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Divers Den

J CLASS SUBMARINES (1926)

Ocean Grove, Victoria

First World War J Class Submarines

VESSEL DETAILS
Launched:
1916 Plymouth, England
Sank:                          
1926 scuttled
Length:
84 metres (274’)
Beam:
7 metres (23’)
Displacement:
1,210 tons (1,760 tons submerged)
Speed:
19 knots (9.5 Knots submerged)
Crew:
44
Passengers:            
Nil

WARNING: Wrecks should not be penetrated without proper training & equipment!

NOTE: All wrecks and related artifacts older than 75 years in Australian waters are protected by the Australian Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976. Nothing can be taken!

INFORMATION

At the start of World War I the Royal Navy had 74 commissioned submarines, the largest of any fleet at the time.

During the war, in 1916, in an effort to match the speed of the German U-Boats rumoured to be capable of 18 knots, the Royal Navy commissioned seven J Class submarines.

The seven triple screw J Class submarines, capable of 19 knots (22 mph), at the time were the fastest submarines afloat.

During the First World War, J6 was accidently sunk by friendly fire and J1 became the only submarine in history to sink two ships in one salvo and also the only submarine to survive the depth charging of another.

The remaining six were given to Australia after the war where J3 was scuttled in shallow water just off Swan Island near Queenscliff to act as a breakwater and to generate power to the island, and J7 became a breakwater at Sandringham Yacht Club near Melbourne.

The other four submarines now lie in water, mostly on sand, at a depth range of 27 – 39 metres (90-130’), where:

• J1 in 38 mteres (125′) is known as the Winged Sub,
• J2 in 39 metres (128′) is known as the Broken Sub,
• J4 in 27 metres (89′) is known as Scratchers Sub or the 90 Foot Sub or the 27 Metre Sub, and
• J5 in 36 metres (118′) is known as the 36 Metre Sub or Deep Sub.

The deeper submarines are thickly covered in yellow zoanthids, sponges and ascidians, and all support large schools of  splendid perch and bullseye.

Large deck openings along the length of the hulls allow internal access, but caution should be taken to avoid silting, particularly in the bow where four torpedo tubes are located and in the crew quarters, located the stern.

J5 Submarine is one of Australia’s 50 Great Dives! READ MORE 

Copyright © 2025 Steve Sinclair

DIVE DETAILS
Scuba:                                 
Deep Diver (Advanced Diver for the shallower sub)
Snorkelling:                      
Too deep for snorkelling but freediving allowed
Access:                               
Boat only (30 minutes)
Depth:                                
27 – 39 metres (90-130’)
Visibility:                          
8 – 30 metres (25-100’)
Water temperature:     
13 – 18°C (55-64°F)
Seasonal:                          
No, but November to May best

OTHER GREAT DIVES WHILE IN THE AREA
Ex-HMAS Canberra, Coogee, Eliza Ramsden, Lonsdale Wall, Portsea Hole & many more.

2026 GREAT AUSTRALIAN DIVE CHALLENGE
Dive Registration
To register this dive for validation, go to: www.50greatdives.com.
NOTE: Entrants should do this dive with one of the following preferred dive services.

DIVE SERVICES

OTHER SERVICES

DIVE TRAVEL SERVICES