Australia's first submarine was found after more than 100 years of disappearance

One of Australia's oldest naval mysteries has been deciphered after it discovered the body of the first submarine sunk in World War I.

According to Phys, on New Guinean Island in New Britain on September 14, 1914 with a crew of 35 people from Australia, England and New Zealand. For decades, more than a dozen hunts for this ship have been carried out but without results. Only last week was the AE1 discovered at a depth of 300m below the surface of the sea during a search using Dutch survey ships.

Australian submarine HMAS AE1 was sunk off the island of Papua New Guinea, New Britain.(Photo: AP).

"It was the first loss of the Royal Australian Navy and the loss of the first allied submarine in World War I - a great tragedy of our country and allies" , defense minister Australia Marise Payne said last Thursday (December 21).

The Australian Government is trying to contact the descendants of the dead on board. It is still unclear why the submarine is sunk.

Also according to Minister Payne, a memorial service was organized to commemorate those who died after the ship was found. Australia is also in discussions with the Papua New Guinean government about building a long-standing memorial and ways to preserve the site.

In 1914, the submarine AE1 was sent from Sydney to arrest the German army in New Guinea but only operated for seven months and disappeared the day after Germany surrendered to the colony.

It is still unclear why the submarine is sunk.(Photo: AAP).

The last time an AE1 vessel contacted an Australian ship was 2:30 pm on the day of its disappearance (September 14, 1914). At that time, the islanders next talked about seeing a "demon fish" or a "monster" appear and quickly disappear in the sea.

It has always been assumed that AE1 is not a victim of retaliation because at that time, the only German ship nearby was a small survey ship.

Outside of the newly discovered AE1 submarine.(Photo: AAP).

Since no fragments, oil or bodies were found, it was also believed that AE1 was sunk in an intact state, the greatest possibility being sunk after a saber collision punctured a hole in pressure. Hull. Whether this assumption is correct or not is not yet confirmed publicly.