HMAS K9 (formerly Dutch submarine K-IX) was a submarine that served with the Royal Netherlands Navy

Royal Netherlands Navy

The Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

 and the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

.

Construction

K-IX was ordered on 27 June 1917, launched on 23 December 1922 and commissioned into the Royal Netherlands Navy on 21 June 1923.

Royal Netherlands Navy

K-IX was based in the Netherlands East Indies from 13 May 1924. By the outbreak of the Pacific War

Pacific War

The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...

 in 1941, K-IX was out of commission but was returned to active service in March 1942. Following the fall of the Netherlands East Indies K-IX escaped to Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...

, arriving on 13 March 1942.

Transfer to Australia

In May 1942 the Dutch government offered K-IX to the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 for use in anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....

 training. This offer was accepted and K-IX arrived in Sydney for repairs on 12 May. On 1 June K-IX was damaged by a torpedo explosion during the Attack on Sydney Harbour

Attack on Sydney Harbour

In late May and early June 1942, during World War II, submarines belonging to the Imperial Japanese Navy made a series of attacks on the cities of Sydney and Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia...

. K-IX was decommissioned from the Royal Netherlands Navy on 25 July 1942 and following extensive repairs was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS K9 on 22 June 1943.

Due to the boat's poor mechanical condition HMAS K9 saw little service with the RAN and spent most of her time in commission under repair. K9 was badly damaged by a battery explosion on 22 January 1944. Due to a lack of spare parts the submarine was decommissioned on 31 March 1944. Following her decommissioning K9 re-entered Dutch service as an oil lighter. K9 was washed ashore near Seal Rocks, New South Wales

Seal Rocks, New South Wales

Seal Rocks is a small coastal settlement in the Great Lakes Council Local Government Area, in the Mid North Coast/Hunter regions of New South Wales, Australia, north-north-east of Sydney...

 on 8 June 1945 while under tow to Merauke

Merauke

Merauke is a town considered to be one of the easternmost towns in Indonesia, located in Merauke Regency, Papua province, Indonesia. It is next to Maro River.In 2006 it had a population of 71,838....

 in Dutch New Guinea and was stripped for scrap.