HMAS AE1

HMAS "AE1" (originally known as just "AE1") was an E-class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was the first submarine to serve in the RAN and was lost at sea near East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, with all hands, during World War I, after less than seven months in service. The wreck of the submarine has never been found, and is the only sunken ship operated by the RAN whose location is as yet unknown.

History

Commissioning

AE1 was laid down by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness, England on 14 November 1911, launched on 22 May 1913 and commissioned on 28 February 1914.cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/HMAS_AE1 |title=AE1 |accessdate=2008-09-15 |publisher=Sea Power Centre Australia] After commissioning AE1, accompanied by her sister ship HMAS AE2, the other of the Royal Australian Navy's first two submarines, reached Sydney from England on 24 May 1914. Both submarines were manned by Royal Navy officers with a mixed crew of sailors drawn from the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy.Cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/navy-to-hunt-for-lost-sub/2007/02/26/1172338506483.html |title=Navy to hunt for lost sub |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=2007-02-26 |accessdate=2007-02-26]

Deployment

At the outbreak of World War I, AE1, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Thomas Besant, RN, was sent to capture German New Guinea as part of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force. With her sister ship AE2, she took part in the operations leading to the occupation of the German territory, including the surrender of Rabaul on 13 September 1914.

At 07:00 hours on 14th of September she departed Blanche Bay, Rabaul, to patrol off Cape Gazelle with HMAS "Parramatta", when she had not returned by 20:00 hours, several ships were dispatched to search for her. No trace of her was ever found and she was listed as lost with all hands. It is probable that she was wrecked on a reef or other submerged object. As well as LCDR Besant, two other officers and 32 sailors were lost in this disaster. The disappearance was Australia's first major loss of World War I.

earches

The Maritime Museum of Western Australia, sponsored by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, launched an unsuccessful attempt to locate the submarine in November 2003. The search area was concentrated to the south-east of the Duke of York Islands.Cite web |url=http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/collections/maritime/march/documents/No.%20174%20AE1%20Search.pdf |title=The search for the AE1 |first=Jeremy |last=Green |accessdate=2007-03-01 |format=PDF |work=Department of Maritime Archaeology |publisher=Western Australian Maritime Museum |year=2003]

In February 2007, a new effort to locate the submarine was mounted by the Royal Australian Navy when the survey ships HMAS "Benalla" and HMAS "Shepparton" attempted to locate the submarine off East New Britain, based on data compiled over the past 30 years. HMAS "Benalla" located an object of the appropriate dimensions using sonar on 1 March.Cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1860079.htm |title=Aust WWI submarine believed found off PNG |publisher=ABC Online |date=2007-03-01 |accessdate=2007-03-01] cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Missing-WWI-sub-may-have-been-found/2007/03/01/1172338754207.html |title=Missing WWI sub may have been found |accessdate=2007-03-01 |author=AAP |date=2007-03-01 |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald] Later identification conducted by HMAS Yarra confirmed though that this object is a rock with the same approximate dimensions.Cite web |url=http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1938106.htm |title=Australian Navy finds 'submarine' rock |publisher=Radio Australia |date=2007-05-30 |accessdate=2007-05-30] [Cite web |url=http://www.defence.gov.au/news/navynews/editions/5010/topstories/story6.htm |title=Resurface of mystery |publisher=Australian Government, Department of Defence |date=2007-06-14]

References

Further reading

*

External links

* [http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2007/s1878267.htm PNG - The Search for the AE1] - Australian Broadcasting Corporation - Foreign Correspondent