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HMAS MANOORA LPA 52 baseball cap
HMAS MANOORA LPA 52 baseball cap

HMAS MANOORA LPA 52 baseball cap

Datec 2000
Object number00051756
NameCap
MediumCloth
DimensionsOverall: 262 x 176 x 120 mm
ClassificationsClothing and personal items
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionHMAS MANOORA LPA2 served in the Western Pacific and the Middle East, supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was involved in one of Australia's most controversial maritime refugee incidents of contemporary history - the TAMPA Affair of 2001 - and was also used to transport detained rebel leader, Harold Keke of the Solomon Islands to Honiara in 2003. This baseball cap is typical of casual headwear worn on board RAN ships.HistoryHMAS MANOORA (LPA-52) was a Kanimbla class landing platform amphibous ship that was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy in 1994. Formerly the Newport class tank landing ship USS FAIRFAX COUNTY (LST-1193), MANOORA's primary role was to transport, lodge ashore and support an Army contingent of 450 troops, their vehicles and equipment. It was decommissioned on 27 May 2011. In 2001 MANOORA was used in the highly politicised transportation of Unauthorised Boat Arrivals from the MV TAMPA to the processing centre on the island of Nauru. Other areas of deployment included the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Slipper, Australia's contribution to war in Afghanistan; and Operation Falconer, Australia's contribution to war in Iraq. In 2003 the ship was deployed to Operation Anode - a Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands to provide logistic and air support. During this period it transported detained Solomon Islands rebel leader Harold Keke to Honiara. Further deployments included joint naval exercises, logisitic support for the Commonwealth Games and East Timor, and border protection patrols. The use of the frog as an unofficial mascot denotes MANOORA's role as an amphibious landing platform as does the unofficial motto 'The Amphibians'; the ship's formal badge includes the motto 'In War and Peace' and derives from the first ship in the RAN to carry the name - the converted Adelaide Steamship Company cruiser which saw action during World War II.SignificanceThis baseball cap is typical of the informal headgear worn by RAN sailors; it represents the RAN ship HMAS MANOORA and features the ship's unofficial badge of a small frog and the motto 'The Amphibians', relating to MANOORA's role as an amphibious landing platform.