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% O* t# }0 @& v5 ]8 V$ N7 q4 w) }Early in the morning the recon of both parts, spotted the opposing force. The KB were NE of Funafuti. My carriers reacted and closed of 1 hex and the same have done the enemy CV.
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My planes attacked first.
1 I) \: C/ s3 f$ B; P+ \First wave, composed by 34 SBD, 15 TBD and (only!) 6 F4F, arrived over KB. 92 Zeros were on CAP. Only 8 SBD and 6 TBD managed to pass through the screen. 1 1000 lbs-bomb hit Kongo: boink!
4 W& J: Y- G1 D- L' {8 V) Z. ^* PAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck.
9 ~. \3 O- J. E; H# dAh, by the way...No Zero shot down...
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The second attack was more dramatic. 84 SBD, 30 TBD, 35 Albacore, escorted by a total of 30 fighters, arrived over KB, few minutes later the first wave. The same 92 Zeros were on CAP. ) i; T7 Q9 ?: N4 e1 K
23 allied fighters have been shot down, in exchange of only 3 Zeros. Also 15 SBD, 6 TBD and 10 Albacore ended their flight in the water, but the rest of my armada attacked the Kido Butai. R+ O) `( P) V) [# R) o6 g7 r
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. # |* |3 s! I2 ~% e5 N" d3 B
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The third were were composed by 4 F4F (!), 34 SBD and 15 TBD. Again, 89 Zero were on CAP. I suppose that japanese pilots were tired, because only 1 SBD, 3 TBD and 1 F4F have been shot down, while 2 Zero have been shot down. 1 n# h/ T8 m1 ~1 l- e3 n8 R1 ~* n
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. / b, |$ Y4 z, I4 A. f1 ~. x
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There was time also for the fourth wave, composed by 15 SBD (1 shot down) and 17 TBD (5 lost), (no Zero shot down). CV Zuikaku and CV Shokaku received 2 more bombs each.
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It’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star.
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Then came the japanese attack. The first (small) wave, 23 Val and 6 Zero, was intercepted by 83 fighters. 15 Val and 6 Zero shot down and the others Val turned back. No losses for the allied. , E8 m, b/ r% ?1 b6 f
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The second wave, composed by 22 Val, 25 Kate and 9 Zero, has been intercepted by the same 83 fighters. Only 1 F2F and 1 F4F lost, while my pilots shot down 6 Zero, 12 Val and 14 Kate have been shot down, and the survivors, again, turned back. # D( i3 ~0 {% d- Y/ \
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The third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP.
8 B. t; U1 g8 I- R. v" P1 SCV Hornet took 2 torpedoes and 5 small bombs, CV Enterprise 2 torpedoes, 3 – 250kg – bombs and 2 small bombs, CV Lexington 5 torps, 1 -250 kg bombs and 2 small bombs, CA Chicago 2 torps and DD Lamson 4 bombs and 1 torp. ; P6 I9 s. R, Q4 s7 ?: N9 _
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. & F9 j; j a" j0 o& k2 ~
5 J: ?1 f+ w8 c; V20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them.
6 Z' T, `+ \+ [2 q; d3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps.
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Fifth wave attacked the same TF (again!). 21 Kate, 17 Val and 13 Zero fought against 58 fighters, but managed 1 torpedo on Lexington and 3 bombs and 1 torpedo on Hornet. 2 Kate and 13 allied fighters lost. ' V2 r# C9 g7 C
% Y: j, _- J/ Q0 v6 YAll this happened in the morning!!
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In the afternoon british TF closed one more hex and launched one small air attack. I lost 4 Albacores during an attempt to attack CV Akagi, without results.
+ E) y E* W. T9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost.
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; ]9 s8 R; M% qThen, 18 Zero and 16 Kate, from another carrier TF, probably composed by light carriers due to the number of planes, attacked the british TF. Prince of Wales and Repulse received 1 torpedo each. Only 1 Kate shot down.
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44 Val, 21 Kate and 29 Zero attacked again. Only 5 british fighters were on CAP. The closing of one hex towards the KB, leaved the british ships without US air cover. 3 Val and 1 Kate for the japs and 2 fighters for the british shot down.
* E8 `. P" z7 T* }& s6 rCV Formidable resulted hit by 10 bombs and 4 torps, CV Indomitable by 4 bombs and 2 torps, BB Prince of Wales by 2 bombs and CA Canberra by 1 bomb. , Y6 Y6 C$ w% t* u. m2 V
3 b' X8 x$ U, L5 ^Before dusk, Lexington and Enterprise sunk. No reports of enemy sinking, but I suppose that Zuikaku and Shokaku are in a very bad conditions and they are between the Ellice and Suva. A long way home. & G) T! U2 G m; w4 Q
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During this terrible day, this are the air losses. " j3 m$ {1 b4 [! x3 U4 G* T- [
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89 Kate
- n( z1 `, ?2 U, ~6 u. w60 Val
]% G& i' {& F) f; S39 Zero + o( R0 F9 D7 {
( l8 J9 v ?0 Y188 a/c
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126 SBD
/ [" s( D0 `) r& W8 r0 N61 TBD , c) F- v5 x6 X! T
19 Albacore
# A5 i4 y0 y8 e5 Sea Hurricane
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19 F4F-3
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3 i) f2 b" {0 Q8 H. TThe damages for my ships are the following:
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CV Formidable 50/69/38
. Q: r& C( c+ r8 C6 l+ b: ZCV Indomitable 35/34/42
2 Y* ]5 a( `# |BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 $ n3 w9 J* {) Y8 {" J- [5 A3 S
BC Repulse 25/14/10 ( @3 H; F0 E$ l' \' l- F& p! }4 n
- E6 t5 x& w% i% F9 TCV Hornet 58/89/49
* f2 X/ v" l! U5 WDD Lamson 64/19/25
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盟军42年4月竟敢在fiji北主动出击，最后损失2：5，日军损失两鹤。
2 I- r/ ]2 @ j1 y: E( j# ^7 z& i0 x' N从战果上看，盟军的结果比我想象的好不少。而且还混编CV. |
发表于 2007-8-29 11:42
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