History & Modifications
AE1:
On 14th September 1914 AE1 was sent to patrol off German New Guinea with the destroyer Parramatta
while searching for the German cruiser Geier. Although the destroyer returned to port, AE1
was never seen again. She may have been spotted returning, but this is unconfirmed.
AE2:
AE2 was involved in the Dardanelles operation. On 26th April 1915, she was in Atarki Bay,
and lost trim. She surfaced near a Turkish torpedo boat, which tried to ram AE2.
The submarine submerged just in time, but soon came to the surface again despite the
efforts of her crew to keep her submerged. The Turkish ship opened fire, and pierced the
hull of AE2 in 3 places, so she could not submerge.
Lt. Cdr. Stoker ordered the crew to abandon ship, and the seacocks to be opened. Most of
the crew were rescued, including Stoker, but 9 remained unaccounted for.