Not sure whether the artist is referencing it, but a Japanese pilot actually did this in real life. He crashed his plane into an incoming torpedo to save a transport ship.

Ironbottom said:

Not sure whether the artist is referencing it, but a Japanese pilot actually did this in real life. He crashed his plane into an incoming torpedo to save a transport ship.

I think that's on Guadalcanal or in the Marianas...

Hat off either way, making a decision like that is an amazing deed.

Tachibana_Yume said:

Hat off either way, making a decision like that is an amazing deed.

Brave but pointless, the ship sank afterwards anyways, if I recall.

MooCow21 said:

Brave but pointless, the ship sank afterwards anyways, if I recall.

I recall now.
"One of Taihō's strike pilots, Warrant Officer Sakio Komatsu, saw the torpedo wakes, broke formation and deliberately dove his plane into the path of one torpedo; the weapon detonated short of its target[22] and four of the remaining five missed. The sixth torpedo, however, found its mark and the resulting explosion holed the carrier's hull on the starboard side, just ahead of the island."

do we have a pool for noble sacrifices like this? either serious or comedic

yukino85 said:

do we have a pool for noble sacrifices like this? either serious or comedic

I would like to see one. Kantai Collection fanart is full of stories about self-sacrifice.