J Class Submarine, in Royal Australian Navy Service
In the early 1920s Australia was gifted six J class submarines from the Royal Navy. These were the latest and largest submarines built by the RN for service in World War I. They were competent but were in service with the Royal Navy for only a short time before the end of the war.
Once in Australia they were placed into service but there was little appetite for submarines or in fact any other military endeavour in the early ‘twenties’. The world was exhausted from a long and dirty war followed by a devastating Influenza Epidemic. The J class boats were soon retired and sunk as breakwaters or scuttled in the ship graveyard area off the mouth of Port Phillip Bay.
These submarines marked a significant engineering maturing in the design of submarines which contributed to the continuing development of the diesel-electric submarine which remains, to this day, an important asset of many maritime countries, including Australia.
THIS SITE IS VIRTUAL INPERPRETATION. There are technical and safety issues in approaching any of the wreck sites. There will therefore be no Marking Ceremony.
Engineering Heritage Recognition Program
| Marker Type | Engineering Heritage National Marker (EHNM) |
| Award Date | October 2018 |
| Heritage Significance | The significance of the six remaining J class boats in Australian waters are that they are part of a continuous development of submarines operated by Australia during the 20th century. The sequence of Australian submarines fall into four classes. The two boat AE1 and AE2 class of World War One; the J class during the 1920s (6 boats); the Oberon class from 1960 to 2000 (6 boats) and the Collins class (6 boats) from 1996 to the present. |
| Nomination Document | Available here. |
| Ceremony Booklet Ceremony Report |
Not Available. |
| Plaque/Interpretation Panel | Not Installed. |
