Sonar find off PNG may solve mystery of Australia's first submarine
Australia's first submarine, the AE1, off the coast of Portsmouth, England in 1914. (AAP)
A leading Australian submarine expert says he may have found the WW1 submarine famously lost at sea.
The wreck of HMAS AE1, the Royal Australian Navy's first ever submarine, vanished off Papua New Guinea with 34 crew members on September 14, 1914.
Retired Admiral Peter Briggs now says an "object" found on the ocean floor near Rabaul may finally solve one of the nation's great wartime mysteries, News Corp reports.
He said the find happened in September when the Navy Mine Hunter HMAS Yarra was conducting a detailed search of waters around Rabaul, where the AE1 sank after less than seven months in service.
The Yarra's sonar reportedly detected a long object on the sandy seabed but its remote underwater vehicle broke down before it could locate and film the object.
The object, sitting upright in 170m of water, is more than 50m long and shaped like a submarine.
There are no known shipwrecks in the area.
"The object is likely something man-made due to its sonar signature. It is also located well away from Rabaul Harbour and its WW2 wrecks," Admiral Briggs said.
He said he will seek a grant in next year's federal budget for a detailed search in May 2016.
If the object is confirmed as AE1, the wreck will be cordoned off and declared a War Memorial. Descendants of the crew will also be notified.
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