Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service The Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service is the collective name of the submarine element of the Royal Australian Navy . The service currently forms the Navy ' s Submarine Force Element Group ( FEG ) and consists of six " Collins " class submarines . The Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service has been established four times , with the initial three attempts being foiled by combat losses and Australia ' s economic problems . The modern Submarine Service was established in 1964 , and has formed an important element of the Australian military ' s capacity since that date . While the Submarine Service has not seen combat since World War I , Australian submarines have conducted extensive surveillance operations throughout South East Asia . The current Director General Submarine Capability is Commodore G . J . Sammut , CSC , RAN . History . The Royal Australian Navy ' s submarine service has been established four times since 1914 . 1914 to 1945 . Australia ' s first submarines were the British E class submarine s " AE1 " and " AE2 " . These submarines were built in Britain and arrived in Australia in 1914 . Following the outbreak of World War I , both boats took part in the occupation of Rabaul in German New Guinea in September 1914 . During this operation , " AE1 " disappeared on 14 September off Cape Gazelle , New Britain . It is probable that she was wrecked on a reef during a practice dive , although as of 2008 she is yet to be found . " AE2 " remained in the South Pacific until December 1914 , when she was ordered to the Mediterranean to support the British - led operations off the Galipoli peninsula in Turkey . " AE2 " was the first British submarine to penetrate the Dardanelles , achieving this task on 25 April 1915 . " AE2 " operated in the Sea of Marmora for five days and made four unsuccessful attacks on Turkish ships before being damaged by a Turkish gunboat and scuttled by her crew on 30 April . These attacks are the only occasions an Australian submarine has fired in anger . The Australian submarine service was reformed in 1919 , when the British government transferred six J Class submarines to Australia ; HMA Submarines " J1 " , " J2 " , " J3 " , " J4 " , " J5 " , and " J7 " . These submarines arrived in Australia with their tender in April 1919 and were based at Osborne House , Geelong from early 1920 . The boats were in poor mechanical condition , however , and spent most of their service in refit . Due to Australia ' s worsening economic situation , all five boats were decommissioned in 1922 , and were scuttled later in the decade . The Australian submarine service was established a third time in 1927 , when the British O Class submarines and were commissioned . These submarines sailed from Portsmouth for Sydney on 8 February 1928 , but did not arrive in Australia until 14 February 1929 ; numerous mechanical problems delayed their delivery voyage . Due to Australia ' s poor economic situation , the O Class boats proved to be unaffordable and were placed in reserve in 1930 , before transferring back to the Royal Navy in 1931 . As a result , the Royal Australian Navy did not operate any submarines during World War II , though the obsolete Dutch submarine " K . IX " was commissioned as HMAS " K9 " 22 June 1943 and 31 March 1944 and used for anti - submarine warfare training purposes . The Australian ports of Fremantle and Brisbane were important bases for Allied submarines during World War II . A total of 122 United States Navy , 31 Royal Navy , and 11 Royal Netherlands Navy submarines conducted patrols from Australian bases between 1942 and 1945 . Fremantle was the second largest Allied submarine base in the Pacific Theatre after Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . 1945 to present . Following World War II the Royal Navy ' s 4th Submarine Flotilla was based in Sydney from 1949 until 1969 . The flotilla , which varied in size between two and three boats , was used to support the Royal Australian Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy in anti - submarine warfare training , with the operating cost split between the two nations . In the early 1960s , the British Government advised the Australian Government that reductions in the Royal Navy conventional submarine force meant that the 4th Flotilla was to return to the United Kingdom . The impending withdrawal of the British submarine flotilla sparked the fourth attempt to establish an Australian submarine service . While the Department of Defence advised the government that three to six submarines should be purchased for training purposes , following the intervention of then - Senator John Gorton the Government instead approved the purchase of eight submarines to form a submarine strike force . Eight British " Oberon " class submarines were ordered in 1964 , to be built in Scotland in two batches of four boats . Only six boats were delivered ; the seventh and