At the outbreak of World War I, AE1, was part of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force sent to attack German New Guinea. AE1’s main roll was perhaps to guard against intervention of cruisers in Germany’s East Asia [Indo-Pacific] Squadron
Along with AE2, AE1 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 on 14 September, AE1 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 the submarine was found, and she was listed as lost with all hands.
The disappearance was Australia's first major loss of World War.
Now technical reasons why AE1 was lost with all hands, have emerged. Papua New Guinea's PNG Industry News reveals, in part:
[March 14, 2018] A REPORT has detailed how the crew of Australian World War 1 submarine HMAS AE1 desperately attempted to save the vessel before it sank off the coast of the Duke of York Islands.
...AE1 suffered a catastrophic failure, the report found,
identifying "a design failure, material failure, operator error or
combinations thereof" as being responsible for the submarine's bow tipping
forwards and down.
One of the submarine's twin props was not operating, which
would've contributed to the crew's inability to slow or stop the downwards
descent.
Once it began to gather speed, the sub's forward section
imploded after the 100 metre mark, creating a shockwave that would have killed
the crew of 35 instantly.
...the shockwave would have been like a "truck-bomb
going off in the middle of the control room" and there was some comfort
the men "didn't know what hit them" "...from the available
evidence, it is clear that the crew met their end swiftly and did not die a
slow, lingering death on the sea floor".
The submarine had its hydroplanes set to "hard to
rise", which meant it was attempting to return to the surface. The report
concluded this was a deliberate action. "Operated by a rack-and-pinion mechanism
and designed to operate against maximum design speed, the planes could not have
drifted into their current positions".
After ruling out various scenarios, the report found a
"diving accident" was the most probable cause for the disaster.
The crew had a lack of diving practice, and a mechanical
defect to the starboard main engine clutch would have limited the power
available to the submarine.
This provided a combination of circumstances that
"would alone have been sufficient to lead to her loss", the report
concluded.
In the report, Find AE1 recommends against any attempt to
enter the hull as it is the crew's final resting place. It also warns that it
is only a matter of time before treasure hunters and others will attempt to
exploit the wreck or achieve fame by obtaining images.
Measures to prevent ships from anchoring, mooring or
trawling in the area are recommended in the report, including installing a
surveillance camera on nearby Mioko Island, as well as a permit system requiring
permission from both Australian and Papua New Guinean authorities for any
further activity involving the wreck..." See the WHOLE PNG Industry News ARTICLE
HMAS AE1 sunk in Papua New Guinea's, Duke of York islands. (Map courtesy BBC)
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HMAS AE1 in happier days. (Painting courtesy Royal Australian Navy).
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Sensor image of AE1 on the seafloor.
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Deep water photo of AE1 on the seafloor 300m down, far deeper than its approximately 100m crush depth. (Image courtesy the Australian Government via the BBC).
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Pete
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