Japanese begin 'kamikaze' attacks

21st October 1944: Japanese pilots demonstrate their resolve to die for the Emperor even before it becomes an organised tactic

HMAS Australia pictured before the war. Some consider her to be the first victim of a deliberate kamikaze attack on 21st October. She was to suffer many more such attacks subsequently.

Among the 700 ships in the invasion force that crowded the sea off the Philippines was an Australian force. This included the cruiser HMAS Australia, fellow cruiser HMAS S…