South Pac - g9 _) c: X" L M5 W7 v0 M) V8 r
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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.
0 t, h) h. n. x' t/ K/ b# rFirst 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!
. h0 C4 V* p) x5 }: WAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. . T- ?9 L1 g5 O8 E9 x: k( R
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down... ( E9 Q0 w& b6 |. r- Y# c
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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. 4 U- z* J( y4 g- @& Y% `
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. 9 [1 N8 o3 B. b# U7 g; i
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo.
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5 o( D5 j' F, Q" [- PThe 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. : w1 K6 c2 _* k: E
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each.
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) i" u+ `; }0 G/ y- XThere 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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' x& N" N3 }6 ?( v# f) g; l/ XIt’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. 9 f* J( ]; s- K8 D, k! E6 ^% a) C( \8 }
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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. 4 v4 U& Y4 e1 W* |" H, a
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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. 2 I+ Z* c& r/ q0 S7 m
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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. . v- X' T6 K' h! s. F. n
CV 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.
" }& l" j. |: m2 hI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates.
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20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. # I% h5 T: Q# R5 q
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. ) w( @+ ^+ n8 f) T7 E* S
) o8 d+ a0 y( x+ M4 @9 I5 ~: PFifth 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. / F& S" U4 G# s5 R: E7 u, D# x
4 S( d. r- x# s! G" \7 C9 C% u4 DAll this happened in the morning!! & P- c5 J2 v9 W; b6 L3 }
) }, j$ P% `" U$ V$ z4 uIn 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. 9 V4 g, o0 h4 b7 W* Q% [7 o1 Z
9 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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! {. M& f% [ a- c0 cThen, 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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% V# i2 j, [# E# {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. $ R. n3 U( z% D
CV 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.
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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.
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During this terrible day, this are the air losses. 9 k a: g. O5 N/ j
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89 Kate & ]0 r0 n! C( I, |, l
60 Val + K# r5 W# q$ Z- M; R
39 Zero * L2 X. i3 l- N k7 Y# ^3 U. |# r
2 o; R8 H) o+ A+ H
188 a/c ; z3 X$ m$ Z7 v& H
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126 SBD , E" h' T. d: W Q& j) E3 u
61 TBD
3 M. w ^2 L$ ~$ M$ \+ @19 Albacore
1 \) v1 C, G S0 e5 Sea Hurricane
% ^5 y* n, F: @6 O& N4 X% x21 Fulmar $ `, D. A. h0 h7 \
14 F2A / K! I$ y) c6 @$ i8 G- V' W
19 F4F-3 , i* E, M# }: a; |9 E
24 F4F-4
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1 y% F. a1 t0 ~! P+ B4 \The damages for my ships are the following:
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CV Formidable 50/69/38
8 }; F/ X1 O' o% C& eCV Indomitable 35/34/42
7 l/ d) `1 H2 |3 |' X+ L2 @BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 3 | i$ w, T( O) z7 R
BC Repulse 25/14/10 ) q( ~) R' c3 r7 J
5 C! ?5 `* x0 z7 L. b3 q
CV Hornet 58/89/49
% m s2 ~2 L! }+ VDD 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。
& ?, L5 B1 Y7 q* E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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