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You are here: Home / Naval Heritage Sites / Cockatoo Island / Submarines

Cockatoo IslandSubmarines

· Sep 18, 2017 ·

Cockatoo Dockyard began a long involvement with the refit and repair of submarines with the docking of the RAN submarines AE1 and AE2 in 1914. Refits of the J class followed in the early 1920s, and the RAN’s Oxley and Otway came to the island in 1929–31.

Australia’s first submarines, AE1 and AE2, together in the Fitzroy Dock in June 1914
Australia’s first submarines, AE1 and AE2, together in the Fitzroy Dock in June 1914

Many submarines came to the island for docking between 1945 and 1960, when refits began of the Royal Navy T-class submarines of the 4th Submarine Division based in Sydney. The last of these five refits completed in 1966. The work provided excellent training for the workforce in preparation for the refits of the RAN’s Oberon-class submarines which began in 1971.

HMS Tabard in the floating dock AFD17
HMS Tabard in the floating dock AFD17

Cockatoo Dockyard completed 14 major refits of these submarines, including a major modernisation programme. In addition, 15 mid-cycle survey dockings, 39 intermediate dockings and 14 unprogrammed dockings were successfully completed at the dockyard. The last refit, of HMAS Orion, was completed on 4 June 1991, ending the long history of support for the RAN by Cockatoo Dockyard.

HMAS Ovens leaving Cockatoo Dockyard on 28 August 1975 on the completion of her first refit
HMAS Ovens leaving Cockatoo Dockyard on 28 August 1975 on the completion of her first refit

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Cockatoo Island

  • Early History — The Penal Era
  • The Dockyard Era
  • The Commonwealth Naval Dockyard
  • Shipbuilding
  • Ship Repair
  • Submarines
  • General Engineering
  • Other Activities
  • Dockyard People
  • Cockatoo Island Today
  • Dockyard Timeline
  • Dockyard Records

Additional reading for Cockatoo Island

  • I Name this Ship….
  • HMS Australia and the William Droudge Mystery
  • Occasional Paper 28: Cockatoo Island – An Historical Account
  • Cockatoo Island - An Historical Account
  • Cockatoo Dockyard and the American Fleet Cruisers
  • First of the Line - HMAS Albatross, first aircraft carrier
  • Spectacle Island Command 1894 - 1900

World & National Heritage Sites

  • Cockatoo Island
  • HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran Shipwreck Sites
  • HMVS Cerberus

Commonwealth Heritage Sites

  • Chowder Bay Naval Facilities
  • Royal Australian Naval Transmitting Station ACT
  • Royal Australian Naval College ACT
  • Garden Island WA
  • Naval Offices QLD
  • HMAS Cerberus
  • Admiralty House, Garden and Fortifications
  • Beecroft Peninsula NSW
  • Spectacle Island Explosives Complex NSW
  • HMAS Penguin
  • HMAS Watson

The NHSA acknowledges support provided by the Australian Department of Environment and Energy which made these pages possible.
Greater detail on building history, the natural and Indigenous significance to these sites is available by accessing the National Heritage List.

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