AE 1 HMAS submarine

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aukepalmhof
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

AE 1 HMAS submarine

Post by aukepalmhof » Thu Aug 21, 2014 8:30 pm

Built as a submarine by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness, U.K for the Royal Australian Navy.
14 November 1911 keel laid down.
22 May 1913 launched as the HMAS AE1 one of the E class.
Displacement 760 ton surfaces, 820 ton submerged, dim. 55.2 x 6.86 x 3.81m. (draught)
Powered by two 8-cyl. diesel engines, 1.600 hp surfaced, battery driven by electric motors 840 hp when submerged. Twin shafts, speed 15 knots surfaced and 10 knots submerged.
Range 3000 mile at 10 knots at the surface and 65 mile at 5 knots when submerged.
Test dept 61 metre.
Armament 4 – 18 inch torpedo tubes.
Crew 34.
28 February 1914 commissioned.

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 with all hands near East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, on 14 September 1914, after less than seven months in service. The wreck of the submarine has never been found, despite several searches.
Description
The E-class was an enlarged version of the preceding D-class submarine to accommodate an additional pair of broadside torpedo tubes. AE1 was 181 feet (55.2 m) long overall, had a beam of 22 feet 6 inches (6.9 m) and a draught of 12 feet 6 inches (3.8 m). She displaced 750 long tons (760 t) on the surface and 810 long tons (820 t) submerged. The E-class boats had a designed diving depth of 100 feet (30.5 m), but the addition of watertight bulkheads, strengthened the hull and increased the actual diving depth to 200 feet (61.0 m). The crew consisted of 34 officers and enlisted men.
The boat had two propellers, each of which was driven by an eight-cylinder 800-brake-horsepower (600 kW) diesel engine as well as a 420-brake-horsepower (313 kW) electric motor. This arrangement gave the E-class submarines a maximum speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) while surfaced and 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) submerged. They carried approximately 40 long tons (41 t) of fuel that gave them a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) while on the surface and 65 nmi (120 km; 75 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) while submerged.

AE1 had four 18-inch torpedo tubes, one each in the bow and stern, plus two on the broadside, one firing to port and the other to starboard. The boat carried one spare torpedo for each tube. No guns were fitted.
Construction
AE1 was laid down by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness, England on 14 November 1911, launched on 22 May 1913 and commissioned into the RAN on 28 February 1914.[6] After commissioning, AE1, accompanied by her sister ship 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 (RN) officers with a mixed crew of sailors drawn from the RN and RAN.
Deployment and loss.
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. The submarine's involvement was recognised following an overhaul of the RAN battle honours system in 2010: AE1 retroactively received the honour "Rabaul 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, several ships were dispatched to search for her. No trace of the submarine 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 Lieutenant Commander Besant, 2 other officers and 32 sailors were lost in this disaster. The disappearance was Australia's first major loss of World War I.
Searches
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 RAN, when the survey ships BENALLA and SHEPPARTON attempted to locate the submarine off East New Britain, based on data compiled over the previous 30 years. BENALLA located an object of the appropriate dimensions using sonar on 1 March. Later identification conducted by HMAS YARRA found the object to be a rock formation with similar shape and dimensions to the submarine. A new search is planned for September 2014.

Australia 2014 70c sg?, scott? (she is the vessel in the foreground of the stamp, HMAS ENCOUNTER is depict on the right, while behind the submarine is HMAS PARRAMATTA.)

More info on the AE 1 you can find on http://www.AE1submarine.com
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_AE1
Attachments
AE 1 submarine.jpg
AE 1 cover submarine.JPG
Image (131).jpg
Image (132).jpg

D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen
Posts: 871
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 7:46 pm

Re: AE 1 HMAS submarine

Post by D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen » Wed Dec 27, 2017 2:41 pm

After being lost at sea for over a century, Australia's first Allied submarine, the HMAS AE-1, has finally been found in waters near the Duke of York islands in Papua New Guinea. A maritime mystery that eluded expeditioners for 103 years, the discovery of the 800-ton AE-1 submarine concludes what the Australian government has called the country's "oldest naval mystery." The disappearance of the submarine marked the first loss for the Royal Australian Navy during World War I. The submarine went missing on Sept. 14, 1914, off Rabaul, Papua New Guinea with 35 Australian and British crewmates on board. Efforts to locate the submarine took place earlier this week (21-12 2017) in waters off the coast of Duke of York Island. Led by The Royalgroups, this mission was conducted on a survey vessel dubbed the "FUGRO EQUATOR." Equipped with advanced search technology, the FUGRO EQUATOR. located an object of interest under 300 meters of water that would later be confirmed as the AE-1. Initial images captured during the expedition showed the vessel to be remarkably well preserved and in one piece. In a statement reported by BBC News, Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne said, "This is one of the most significant discoveries in Australia's naval maritime history. The loss of the submarine was "a significant tragedy felt by our nation and our allies," he added. Following HMAS AE-1's discovery, a small commemorative service was held by members aboard the survey vessel to remember and honor the officers and sailors who lost their lives 103 years ago. "I truly believe this will bring peace of mind to the family and descendants ... perhaps, in time, we may discover what caused the submarine to sink," Payne said. According to the BBC, there are currently no plans to return the AE-1 to Australia. The Australian government is reportedly working with the Papua New Guinea government to potentially make arrangements to preserve the site and create a lasting commemoration in recognition of the crew. Research and information gained from this monumental expedition will be held by the Australian National Maritime Museum. Source: ABC13 (Maasmond Maritime)

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