Emile Dechaineux Emile Frank Verlaine Dechaineux , DSC ( 3 October 1902 – 21 October 1944 ) was an Australian mariner who reached the rank of Captain in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II . He was killed by a Japanese aircraft in what is believed to have been the first ever " kamikaze " attack , in the lead - up to the Battle of Leyte Gulf . Biography . Dechaineux was born in Launceston , Tasmania , to a Belgian - born father , Florent Vincent Emile Lucien Dechaineux , and an Australian mother . He entered the Royal Australian Naval College , Jervis Bay at the age of 14 , graduated three years later , and was promoted to Midshipman in 1920 . In the first half of the 20th century , the RAN worked very closely with the British Royal Navy ( RN ) , frequently exchanging personnel . Dechaineux spent much of the 1920s training with the RN as a torpedo officer and naval air observer . In September 1932 Dechaineux achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander . In 1935 he was appointed Squadron Torpedo Officer , on board HMAS " Canberra " . The following year he married Mary Harbottle . In 1937 , Dechaineux returned to the UK to attend the Royal Naval College and in June he was promoted to Commander . At the outbreak of World War II , Dechaineux was attached to the RN Tactical and Minesweeping divisions until April 1940 . Then , as the commander of the destroyer HMS " Vivacious " , he made five trips to assist in the evacuation of Dunkirk . Dechaineux was then given command of HMS " Eglinton " , which patrolled in the North Sea . In 1941 , he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross . Dechaineux returned to Australia later in 1941 , as Director of Operations at the Navy Office in Melbourne . In June 1943 , following the outbreak of war with Japan , he was given command of the tactical ( destroyer ) component of RAN - US Navy Task Force 74 . From his immediate command , HMAS " Warramunga " , Dechaineux commanded operations in waters around Australia and New Guinea , including support for amphibious landings , such as those in the Admiralty Islands . He was promoted to Captain on 31 December 1943 . On 9 March 1944 , Dechaineux was given command of the heavy cruiser HMAS " Australia " , the flagship of both the RAN and Task Force 74 , under the overall force commander Commodore John Collins . The " Australia " supported Allied landings at Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea and on the islands of Biak , Noemfoor and Morotai . On 21 October 1944 , HMAS " Australia " was supporting the landings in Leyte Gulf . Off Leyte Island , gunners from HMAS " Australia " and HMAS " Shropshire " fired at and hit a Japanese aircraft . Initially , the plane flew away from the ships , but it subsequently turned and dived into " Australia " . The plane struck the superstructure of the " Australia " above the bridge . Although the 200 kg ( 440 pound ) bomb carried by the plane failed to explode , burning fuel and debris were spewed over a large area . Dechaineux was disembowelled by shrapnel and died a few hours later . He was buried at sea that night . Another 30 crew members died as a result of the attack ; among the wounded was Commodore Collins . The US government posthumously appointed Dechaineux an Officer of the Legion of Merit . In 1990 the Australian government announced that a new Collins class submarine would be named HMAS " Dechaineux " in his memory . It was launched in 2002 in the presence of Dechaineux ' s widow , Mary Purbrick , and his son , former RAN Commodore Peter Dechaineux . Honours and awards . Captain Emile Dechaineux was decorated with the following honours :