Australian navy to hunt for lost WWI submarine

CANBERRA, Feb 26 (Reuters) The Australian navy today began a search for the nation's first submarine in a bid to end the mystery over what happened to the vessel which disappeared in the Pacific in the first months of World War One.

The submarine, the AE1, vanished in September 1914 with the loss of all 35 crew while patrolling near Rabaul on the island of New Britain, now part of Papua New Guinea.

It was the first major loss of Australian life in World War One, and followed Australia's first military action of the conflict when troops had captured a German radio base at Rabaul.

''I am hopeful that this search will shed some light on to the whereabouts of the AE1 and provide some answers to the relatives of those brave crew members,'' assistant defence minister Bruce Billson said in a statement.

The loss of the AE1 has been one of Australia's enduring mysteries. A brief search in 1914 found no trace of the vessel, while reconstructions of German fleet movements indicate it was unlikely the submarine was attacked.

Billson said investigations suggested that the submarine could have sunk after running aground or colliding with a submerged object near the Duke of York Islands.

The AE1 and its sister ship, the AE2, were purchased from Britain and arrived in Australia in May 1914. Both were commanded by British officers with a mix of British and Australian crew.

In August 1914, five days after Australia declared war on Germany, the AE1 was dispatched to support the military operations against German forces on New Britain.

The AE2 was also lost during World War One. It sank in April 1915 in Turkey's Sea of Marmara after penetrating the Dardanelles during the Gallipoli campaign. Unlike the AE1, the AE2's crew all survived.

Australian submarine hunters found the wreck of the AE2 in 1998.

REUTERS SHB PM1345