On October 21, 1944 HMAS Australia (II) was deliberately struck in a suicidal attack by a Japanese dive bomber. There is some modern day controversy as to whether or not this was the first true Kamikaze attack of World War II.
Nevertheless, it was devastating - killing 30 and wounding 65.
A couple of years ago I visited the Royal Australian Navy Heritage Centre and saw this:
Today I was referred to a recently created Flickr photo stream by Jeff Penberthy who is preparing for the 1911- 2011 Centenary of the RAN.
I came across this gem:
Circa Oct 22, 1944: Officers muse on the engine of a Val bomber on HMAS Australia [II], the first of her six hits in the Philippines - Photo The Argus, SLV., originally uploaded by Kookaburra2011.
Photo: The Argus, held at Argus Collection, The State Library of Victoria [LaTrobe Library]Which of course shows the exact engine from which the museum piece engine cylinder block came.
The 1944 photograph would look good in the RAN Heritage Centre sitting beside the piece.
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