eighth were cancelled in 1971 to fund the acquisition of ten A - 4 Skyhawk aircraft for the Fleet Air Arm . The first Australian " Oberon " class submarine , , was commissioned on 21 March 1967 . She was followed by her sister ships ; " Otway " ( 1968 ) , " Ovens " ( 1969 ) , " Onslow " ( 1969 ) , " Orion " ( 1977 ) , and " Otama " ( 1978 ) . " Orion " and " Otama " were more capable than the previous four boats , as they were fitted with advanced communications monitoring equipment . All of the Oberon class submarines were based at , on Sydney Harbour . The " Oberon " s proved very successful and saw extensive service during the last decades of the Cold War . This service included conducting risky surveillance missions against India and Communist nations in South East Asia . These missions were cancelled in 1992 when an Australian submarine , believed to be " Otama " , became tangled in fishing nets and was forced to surface in the South China Sea . As part of the Government ' s Two Ocean Navy policy submarines were homeported at HMAS " Stirling " in West Australia from 1987 and the headquarters of the Australian Submarine Squadron moved to HMAS " Stirling " in 1994 . The " Oberon " class boats were gradually decommissioned and replaced with new " Collins " class submarines during the 1990s . The final " Oberon " class boat , HMAS " Otama " , was decommissioned on 15 December 2000 . The six " Collins " class submarines were the first Australian - built submarines , and the most expensive ships to have been built in Australia . The " Collins " class submarines were built by the Australian Submarine Corporation at Adelaide , South Australia and entered service between 1996 and 2003 following extensive trials and modifications to the early boats in the class . The dedicated trials and submarine rescue ship supported these trials between 1992 and 1998 . Tests conducted on after she was provisionally commissioned in 1996 revealed serious shortcomings in the submarine ' s performance , including excessive hull noise and an ineffective combat system . These problems were subsequently rectified and the " Collins " class submarines currently rank among the most effective conventional submarines in the world . Like the " Oberon " class , the " Collins " class submarines have conducted surveillance patrols . These patrols have included collecting intelligence on East Timor ahead of the Australian - led intervention into the then - Indonesia n province in 1999 . While the Collins class submarines ' performance has improved over time , their maximum diving depth was permanently reduced following the near - loss of when a pipe burst during a practice dive in February 2003 . In 1998 the Royal Australian Navy became the fourth Navy in the world to permit women to serve onboard submarines . The first female submariners began their training at the Submarine Training and Systems Centre in June 1998 . The Submarine Service today . The Royal Australian Navy Submarine Force Element Group Headquarters , and all six of the " Collins " Class submarines , are at HMAS " Stirling " located in Rockingham , Western Australia . The majority of the Navy ' s submarine support facilities are also located at HMAS " Stirling " , including the Submarine Escape Training Facility . The LR5 submersible , which is contracted to provide the RAN ' s submarine rescue capability , has been based at nearby Henderson , Western Australia since June 2009 . Under current Royal Australian Navy doctrine , the Submarine Service has the following responsibilities : In early 2007 , it was reported that Submarine Service was experiencing severe shortfalls in personnel and had only 70 % of its authorised strength of 500 sailors . These shortfalls were reported to have reduced the service ' s operational readiness and forced HMAS " Collins " to be temporarily withdrawn from service . Future submarines . The " Collins " class submarines will begin to reach the end of their useful life from 2026 . In order to meet the in - service date of 2026 , advanced design work on the next generation of Australian submarines will begin by 2014 – 15 . At this very early stage , it appears probable that the submarines will be Australian - built conventional submarines equipped with air independent propulsion and advanced combat and communications systems . In December 2007 the Australian Government authorised the Navy to begin planning for the " Collins " class ' replacement . The Navy will research options for the submarines and will report back to the government in 2011 . The contract for the new boats is planned to be signed in 2014 or 2015 with the first new submarine entering service in 2025 . It is expected that the submarines will be built by ASC in Adelaide . Traditions . Australian sailors who qualify as submariners are awarded a badge depicting two dolphins and a crown . This badge ( known as a sailor ' s ' dolphins ' ) was introduced in 1964 or 1965 and was adopted by the Royal Navy Submarine Service in 1972 .