The wreck of the first allied vessel lost in the First World War has been discovered 103 years after it vanished off the coast of Papua New Guinea following a search that has finally ended Australia’s oldest naval mystery. HMAS AE1, Australia’s first submarine, which had 35 British, Australian and New Zealand crew members aboard, disappeared near the Duke of York Islands during a patrol for German warships on September 14, 1914. The submarine, which had only been in service for seven months, was captained by Lieutenant Commander Thomas Besant, a 30-year-old British officer who had been seconded from the Royal Navy. Despite at least twelve search operations over the decades, no trace of the vessel was found. But the wreck was finally found more than 1,000 feet underwater after an underwater survey captured an image of the vessel during a search involving the government and private backers. Following the survey, searchers aboard the Furgro Equato dropped an underwater camera to the seabed to confirm that the vessel was AE1. The team of maritime surveyors, marine archaeologists and naval historians scoured the search area with a multi-beam echo sounder and side-scan technology in an underwater drone Credit: REUTERS "Australia's oldest naval mystery has been solved," said Marise Payne, Australia’s defence minister. “The boat and her crew, who've been on eternal patrol since 1914 … have now been found. I truly trust that this discovery will bring peace of mind to the descendants of the families of the crew who lost their lives.” The cause of the sinking has not been confirmed but it is believed to be related to a technical failure during a practice dive. Peter Briggs, a retired rear admiral who led the search, said the loss was probably due to a sudden “diving accident”, noting that the fin guardrails were stowed and the upper conning tower hatch appeared to be shut. He told The Australian newspaper that the submarine appeared to suffer a “high energy event” – possibly due to an explosion involving one of its torpedoes or a high pressure air cylinder – which may have occurred after it began to sink but caused it to quickly flood and accelerate towards the seabed. The search led by Find AE1 Limited, and was funded by the Royal Australian Navy and the Silentworld Foundation, with assistance from the Submarine Institute of Australia Credit: REUTERS “When the end came for the men of AE1 it would have been very fast, they may well have not known what hit them,” said rear admiral Briggs, president of the Submarine Institute of Australia. “The submarine appears to have struck the bottom with sufficient force to dislodge the fin from its footing, forcing it to hinge forward on its leading edge, impacting the casing.” The location of the wreck has been kept secret to prevent salvage attempts. Timeline | Submarine accidents Following the discovery, the crew aboard the search vessel held a memorial for the dead officers and sailors. Australian and Papua New Guinean officials will consider ways to preserve the site and establish a lasting memorial. Rear Admiral Briggs said the discovery “opens the next chapter: learning exactly what happened to it”. “It will be quite a detective puzzle,” he added.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — As divers found mutilated body parts in plastic bags on the ocean floor one by one, a gruesome puzzle as dark as any Scandinavian noir emerged in Denmark: A young Swedish reporter who had embarked on a submarine journey to interview its maker was tortured, murdered and disposed at sea.
