HMS J5 (later HMAS J5) was a First World War J class submarine built for the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 by HM Dockyard at Devonport

HMNB Devonport

Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

 in Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

.

The J's were three-screw diesel electric submarines of some 1,800 tons armed with six torpedo tubes, two of these in the beam position, and a 4-inch gun. They were built to have a fast surfaced speed; in practice nearly 20 knots.

J5 was launched on 9 September 1915 and commissioned on 6 May 1916. She and the other J's were members of the 11th Submarine Flotilla. She served in the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

 chiefly in operations against German destroyers and U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

s, most of encounters were with the latter. Although engaging several times with enemies the closest she got to sinking the enemy was striking U-86 with a torpedo which did not explode.

After the war, she was transferred along with other members of her class to Australia on 25 March 1919. There she operated out of Geelong until paid off on 12 July 1922 as a cost-saving exercise. She was sold on 26 February 1924 and after stripping she, J1, and J2 were scuttled in the ship graveyard

Ship graveyard

A ship graveyard or ship cemetery is a location where the hulls of scrapped ships are left to decay and disintegrate, or left in reserve...

 off Port Phillip

Port Phillip

Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...

Heads on 4 June 1926.

The wreck of the J5 lies in 39 metres (128 ft) of water at 38°09′S 144°52′E and can be accessed by experienced divers.