First World War Australian submarine, AE2, was scuttled on 30 May 1915 in the Sea of Marmara while supporting the Gallipoli landings. She was one of the first two submarines bought by the Australian navy and was serving with the Allied fleet off the Dardanelles. AE2 was the first Allied submarine to penetrate the Narrows and get into the Sea of Marmara where she disrupted merchant shipping attempting to resupply the Turkish defenders at Gallipoli. After 5 days she dived to avoid a torpedo boat, but suddenly headed up out of control, perhaps because of hitting denser water of a halocline (salt/fresh water boundary). They were fired on at the surface so dived again, this time going beyond the maximum permitted depth. Eventually Captain Stoker was forced to reverse engines and blow air into the main ballast tanks, bringing them back to the surface. The engine room was hit by fire from Turkish torpedo boat, Sultanhisar, and they had no choice but to abandon ship. As they left they scuttled the submarine. The crew spent the rest of the war in captivity where 4 of them died of disease.
AE2 was found in 1998 at 72 metres. Last year a survey of the wreck was performed and based on their findings an expert group advising the Turkish and Australian governments decided against raising the wreck. Efforts will be made to conserve it in place. Estimates for raising and restoring the wreck were put at $100 Million compared with preservation at the current site and setting up a shore display to commemorate the submarine and the Sultanhisar could come to $30 Million. There is an article on the decision here.
From what the survey team found, the steel on the wreck is in remarkably good condition considering its age, and this seems to be largely due to the lack of oxygen down there, as a good part of it is covered in a layer of silt.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation made a documentary which was recently shown on Australian television. If you are in Australia you can download a copy but not if you are overseas. Fortunately one of the expedition people sent up a DVD to Hong Kong, which I watched last night. It was a very good balance between the history, the archaeology and the diving. It also covered the incident where one of the divers had problems with her rebreather and was lucky to survive. She had the good fortune to be part of a team of highly experienced divers and medical personnel and has since made a full recovery.
Anyway if you get the chance the documentary is well worth watching. South China Diving Club will be screening it some time in the near future at one of their Club Nights, as the expedition team contained one of their former members.
