Submariners - History | Navy

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The Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) Submarine Service began when Australia took delivery of two British built E Class submarines, AE1 and AE2 in May 1914. Following the declaration of World War I in August 1914, the first task of the RAN was to seize or neutralise German territories in the Pacific, stretching from the Caroline and Marshall Islands in the north, to New Britain and German New Guinea in the south. Both AE1 and AE2 formed part of the force sent to secure these possessions which carried a volunteer group known as the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, consisting of a battalion of 500 naval reservists and a battalion of 1000 infantry.

The force arrived at Rabual on the 11th of September. Two parties of Naval Reservists were landed, with orders to capture the enemy's two wireless stations there. Following an extended battle the overwhelmed German defenders agreed to an unconditional surrender. Rabual was secured the following day. Within a few weeks most of the German territories in the area, including Bougainville and the Admiralty Islands, had been occupied without further opposition.

The success of this operation was marred by the disappearance of AE1 on September 14, while patrolling the narrow St George's Strait between New Britain and New Ireland - the first RAN unit lost in wartime. No trace of the submarine or its 35 crew has ever been found.

With the demise of the German forces in the Pacific, AE2 was offered to the Admiralty for service in the European theatre, and she was towed to the Mediterranean by the transport Berrima which led the second Australian Imperial Force (AIF) convoy consisting of 17 transports. On arrival, AE2 was attached to the British fleet unit engaged in the Dardanelles campaign which included the landings at Gallipoli.

1915 Gallipoli

In support of the imminent Allied troop landings, the Australian submarine AE2 was ordered to penetrate the Dardanelles, make the Sea of Marmora and harass enemy shipping, which was supporting the Turkish forces at Gallipoli. Two British submarines had already failed to do what AE2 was now attempting.

At 0230 on April 25th 1915, just hours before the first diggers went ashore, AE2 set off from her anchorage at Tenedos. Obstacles of shallow banks and treacherous currents heavily defended the Dardanelles. AE2 hugged the northern shoreline until at 0430 she came under fire from a coastal gun at a range of about 2 kilometres. Lieutenant Commander Stoker ordered the boat to dive to a depth of 20 metres and proceed through the minefield that was adjacent to the Swandere River. For the next half-hour the scraping of wires along the vessel's sides was almost continuous.

By 0600 AE2 was approaching the narrows and Stoker elected to navigate at periscope depth. The sea being a flat calm however, meant that the periscope was immediately detected and they began to come under heavy fire from forts on both sides of the narrows. In the midst of the barrage Stoker observed a hulk that he thought was laying mines and decided to attack it. As he lined up for the attack a small cruiser appeared from behind the hulk. Thinking this a more likely mine layer, he changed his attack to the cruiser.

At a range of 400 metres he fired the bow torpedo and then crashed dived to 20 metres to avoid a destroyer that was attempting to ram the port side. As the destroyer passed overhead, the torpedo was heard to hit, so Stoker ordered a course to starboard to avoid being entangled in the sinking cruiser. In the midst of the manoeuvre AE2 hit a bank and slid up it 10 metres, leaving it well exposed above the water. The crew then had to endure a hellish four-minute ordeal of shells falling all around them, until they managed to refloat the boat and slid back down the bank to 20 metres again. Despite a twelve hour wait on the bottom to avoid his pursuers, Stoker steered AE2 into the Sea of Marmora at 0900 on the 26th of April 1915.

For the next three days AE2 launched several attacks against enemy shipping. She then proceed into the Dardanelles to harass Turkish shipping by continually submerging then re-surfacing, to give the impression that more than one submarine was in the area. But disaster struck as she surfaced for a planned rendezvous with the British submarine HMS E14 and was surprised by the torpedo boat Sultan Hissar, which then proceeded to attack.

The following is Lieutenant Commander Stoker's account of the final chapter in the history of AE2:

"Dived to avoid torpedo-boat; whilst diving sighted smoke in Artaki Bay, so steered south to investigate. About 10.30 boat's nose suddenly rose and she broke surface about a mile from the torpedo-boat. Blew water forward but boat would not dive. Torpedo-boat firing very close and ship from Artaki Bay, a gunboat was also firing; flooded forward tank and boat suddenly assumed big inclination down by the bows and dived very rapidly. AE2 was only fitted with 100 foot depth gauges. This depth was quickly reached and passed. After considerable descent, the boat rose rapidly, past the 100ft mark and in spite of efforts to check her broke the surface stern first. Within seconds the engine room was hit and holed in three places. Owing to the inclination down by the bow, it was impossible to see torpedo-boat through the periscope and I considered any attempt to ram would be useless. I therefore blew main ballast and ordered all hands on deck. Assisted by Lieutenant Haggard, I then opened all tanks to flood the sub and went on deck. The boat sank in a few minutes in about 55 fathoms, in approximate position 4' north of Kara Burnu Point at 10.45am. All hands were picked up by the torpedo-boat and no lives lost."

