Australia may be close to solving WWI sub mystery

CANBERRA, Mar 1 (Reuters) The Australian navy has found what it hopes are the remains of the nation's first submarine, lost off Papua New Guinea in the first months of World War One, the government said today.

A navy ship has spent the past week searching Pacific waters near Rabaul, on the PNG island of New Britain, for the submarine AE1 which disappeared in September 1914 with the loss of all 35 crew.

Assistant Defence Minister Bruce Billson said the HMAS Benalla had found a ''large man-made object'', about 30 metres (98 feet) long, on the sea floor off Rabaul, but he remained cautious about declaring victory in the search for the lost submarine.

''It is far too early to speculate about what the object detected by HMAS Benalla is,'' Billson said, adding remote cameras would now be used to try to make a positive identification.

The waters around Rabaul contain many shipwrecks from World War Two, when the town and its harbour were used as a key Japanese navy and submarine base for south-western Pacific.

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.

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

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

The AE2 was also lost during World World War One. It sank in April 1915 in Turkey's Sea of Marmara during the Gallipoli campaign.

Its crew all survived.

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

REUTERS PB RK1002