Wreck of 800-ton submarine missing for more than a century discovered

The wreck of an Australian Navy submarine that mysteriously disappeared more than 100 years ago with 35 sailors on board has been found at the bottom of the sea off Papua New Guinea.

The wreck of the first submarine to serve the Royal Australian Navy has been discovered after 103 years of unsuccessful searching, the International Business Times reported yesterday. The 800-ton ship, HMAS AE1, is one of two E-class submarines built more than a century ago.

HMAS AE1 was commissioned in February 1914 but only served for a few months before disappearing without a trace in the waters off Papua New Guinea with a crew of 35 British and Australian sailors during World War I.

The disappearance of the submarine became one of the greatest mysteries in Australian naval history. However, the 13th expedition to find the submarine was successful. The wreck was found at a depth of 305 meters in the sea near the Duke York Islands of Papua New Guinea.

The wreck of the AE1 submarine at a depth of 305 meters below the seabed. Photo: Scribb.

The search, which began on December 17, was conducted using the Fugro Equator, a ship previously used to search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, according to AFP.

The search team, led by retired Rear Admiral Peter Briggs, is using a range of technologies, including magnetometers, remotely operated vehicles and deep-sea cameras. The Australian Government, the Australian Maritime Museum and two maritime history research organisations are jointly funding the search.

"This is one of the most important discoveries in Australian naval history. The disappearance of AE1 in 1994 was a tragedy for our country at that time," said Marise Payne, Australia's Minister for Defence.

The submarine AE1 was dispatched from Sydney to Papua New Guinea in 1914. However, on September 14, 1914, just one day after the Germans returned the colony, the submarine disappeared without leaving any warning signals or distress calls.

Historians have been unable to find any trace of the ship, not even a trace of oil leaking from it. However, after discovering the wreck, Payne hopes to investigate the cause of the sinking.

According to Briggs, one possible cause that could explain the submarine's disappearance is a "diving accident." "The submarine appears to have hit the seabed so hard that the rudder broke free from its base, tipping it forward and smashing into its hull," Briggs speculated.

Payne said the Australian government was in talks with Papua New Guinea to arrange a memorial service for the crew at the site where the wreck was discovered.

According to VNE