Yeah, that'll buff right out . . .

[ProfessorWes]

From WWII, Pacific Theater: "Impression of a Ki-51 “Sonia” kamikaze on the hull of County-class heavy cruiser HMS Sussex."

http://theferalirishman.blogspot.com/2015/09/kamikaze-itll-buff-out.html

Apparently the gunners initially thought it was a "Val," but the scorch mark was detailed enough they could determine the actual make and model of the plane after it hit . . .

 

[stevemb]

Thank you for that link ! Just saw a discovery or natgeo channel show on kamikazis a week or so ago. My Dad told me some rather vivid stories of naval-air battles. When shipboard his battlestation was a quad-40. He was present in the Mariannas(spell ?) turkey shoot, as it was called. Told of shooting Zero's in half, then shooting the bigger piece apart,etc.. Just the engine block was dangerous. He received some sort of commendation in the Med for shooting down Stukas. He said laying on the beach on his back with a .22 rifle, shooting seagulls, and duck hunting, as a boy during the depression taught him to shoot aerial targets.

 

[RugerHound]

That's nothing short of amazing!

 

[huntsman22]

Told of shooting Zero's in half, then shooting down Stukas.

The boy sure seemed to get around......

 

[coach]

A little grey paint will cover that right up.

 

[tinman]

A little grey paint will cover that right up.

Oh heck no! Paint a big circle around it with the word "NEXT!" right above it....... :wink:

 

[BucolicBuffalo]

Those big ships get a little thicker near the waterline.



Seagulls = sky rats

 

[stevemb]

Yup, armor belts added for torpedo threats. Heavy Cruiser in general a tough breed of hull. Our first aircraft carriers built upon hulls designed to be heavy cruisers.