HMAS AE2 was the first Allied submarine to penetrate the Dardanelles in 1915 as part of the Gallipoli Campaign, on the very morning the ANZAC soldiers landed at Anzac Cove.  After five hectic days "running amok", she finally fell to Turkish gunfire and was scuttled.  Her crew was captured and spent the rest of the war as Turkish POWs.  AE2 lay, unseen, until in 1998 she was discovered, intact, in 73m of water in the Sea of Marmara.  The SIA aims to ensure the protection, preservation and promotion of AE2, to contribute to an informed debate on her future and ensure that AE2’s contribution to the Gallipoli campaign is duly recognised by telling the story of her brave crew.  Following Government support, implementation of the Project AE2 strategy has been assigned to the AE2 Commemorative Foundation Ltd, a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee.  Download a brochure outlining the Foundation's plans by clicking here (PDF 412 KB).

 

The SIA has developed a strategy to achieve this objective. This document can be downloaded here  (PDF 148 KB)

 

The Foundation is planning a Maritime Archaeological Assessment (MAA) of AE2's wreck in 2007 and is seeking corporate sponsors to support this high profile activity.  A brief for potential sponsors has been developed and can be downloaded here. (PDF 220 KB).  Additionally, a highly successful Training Exercise was conducted in February 2007 on a scuttled J-class submarine and a report can be downloaded here (PDF 479 KB)

 

The SIA acknowledges the support of the Australian War Memorial in the provision of the upper high quality image (negative H17538) showing AE2 at sea in 1915. The lower image is from a painting by Phil Belbin of 'AE2 running amok in the Narrows'.  It is displayed by courtesy of the RAN.