Editing HMAS AE2 (section)

===Dardanelles Campaign===
{{See also|Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign}}
On 10 March, the submarine [[Ship grounding|ran aground]] off [[Mudros]] when returning from a patrol, as the harbour lights used to aid navigation had been switched off in ''AE2''{{'}}s absence, which Stoker was not prepared for. The submarine was towed to Malta for repairs and returned to operation in April.<ref>White, in Oldham, ''100 Years of the Royal Australian Navy'', pp. 129–30</ref>

The aim of the Dardanelles Campaign was to knock Germany's ally, the [[Ottoman Empire]], out of the war and open up supply lines to the [[Russian Empire]] via the [[Black Sea]].<ref name=Stevens44/> Attempts to open the [[Dardanelles]] through naval power were unsuccessful: three Allied [[battleship]]s were sunk, and another three crippled, during a surface attack; although the British submarine {{HMS|B11}} was able to enter the strait and sink the modernised [[ironclad]] {{ship|Ottoman ironclad|Mesudiye||2}}, two failed attempts to traverse the waterway and enter the [[Sea of Marmara]] resulted in the loss of {{HMS|E15}} and the {{ship|French submarine|Saphir|1908|6}} to mines and strong currents.<ref>Stevens, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', pp. 44–45</ref><ref name=Preston34>Preston, ''Submarine Warfare'', p. 34</ref> Plans were made to capture the Turkish defences by a land attack, with landings at Cape Helles and Anzac Cove.<ref name=Stevens44/><ref name=Preston34/> Despite the failures of ''E15'' and ''Saphir'', Stoker planned his own attempt, which was approved by the Allied fleet's commander, [[Vice Admiral]] [[John de Robeck]].<ref name=Stevens45>Stevens, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 45</ref>

[[File:AE2 (AWM H17538).jpg|thumb|left|HMAS ''AE2'']]
''AE2''{{'}}s first attempt was made early on 24 April, but the boat only made it {{convert|6|nmi}} into the strait before the forward [[diving plane|hydroplane]] coupling failed, making the submarine impossible to control underwater and forced Stoker to retreat.<ref name=White130>White, in Oldham, ''100 Years of the Royal Australian Navy'', p. 130</ref><ref name=Stevens45/> At 02:30 on the following day, Stoker made a second attempt.<ref name=Stevens45/> The submarine was spotted by shore artillery and fired on from about 04:30; Stoker ordered the boat to dive to avoid the shells and to traverse the first minefield.<ref name=Stevens45/> ''AE2'' spent the next hour picking her way through the mines' mooring cables: defensive wires that had been welded to the submarine in Malta prevented the mooring cables from catching.<ref name=White130/><ref name=Stevens45/> By 06:00, ''AE2'' reached [[Chanak]], and proceeded to torpedo a Turkish gunboat believed to be a [[Peyk-i Şevket-class cruiser|''Peyk-i Şevket''-class cruiser]] while simultaneously taking evasive actions to avoid an enemy destroyer.<ref name=Stevens45/><ref>Jose, ''The Royal Australian Navy, 1914–1918'', p. 242</ref> The submarine ran aground beneath a Turkish fort, but the fort's guns could not be lowered enough to fire, and ''AE2'' was able to free herself within four minutes.<ref name=Stevens45/> Shortly after, the submarine's periscope was sighted by a Turkish battleship firing over the peninsula at the Allied landing sites; this prompted the ship to stop firing and withdraw.<ref name=Stevens45/> ''AE2'' advanced toward the Sea of Marmara, and at 08:30, Stoker decided to rest the boat on the ocean bottom and wait until nightfall before continuing.<ref name=Stevens45/>

At around 21:00, ''AE2'' surfaced to recharge her batteries, and Stoker radioed his success back to the fleet; the first Allied vessel to transit the Dardanelles.<ref name=Stevens45/><ref>Frame, ''No Pleasure Cruise'', p. 119</ref><ref name=Preston34/> Stoker had orders to "generally run amok", and with no enemies in sight, he ordered the boat to enter the Sea of Marmara.<ref name=Stevens45/> Although the [[landing at Cape Helles]] was going well at the time Stoker reported in, the [[landing at Anzac Cove]] was not as successful, and the commander of the [[Australian and New Zealand Army Corps]], Lieutenant-General Sir [[William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood|William Birdwood]] was pushing for reembarkation of his troops.<ref name=Stevens45/> Some sources identify ''AE2'' as one of the factors leading to Birdwood's decision to commit to the attack, although the Australian War Memorial claims there "is no real evidence" to support this.<ref name=Stevens46>Stevens, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 46</ref><ref name=AWMae2>{{cite web|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_10760.asp |title=AE2 (1914–1915) |work=Australians at War |publisher=Australian War Memorial |access-date=21 September 2013}}</ref>

The submarine made appearances across the Sea of Marmara over the following five days to give the impression of multiple boats, and several attacks against Turkish ships were made, although all failed because of increasing mechanical problems.<ref name=Stevens46/> News of the submarine's successes was spread to the soldiers ashore to improve morale.<ref name=Stevens46/> On 29 April, ''AE2'' met {{HMS|E14||2}}, one of several submarines that had entered the Dardanelles following the Australian boat's successful attempt.<ref name=AWMae2/> The submarines arranged a rendezvous for the next morning.<ref name=RAN/><ref name=AWMae2/> When ''AE2'' reached the rendezvous point on 30 April, smoke from the torpedo boat [[Ottoman torpedo boat Sultanhisar|''Sultanhisar'']] was sighted, so the submarine dived and moved to investigate.<ref name=AWMae2/> At 10:30, about a mile from the torpedo boat, ''AE2'' inexplicably rose and broke the surface.<ref name=RAN/> While diving to evade, the boat passed below her [[Submarine depth ratings|safe diving depth]]; frantic attempts to correct this caused the submarine's stern to break the surface.<ref name=Stevens46/> ''Sultanhisar'' immediately fired on the submarine, puncturing the pressure hull in three places near the engine spaces.<ref name=RAN/><ref name=White130/><ref name=Stevens46/> Stoker ordered the boat's company to evacuate, and scuttled ''AE2'' at 10:45'.<ref name=Stevens46/><ref name=RAN/> All personnel survived the attack and were captured by ''Sultanhisar'', although four died from illness while in captivity.<ref name=RAN/><ref name=AWMae2/> ''AE2''{{'}}s achievements showed others that the task was possible, and within months Turkish shipping and lines of communication were badly disrupted, with supplies and reinforcements for the Turkish defence of Gallipoli forced to take underdeveloped overland routes.<ref name=Stevens46/><ref name=AWMae2/><ref name=Preston34/> ''AE2'' was the only RAN vessel to be lost as a result of enemy action during World War I, and along with sister boat ''AE1'', the total of the RAN's operational losses in the war.<ref>Frame, ''No Pleasure Cruise'', p. 128</ref>