Rare Contributor
A sunken submarine that had been missing for over a 100 years was found off the coast of Papua New Guinea after mysteriously disappearing over 100 years ago during World War I.
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The Royal Australian Navy’s submarine, HMAS AE1, which disappeared on Sept. 14, 1914, with 35 crew members from New Zealand, Australia, and Britain aboard, was discovered near the island of New Britain.
“No trace of AE1 was found, not even the telltale shimmer of escaping oil floating on the surface of the water,” according to an account from the navy.
The mystery went unsolved for 103 years even though multiple searches had been conducted for the missing vessel. On Thursday, that all changed, though, when a Dutch-owned survey vessel discovered the fully-intact submarine 984 feet below the surface.
“Australia’s oldest naval mystery has been solved,” Australia’s Minister for Defense Marise Payne announced Thursday.
“When the AE1 went missing in 1914 it had a profound impact on our young nation,” Brendan Nelson, director of the Australian War Memorial, said in a statement. “Now we can properly mourn the deaths of those men who served in AE1, and commemorate their sacrifice in a meaningful and fitting way.”
“When the AE1 went missing in 1914 it had a profound impact on our young nation,” Nelson continued. “Now we can properly mourn the deaths of those men who served in AE1, and commemorate their sacrifice in a meaningful and fitting way.”
The reason the submarine sank is still unknown, but it isn’t believed to have been hit by an enemy ship. Rather, it’s thought that that the naval vessel may have either hit coral reef and depressurized or been lost during a test dive.
The AE1 was the first Allied submarine to be lost in World War I and the first wartime loss ever for the Australian Navy.
After the survey vessel made the discovery, they held a service to honor the brave men who lost their lives a century ago. Efforts are also being made to find descendants of the fallen crew members.
