing of equipment for the Vietnam War. Long rifles continued to be used by snipers, but infantry patrols favoured the use of assault rifles such as the L1A1 and M16. The heavy machine-guns which were useful for the static defences of the Korean War were replaced by the lighter general-purpose M60 machine gun, which was man-portable by a patrol machine-gunner. {| border=0 style="font-size:100%; text-align:left;"
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Side-arms

 * 🇺🇸 Colt 1911A1 (.45 calibre)
 * 🇺🇸 L9A1 Browning Hi-Power (9x19mm Parabellum)

Long-arms

 * 🇦🇺 L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle (licenced FN FAL derivative) (7.62 calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Parker Hale M82 (.308 calibre Sniper-Rifle)

Grenade

 * 🇺🇸 M26 grenade
 * 🇺🇸 M79 grenade launcher
 * 🇦🇺 / 🇺🇸 various smoke grenades

Assault Rifles

 * 🇺🇸 Colt M16A1 (5.56 calibre)
 * 🇺🇸 Colt M16A1 (5.56 calibre) fitted with under-barrel M203 grenade launcher
 * 🇺🇸 CAR-15 (5.56 calibre) (used by Australian SAS troopers)

Sub-machine-gun

 * 🇦🇺 F1 submachine gun (9x19 Parabellum)
 * 🇦🇺 Owen Gun (9mm calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Sterling submachine gun (used by Australian SAS troopers in Vietnam)

General-purpose machine gun

 * 🇺🇸 M60 machine gun (7.62 calibre)
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Infantry-Support

 * 🇬🇧 L16 81mm Mortar
 * 🇺🇸 M2A1-7 flamethrower

Anti-personnel

 * 🇺🇸 M18A1 Claymore Antipersonnel Mine

Anti-Armour

 * 🇺🇸 M72 Light Anti-tank Weapon
 * 🇸🇪 Carl Gustav recoilless rifle
 * 🇺🇸 M20 Bazooka

Artillery

 * 🇺🇸 105 mm Howitzer M3
 * 🇺🇸 M2A2 howitzer
 * 🇬🇧 BL 5.5 inch Medium Gun
 * 🇮🇹 L5 (Aust) Pack Howitzer 105-mm (103 Battery)

Vehicles
Armoured Personnel Carriers
 * 🇬🇧 Alvis Saladin
 * 🇺🇸 M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier
 * 🇦🇺 Fire Support vehicle (FSV) (hybrid of M113 with Alvis Saladin turret fitted)

Tanks
 * 🇬🇧 Centurion tank

Aircraft

 * 🇦🇺 GAF Nomad
 * 🇨🇦 de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
 * 🇺🇸 Beechcraft Super King Air
 * 🇺🇸 Cessna 180
 * 🇺🇸 Pilatus PC-6
 * 🇺🇸 UH-1 Iroquois
 * 🇺🇸 / 🇦🇺 Bell Kiowa (locally built variant of the Bell 206)
 * }

1970s, 1980s & 1990s
After the Vietnam war the Australian Army suffered severe budget cut-backs, and expenditure on equipment decreased as a result. The army was scaled back in size, and experienced a period of very little overseas deployment for the first time in the post–World War II period. Despite this the Army did manage to continue to modernise its weaponry and equipment. During the 1980s traditional long-arms such as the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle (SLR) were phased out and finally withdrawn from front line service by 1990, and replaced by the locally produced F88 Austeyr, a derivative of the Austrian Steyr AUG which is still in service. During the 1980s the khaki field uniforms that had been used by the Australian Army since its foundation in 1901were replaced by Disruptive Pattern Combat Uniform. {| border=0 style="font-size:100%; text-align:left;"
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Side-arms

 * 🇺🇸 L9A1 Browning Hi-Power (9x19mm Parabellum)

Long-arms

 * 🇦🇺 L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle (licenced FN FAL derivative) (7.62 calibre)
 * 🇬🇧 Parker Hale M82 (.308 calibre Sniper-Rifle)

Grenade

 * 🇦🇺 F1 grenade
 * 🇺🇸 M79 grenade launcher
 * 🇦🇺 / 🇺🇸 various smoke grenades

Assault Rifles

 * 🇦🇺 F88 Austeyr (locally produced Steyr AUG derivative, adopted 1988, still in use) (5.56 NATO calibre)
 * 🇺🇸 M16A1 Used by the Australian Army until 1989 when the F88 Austeyr came into service. Australian forces involved in UN peacekeeping operations in Namibia, Western Sahara, and Cambodia used the M16A1 rifle well into the early 1990s.

Light machine-gun

 * 🇧🇪 FN Minimi (5.56 calibre)

General-purpose machine gun

 * 🇺🇸 M60 machine gun
 * 🇧🇪 FN MAG

Infantry-support

 * 🇺🇸 M252 Mortar
 * 🇺🇸 M9A1-7 Flame Thrower (limited number acquired for training before political concerns led to the phase out of flame weapons in 1990)

Anti-personnel

 * 🇺🇸 M18A1 Claymore Antipersonnel Mine

Anti-Armour

 * 🇺🇸 M72 Light Anti-tank Weapon
 * 🇸🇪 Carl Gustav recoilless rifle
 * 🇫🇷 / 🇩🇪 MILAN Anti-tank guided missile

Artillery

 * 🇬🇧 L118 Light Gun
 * 🇺🇸 105 mm Howitzer M3
 * 🇺🇸 M198 howitzer
 * 🇺🇸 M2A2 howitzer

Anti-Aircraft Weapons
 * 🇬🇧 Rapier surface-to-air missile
 * 🇺🇸 FIM-43 Redeye surface-to-air missile

Vehicles
Scout cars Tanks
 * 🇦🇺 Medium Reconnaissance Vehicle (MRV) (hybrid of M113 with FV101 Scorpion turret)
 * Leopard AS1 tank
 * 🇺🇸 M1A1 Abrams

Aircraft

 * 🇦🇺 GAF Nomad
 * 🇨🇦 de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
 * 🇺🇸 Beechcraft Super King Air
 * 🇺🇸 UH-1 Iroquois
 * 🇺🇸 UH-60 Black Hawk
 * }