The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Port bow view of the HMAS K9 at sea. Servicemen can be seen on deck and in the conning tower. This patrol submarine was one of three 'K' Class (Koloniën) submarines built at the yard of K M de Shelde of Flushing, Holland, and was commissioned into the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN) on 21 June 1923 as K-IX. She has a displacement of 521 tons surfaced, 712 tons submerged and a complement of 31. RNN K-IX is stationed at the Surabaya Submarine Base in 1942 and with the imminent capture of the base by the Japanese, RNN K-IX sailed to Fremantle via the Alas Straight and was sent to Sydney for servicing. In 1943 she was offered to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) to aid in anti-submarine training. During the Japanese midget submarine attack in Sydney Harbour on 31 May 1942, she was heavily damaged while tethered to the HMAS Kuttabul, a requisitioned harbour ferry that sank during the attack, partially crushing RNN K-IX, the damage resulting in the decommissioning of the RNN K-IX from the RNN on 15 July 1942. She was commissioned into the RAN on 22 June 1943 as HMAS K9 and given the pennant number N39. Under the command of Lieutenant (Lt) Frederick Melbourne Piggott, HMAS K9 started to undergo mechanical repairs to her engines but before she is seaworthy a major battery explosion results in further damage. As the result of a final, thorough report, the HMAS K9 was decommissioned on 24 February 1944, just nine months and a total of 31 days of use from its date of commission. HMAS K9 was converted to an oil lighter the following year and serviced ships in the harbour until the end of the Second World War. In early June 1945 the submarine was towed out of Sydney Harbour by the Dutch minesweeper, Abraham Crijnssen, the tow is broken during the night and the K-IX is stranded on Fiona Beach (Submarine Beach) near Seal Rocks on the central coast of New South Wales. Locals salvaged what they can of her engines and diesel fuel before she was sold at auction to Mr J G Humphreys and Mr A H Batt. Drained of the last of her fuel, she was found to be buried too deeply in the sand to recover and her hull was abandoned.
HMAS K9 was a Dutch submarine which was used by the Royal Australian Navy for training purposes during World War II. K IX (K9) was built for the Royal Netherlands Navy and allocated for service in t
Dutch Submarine K IX (K9) berthed alongside Garden Island, Royal Navy. K IX was built for the Royal Netherlands Navy to an Electric Boat Co (USA) design and allotted for service in the Netherlands Eas
HMAS K9 was a Dutch submarine which was used by the Royal Australian Navy for training purposes during the Second World War. K9 was built for the Royal Netherlands Navy and allocated for service in t
DAMAGE TO THE DECK AND WHEELHOUSE OF THE PARTLY SUBMERGED RAN ACCOMMODATION SHIP HMAS KUTTABUL, DAMAGED DURING THE UNSUCCESSFUL JAPANESE MIDGET SUBMARINE ATTACK IN SYDNEY HARBOUR ON THE NIGHT OF 31 MA
GARDEN ISLAND, SYDNEY, NSW. 1942-06-10. THE WRECKED STERN OF THE ACCOMMODATION VESSEL HMAS KUTTABUL, SUNK BY A JAPANESE MIDGET SUBMARINE DURING THE ATTACK IN SYDNEY HARBOUR ON 1942-05-31. A CORVETTE A
PARTLY SUBMERGED RAN ACCOMMODATION SHIP HMAS KUTTABUL, DAMAGED DURING THE UNSUCCESSFUL JAPANESE MIDGET SUBMARINE ATTACK IN SYDNEY HARBOUR ON THE NIGHT OF 31 MAY 1942. THIS VIEW OF THE TOP DECK SHOWS S
