Portsmouth Hampshire First Australian Submarine A.E. 1 At Sea World War 1 Real Photo Postcard
HMAS AE1, commissioned in 1914, holds the distinction of being the first submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was one of two E-class submarines ordered by Australia from Vickers Armstrong in Barrow-in-Furness, England, and arrived in Sydney in May 1914, representing a significant step in Australia's independent naval defense capabilities following the establishment of the RAN in 1911.
AE1's brief but historically important service began at the outset of World War I. Operating with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, she participated in operations to seize German New Guinea. On September 14, 1914, AE1 disappeared with all 35 hands off the coast of New Britain, marking the Royal Australian Navy's first wartime loss and the first Allied submarine loss of the war. Its wreck was only discovered in 2017, solving one of Australia's oldest naval mysteries.
AE1's brief but historically important service began at the outset of World War I. Operating with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, she participated in operations to seize German New Guinea. On September 14, 1914, AE1 disappeared with all 35 hands off the coast of New Britain, marking the Royal Australian Navy's first wartime loss and the first Allied submarine loss of the war. Its wreck was only discovered in 2017, solving one of Australia's oldest naval mysteries.
