A Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-51 "Sonia" kamikaze light bomber failed to penetrate the ship's 4.5-inch thick belt armor, crashing against the side before falling into the water. It happened on July 26, 1945, less than three weeks before Japan surrendered. HMS Sussex was a British heavy cruiser serving with a task force in the waters off Southeast Asia (the Netherlands East Indies).....
Two Japanese attack planes came in low. One of them struck the Sussex on the side of the hull, just above the waterline. It hit the thick band of armor that protected the ship’s engines and magazines.
The plane broke apart against the steel. The ship was barely damaged. What it left behind was a stain of oil and scorch marks in the exact shape of the aircraft.
You can make out the long, straight wings and the body in the center. Below them are two marks from the wheels. The Ki-51 had landing gear that could not fold up, and that detail is how the type of plane was identified from the outline alone.
The Ki-51 was an older army light bomber. By 1945 Japan was sending whatever aircraft it had left on these missions.
Other ships were not as lucky that day. A kamikaze hit the British minesweeper HMS Vestal in the same attack, and she had to be sunk.
Six weeks later, the Japanese general commanding Singapore came aboard HMS Sussex and signed the surrender of his garrison on her deck.
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