Missing Allied Submarine Finally Located – 35 Bodies Trapped In The Sunken Grave

AE1.

For well over a century of the Australian submarine, AE1 has avoided detection despite well over a dozen search missions. It was the first Allied submarine lost during first World War and has remained one of the greatest naval mysteries since then. Now 103 years after its disappearance the lost vessel has finally been found, but there is a little more to this story.

On September 14, 1914, the Australian submarine AE1 disappeared off of the coast of New Guinea as it prepared to target German-occupied colonies in the Pacific. The Royal Australian Navy lost their first vessel of WWI and had no explanation of how it vanished. Several expeditions to find the sub turned up nothing, but recently a group of explorers discovered its remains using small survey ship Fugro Equator.

“It was the first loss for the RAN and the first Allied submarine loss in World War I — a significant tragedy felt by our nation and our allies.”

– Marise Payne (Australian Defense Minister)

The of the submarine sinking has yet to be determined, although it was found in one piece which rules out torpedo attack. The first film of the sunken vessel and a tribute to the fallen sailors can be viewed at the following link.