Editing HMAS AE2 (section)

===Outbreak of World War I===
On the outbreak of World War I in September 1914, the two submarines were assigned to the [[Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force]] as it captured [[German New Guinea]].<ref name=Stevens36>Stevens, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 36</ref> During the capture of New Guinea, ''AE1'' disappeared without a trace.<ref name=Stevens36/> After the German surrender, ''AE2'' spent three weeks patrolling around [[Fiji]] with the [[battlecruiser]] {{HMAS|Australia|1911|2}}, then returned to Sydney on 16 November for maintenance and repairs.<ref name=Stevens44>Stevens, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 44</ref><ref name=RAN/>

As ''AE2'' was the only submarine in the region and the German threat to Australia had disappeared, Stoker suggested that the boat be transferred to Europe.<ref name=Stevens44/> Both the RAN and the [[British Admiralty]] agreed, and on 31 December, she left [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]] with [[First Australian Imperial Force|AIF]] Convoy 2 (under the tow of [[HMAS Berrima|SS ''Berrima'']]).<ref name=Stevens44/> The submarine was the only warship assigned to the sixteen-ship convoy, as after the [[Battle of Cocos]] resulted in the destruction of the last active German ship in the Indian or Pacific Oceans, the Admiralty felt no need to protect shipping in the Indian Ocean.<ref>Frame, ''No Pleasure Cruise'', p. 115</ref> ''AE2'' arrived in [[Port Said]], Egypt, on 28 January 1915, and was ordered to join the [[British 2nd Submarine Flotilla]], and proceeded to take part in patrols in support of the [[Dardanelles Campaign]].<ref name=Stevens44/><ref name=White129>White, in Oldham, ''100 Years of the Royal Australian Navy'', p. 129</ref>