Reinstated because of the war

During the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, the Hr. Ms. K IX was in the former Dutch East Indies and was not in active service at the time. The K IX was reinstated in active service when the war broke out. In March 1941, the ship patrolled the Sunda Strait, because the German armored ship the Scheer had been sighted in the Indian Ocean.

When the danger of the Scheer had passed, the K IX was kept as a reserve vessel. Shortly before the fall of Surabaya, the K IX made a war patrol to the Gulf of Thailand. After the fall of Surabaya, the submarine left for Fremantle in Australia.

On April 15th, 1942, the Dutch navy offered the Australian navy two submarines with crews, one of which was the K IX. The Australian navy accepted the offer. The K IX was used by them as a target ship for the anti-submarine courses. During an attack of a Japanese submarine in the port of Sydney, the submarine was heavily damaged. Because the Dutch navy needed crew in Great Britain for the newly built submarines, it was decided to decommission the K IX. The Australian navy still decided to continue the repair works on the K IX and on June 22nd, 1943, they commissioned the K IX as K 9.

Australian War Memorial.

After the Second World War, the K 9 was to be towed to Darwin by the Dutch minesweeper Abraham Crijnssen. While towing, the cable broke during the night, causing the submarine to drift off. Eventually, the submarine beached at Fiona Beach, just south of the village of Seal Rocks in New South Wales.

The keel was laid on March 1st, 1919, the ship was launched on December 23rd, 1922 and commissioned on June 21st, 1923.

Yard: Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde, Flushing

Klass: K VIII class

Propulsion: 2x 775 hp (diesel engine), 2 x 200 Hp (electric engine)

Armament:

4 x 45 cm torpedo tubes
1 x 8,8 cm cannon
1 x 12,7 mm machine gun

Near the lighthouse of Seal Rocks, a plaquette has been placed giving the history of the K IX. The hull of the submarine still lies under the sands of Fiona Beach, als called Submarine Beach. The wreck is being monitored by the archaeological service of New South Wales.

• Wikimedia Commons.
  HMAS K9.