Emile Dechaineux

Emile Frank Verlaine Dechaineux
Captain Emile Dechaineux, c. 1943.
Born	(1902-10-03)3 October 1902 Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Died	21 October 1944(1944-10-21) (aged 42) At sea, in the Leyte Gulf, Pacific Ocean
Buried at	At sea, in the Leyte Gulf, Pacific Ocean
Allegiance	Australia
Service/branch	Royal Australian Navy
Years of service	1919–1944
Rank	Captain
Commands held	HMAS Warramunga; HMAS Australia
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)

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.

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 Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Dunkirk.