A hundred years ago today, the very first submarines were commissioned into service in the Royal Australian Navy.

Submarines AE1 (Lieutenant Commander T.E. Besant RN) and AE2 (Lieutenant Commander H.H Stoker RN) were built by Vickers Ltd, and commissioned into service with the Royal Australian Navy at a ceremony in Portsmouth, United Kingdom, on 28 February 1914.

Once commissioned, the E class submarines made the long sea transit to Australia. It wasn't long before they were deployed as part of a joint Australian Navy-Army expeditionary force to German New Guinea, after the outbreak of hostilities.

Reflecting on the first generation of Australian submarines, Commander Submarine Forces, Captain Mark Potter RAN said these vessels played an important part in Australian naval history and the ANZAC story.

"The E class submarines supported the skirmishes which eventually secured Rabaul from the Germans. Shortly after, on 14 September 1914, AE1 left Blanche Bay on a routine patrol with HMAS Parramatta and disappeared without a trace, taking with her 35 men. The loss of AE1 is an enduring mystery and marked the first loss for the RAN and the first allied submarine lost during the war," Captain Potter said.

"In September, coinciding with a commemoration service to mark the 100th anniversary of the loss of AE1, a Mine Hunter Coastal (MHC) will conduct a five day search for AE1 off Mioko Island, Papua New Guinea."

"While every effort will be made to locate AE1 and provide some closure to families who lost loved ones, it is like searching for a needle in a hay stack. If AE1 is not located, the MHC will have narrowed the possibilities of her final resting place," said Captain Potter.

Following the demise of the German forces in the Pacific, surviving E class submarine, AE2 was deployed to the Middle East with the second AIF contingent, and was assigned to operations in the Mediterranean supporting the Dardanelles campaign.

The Commanding Officer was directed to penetrate the Dardanelles to the Sea of Marmora, and to disrupt the passage of shipping from the Bosphorus to the Dardanelles. Captain Potter said AE2 was the first submarine to make it through the heavily mined strait.

"Two submarines had previously attempted the dangerous passage and had been destroyed in the process. On the morning of the ANZAC landings, AE2 became the first Allied submarine to penetrate the Dardanelle Strait and 'run amok' in the Sea of Marmora. The action disrupted Turkish supply lines, with the Ottomon forces re-routing their reinforcements, ammunitions and supplies overland. This delayed the build up of Turkish forces on the Gallipoli peninsula and illustrated the potency of submarine capability. The action arguably changed the course of the campaign," said Captain Potter.

AE2 was lost in battle with a Turkish gunboat on 30 April 1915, ending the first chapter in Australian submarine history. All the crew survived the sinking and were taken prisoners of war in a Turkish prison camp.

The wreck of AE2 was discovered, intact, in 73 meters of water in the Sea of Marmara in 1998 by Turkish maritime historian Selçuk Kolay OAM.

"As we reflect on the Centenary of the Commissioning of AE1 and AE2, it is important to reflect on the men who crewed these boats. Our early submariners were brave pioneers operating innovative, but fragile vessels. Their spirit of adventure and Esprit de Corps set the standard, which later generations of submariners aspire to," said Captain Potter.

"As we approach the centenary of the loss of these submarines, we will further reflect upon their service and contribution to the nation."

Memorials for AE1 and AE2 are located beside each other at the end of Garden Island, Sydney.