AE1

[herakles]

HMAS AE1 was the first submarine of the RAN.

She was commissioned on February 1914 and together with HMAS AE2, they reached Sydney from England on 24 May 1914. She was manned by a mixture of RAN and RN sailors.

She was part of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force sent to German New Guinea in 1914. This brief campaign was the first of WW1 and the first successful attack on German forces. This culminated with the surrender of Rabaul on 13 September 1914.

The next day she departed Raboul to patrol off Cape Gazelle with HMAS Parramatta. She disappeared. 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.

No trace of her was ever found. No-one knows what happened.

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.

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. Later identification conducted by HMAS Yarra confirmed though that this object is a rock with the same approximate dimensions.

AE2 went on to achieve glory in the Dardenelles during the Gallipoli campaign.

[Kevin Denlay]

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. Later identification conducted by HMAS Yarra confirmed though that this object is a rock with the same approximate dimensions.

Another expedition scheduled for early 2009 intends to investigate further several of the contacts from 2007 (and another target that was observed in the early 70’s) by viewing the objects with the MK1 Eyeball (i.e. divers) to 100% eliminate (or confirm) all the previous suspect targets – and adjacent areas - in depths up to 120m/400ft. (Note; up till now the targets off the Duke of York’s - where she was presumed lost - have only been imaged with side-scan sonar and the resultant negative conclusions made from viewing same.)

The expedition also hopes to recover (and return to the RAN) the side-scan sonar towfish lost by HMAS Benalla during the 2007 survey.

If the littoral waters around the Duke of York’s can be 100% ruled out as the final resting place for AE1 it leaves open the way for a much more high tech search (as was done recently for the discovery of HMAS Sydney) of the much deeper waters between there and New Britain itself.

Lost, but not forgotten (by some at least), the search for AE1 continues!

Kevin

[herakles]

This is good news Kevin. Will you be taking part in any of this?

[Kevin Denlay]

The short answer, yes. The expedition will be led by Cmdr John Forster (RAN retd.) who was involved in the 2003 and 2007 surveys and has been instrumental in keeping the search for AE1 alive for the past 30 years. Two other divers who made the first dives on AE2 in the Sea of Marmara are also involved. (All self funded so sponsorship is of course welcomed! :) )

A couple of images I meant to attach to previous.

K

[herakles]

Thanks for that Kevin. I can only hope that this time AE1 is discovered and a lot of questions answered.

[Rushy]

During the mid 70's I was posted to HMAS Basilisk (Port Moresby) when Cmdr Forster was our CO and had the privilege of reading through the original AE1 files regarding her loss. HMAS Flinders was in the area at the time and used her side scan sonar, with no success, in an effort to locate the vessel. I posted out before any finds were made so it is with a great deal of pleasure that I recently discovered the Cmdr Foster is still searching, I wish him well and hope he eventually suceeds.

Cheers

Rushy

[Jackaroo]

AE2 went on to achieve glory in the Dardenelles during the Gallipoli campaign.

Now that is a great story and not really well known in Australia as all we seem to hear about is the Army side of the Gallipoli campaing. RAN sailors were the first ashore at Gallipoli. Now I will have to go and find the research I have on that;)

Cheers
Jack :cool:

[Kevin Denlay]

During the mid 70's I was posted to HMAS Basilisk (Port Moresby) when Cmdr Forster was our CO and had the privilege of reading through the original AE1 files regarding her loss. HMAS Flinders was in the area at the time and used her side scan sonar, with no success, in an effort to locate the vessel. I posted out before any finds were made so it is with a great deal of pleasure that I recently discovered the Cmdr Foster is still searching, I wish him well and hope he eventually suceeds.
Cheers Rushy

If dedication was any measure of success then Cmdr Forster would have found her long ago! Sadly that is not the case. Two expeditions lead by John (Forster) to Rabaul this year (2009) have again failed to find any trace of her.

So unless AE1 took a very roundabout course (which is thought unlikely) back to Rabaul from where she was last seen then it is now believed that she sank in very deep water and finding her will involve serious resources and deep water search capabilities (as searching the suspected shallow water locations has now been exhausted).

[Rushy]

The other issue which may, and probably has made locating the AE1 is the amount of seismic activity in that area, even a small event could cause a vessel the size of a submarine to be hidden. I do hope Cmdr Forster is successful, I remember him is a true gentleman and a very good ASW Officer.

Cheers

Rushy

[Kevin Denlay]

The other issue which may, and probably has made locating the AE1 is the amount of seismic activity in that area, even a small event could cause a vessel the size of a submarine to be hidden. I do hope Cmdr Forster is successful, I remember him is a true gentleman and a very good ASW Officer.CheersRushy

Well you hit the nail right on the head there! In one area they searched, volcanic debris from the last eruption some years ago has added as much as 20 metres of rubble/ash to the bottom. That is, a known area that was once 80m deep is now only around 60m.

However, in the most recent expedition a couple of months ago a very high quality magnetometer was used that could detect sub bottom objects and still nothing was located in one of the suspected areas that is now covered in debris.

Hopefully she is not lost forever, but................

By the way, do you know that your old 'boss' now lives 'just down the road’ from you so to speak, that is just near the coast south of the Qld/NSW border? (And I assume you have seen a copy of the book he wrote some time ago about AE1 and his earlier searches for her?)