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Image Not Available for Documents relating to the loss of Frederick Woodland aboard submarine AEI
Documents relating to the loss of Frederick Woodland aboard submarine AEI
Image Not Available for Documents relating to the loss of Frederick Woodland aboard submarine AEI

Documents relating to the loss of Frederick Woodland aboard submarine AEI

Date1914 - 1919
Object numberANMS0824
NameArchive series
MediumPaper
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Annie Goldie
DescriptionThis collection of paper based material relates to Frederick William Woodland who served and was lost on the Australian submarine AE1 on 14 September 1914. It consists of a commemorative booklet; a certificate of the inspector of seamen's wills; pocket size seaman's handbook; a commemorative scroll; two photographs and condolence letters from Buckingham Palace and Winston S Churchill. A substantial proportion of the collection is made up of correspondence between Frederick Woodland's wife and the Australian High Commission office in London.HistoryAEI was an E-Class submarine in the Royal Navy. On 2 March 1914 it departed for Australia on its 83 day maiden voyage - setting a record as the longest journey ever taken by a submarine. During World War I it patrolled the waters off German New Guinea, until it was mysteriously lost with all hands. In December 2017 a new search for Australia’s HMAS AE1, was undertaken by a collaborative team comprising researchers and specialists from the Silentworld Foundation, ANMM, Find AE1 Ltd., the Royal Australian Navy and Fugro, N.V. The search was successful and identified AE1’s final resting place off the Duke of York Islands in Papua New Guinea. In April 2018, further research was carried out at the site by the ANMM, Find AE1 Ltd. and Curtin University’s HIVE (Hub for Immersive Visualisation and eResearch) aboard R/V PETREL, a vessel owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen and operated by Vulcan, Inc. Also on board was a Remotely-Operated Vehicle (ROV) and images relayed back to researchers aboard PETREL revealed vital clues to a sequence of events that led to AE1’s loss. For example, the submarine’s bow and stern torpedo tube caps were found to be either partially or fully open, and that this appears to have been an intentional act carried out on the surface. Why the caps were open, and whether they contributed in some manner to the loss will likely never be known. Similarly, the reason that a ventilation valve was partially open will probably never be known, but it is fair to say that it was one of the root causes of the submarine’s demise once it began to submerge on what would be its last dive. Despite efforts by the crew to recover—as evidenced by the positions of the submarine’s hydroplanes—AE1 was overwhelmed by the inflow of water through the ventilation valve and began to sink by the stern. At an unknown depth, the forward pressure hull partially imploded, killing the crew instantly. The submarine continued its fatal dive until it struck the seabed stern first at a shallow angle, breaking off the skeg and rudder. The hull then pitched forward, breaking AE1’s back and possibly snapping off all four hydroplane guards. This violent movement also affected the fin, which—likely already weakened structurally during the implosion—began to topple forward into the remnants of the control room. Going forward, the imagery and 3D model generated as a result of the 2018 investigations will prove critical in AE1’s ongoing interpretation, exhibition and management. SignificanceThis collection is an important record of the E-Class submarine AE1 and its mysterious sinking. There are few records to be found relating to AEI or the personal losses of those aboard it.