The wreckage of HMAS AE1 submarine has been found more than 103 years after its disappearance in1914 during the First World War.

The submarine was the first Allied submarine loss of the war and the first wartime loss for the Royal Australian Navy. It vanished off the New Guinean island of New Britain on 14 September 1914, with 35 crew on board from Australia, New Zealand and Britain. In a statement, the Australian defence minister Marise Payne said on Thursday that it had been located more than 300 metres below the surface in a search using a Dutch-owned survey vessel. Because no wreckage, oil or bodies were found, it was believed the AE1 sank intact, possibly after striking a reef that punched a hole in the pressure hull. However, whether or not this was the case is still to be publicly verified.

(after Sky News, Australian War Memorial & Royal Australian Navy)