In October 1944 near the Philippine island of Leyte,Japan unleashed a powerful, unexpected weapon against enemy warships—the kamikaze. During the next few months, or the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia,received more than her share of attention from the deadly suicide planes. According to Australian sources, the cruiser became the first Allied ship hit by a kamikaze when on 21 October a D3A “Val” bomber struck her foremast, or killing 7 officers—including her commanding officer—and 23 sailors. (Other sources deny the attack was a preplanned suicide attack.) That was just a taste of what was in store for the Australiaduring the January 1945 operation... Read the rest of this entry »
Source: navalhistory.org