Sailors died when HMS Eskimo lost her bow at Narvik. The forward structure absorbed the torpedo hit, and the rest of the destroyer survived without it. Comparing the bow to a sacrificial protective section does not make those casualties incidental. The example concerns a ship surviving severe local damage rather than escaping damage altogether.
Notable Point · 3:03:33-3:04:42
What HMS Eskimo's lost bow shows about survivability
Eskimo's bow absorbed the torpedo hit at Narvik, leaving the rest of the destroyer able to survive despite the loss of sailors and the forward structure.