| HMAS
E-Class Submarine
Tons
1,839

1914
|
Captain Lt Cdr Besant
Crew Cyril Lefroy BAKER, 1268
Crew Ernest Fleming BLAKE, 7876
Crew John James BRAY, 1604
Crew Gordon Clarence CORBOULD, 7297
Crew James Alexander FETTES, 7290
Crew Arthur H FISHER, 8191
Crew Richard B HOLT, 8266
Crew Jack JARMAN, 1138
Crew John Joseph MALONEY, 7299
Crew John MESSENGER, 7291
Crew John REARDON, 7474
Crew Robert SMAIL, 1068
Crew James Benjamin THOMAS, 8111
Crew William A WADDILOVE, 7300
Crew Percy L WILSON, 7182
Crew Charles F WRIGHT, 7395
History
The AE1 was commissioned at Portsmouth, England on February
28, 1914 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Thomas F Besant,
RN. Both the AE1 and her sister ship,
HMAS AE2, reached Sydney on May 24, 1914 operated by a mixed crew
of Royal Navy and Royal Australian
Navy
personnel.
World War I
At the outbreak of the
First World War, the AE1 joined Australian naval forces assigned
to capture
German
colonies throughout
the Pacific.
The AE1, alongside the AE2, took part in operations leading to
the occupation of German New Guinea, including the surrender of Rabaul
on September 13, 1914.
Sinking History
The following morning, September 14, 1914, the AE1 and HMAS
Parramatta departed Blanche Bay to patrol off Cape Gazelle. AE1
did
not return to
base,
last being seen at approximately 3:30pm. Parramatta, Yarra,
Encounter and Warrego were all tasked with searching for AE1,
but found nothing. To date, this submarine has never been located.
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