Lieutenant Commander Stoker and crew then spent the next three and a half years in a Turkish prison camp, where four ratings died in captivity.

1920 - 1960

J CLASS SUBMARINES

On 25 March 1919, six J class submarines were gifted to Australia from the British Admiralty. They arrived in Sydney on the morning of Tuesday 15 July, accompanied by the submarine tender HMAS Platypus. The submarines were placed in immediate refit before being delivered to their base in Geelong, Victoria. They saw a short period of local operation before J1, J2, J4 and J5 were sold in 1924 and eventually scuttled off Barwon Point. J3 and J7 were sold in 1926 and 1929 and used as breakwaters in Port Philip Bay.

THE NEXT 40 YEARS

In the mid 1920's, two submarines were added to strengthen the Navy. The original HMAS Oxley was commissioned on 15 April 1927, and HMAS Otway on June 15, in Portsmouth, England. They sailed on 8 February 1928 for Australia, but only made it as far as Malta after severe storms in the Bay of Biscay caused extensive damage. The boats were laid up for nine months while repairs were effected, departing Malta on 15 November 1928. They made a grand entrance into Sydney harbour on 14 February 1929. The arrival coincided with the great depression, and in May 1930, both submarines were placed in reserve. Maintenance proved costly and in April 1931, the boats were gifted back to the Royal Navy.

During World War II, the Australian Navy was given the use of a Dutch submarine, the N39, for training and was commissioned HMAS K9 on 22 June 1943. She saw limited use as a training boat after she sustained damage in May 1942 from a Japanese midget submarine attack in Sydney Harbour. She spent much of its time under maintenance and was eventually paid off on 31 May 1944. She was converted into a light oiler and was wrecked on Tiona Beach, Seal Rocks after breaking her tow on 7 June 1945.

In November 1949, a flotilla of three British submarines was based at HMAS Penguin in Sydney, and this continued until January 1969 when the last of the submarines left.

OBERON CLASS

COLLINS CLASS

1960- PRESENT

OBERON CLASS SUBMARINES

In January 1963, the Government announced approval for the building of four new Oberon Class submarines in Scotland, the first being laid down on 2 July 1964. HMAS Oxley was commissioned on 27 March 1967 and arrived at the newly commissioned HMAS Platypus in Neutral Bay, Sydney on 18 August 1967.

The second of the Oberon Class submarines, HMAS Otway, was commissioned on 22 April 1968 and arrived in Sydney in October of the same year. HMAS Ovens was commissioned on 18 April 1969.

The fourth and last boat of the initial order of submarines was HMAS Onslow, which was commissioned on 22 December 1969 and arrived in Sydney in July 1970.

In the early 1970's, a second order of two Oberon Class submarines was placed for delivery in 1975 and 1976. HMAS Orion became the fifth 'O' Boat, and was commissioned on 15 June 1977, sailing into Sydney for the first time in July 1978. The final submarine was commissioned HMAS Otama on 27 April 1978 and joined her sisters at HMAS Platypus in December 1978.

On 20 September 1987, HMAS Oxley became the first submarine to be home ported at HMAS Stirling, and she served there until she was decommissioned in February 1992. The Oberons were not involved in conflict while they were in commission, but were invaluable during their service.

COLLINS CLASS SUBMARINES

The need to replace the Oberon class submarine was identified by the Department of Defence in the early 1980's and a decision was made to call for expressions of interest in 1983. After determining the Navy's requirement it soon became evident that no "off the shelf" submarine available at the time would satisfy the requirements and a new design was the solution.

Senior Navy and Submarine Project staff were confident that Australia had the technology and capability to build a new class of submarine, to meet the specific strategic and geographic requirements of the RAN. They were successful in convincing the government of the day of the benefits that would be gained from building the submarines in Australia, to satisfy Australia's operational requirement.

A short list of potential designers from the UK, Germany and Sweden were asked to provide submarine and combat system designs based on the Royal Australian Navy's design specifications and after the initial studies were completed tenders were called.

The successful tender was put forward by the Australian Submarine Corporation, a consortium of four companies; Australian Industry Development Corporation, Kockums, CBI and Wormalds. The submarine was a Swedish design by Kockums, a company with many years experience designing and building submarines for the Swedish Navy. It was designated the Type 471, and later the Collins class after the name of the lead submarine. The combat system chosen by the Navy was the Rockwell Systems (now Raytheon) design.

On June 3, 1987, the contract was signed with the Australian Submarine Corporation for the design and construction of six submarines and associated supplies and services for the RAN. The first of the Collins class, HMAS COLLINS, was commissioned on 27 July 1996. Each boat has been named after a distinguished former member of the RAN, some of whom have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.