South Pac 7 N' }+ j, `) e' W
: ~( s, j! t i9 hEarly 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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- i0 n1 t& L+ T, B aMy planes attacked first. . Y: L6 ?$ s$ J
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! 6 _0 W0 a5 S; z4 c" s6 G% z- ~: `( }
Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. * U+ w1 G+ }) P0 W2 i, A
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down... 6 Y6 W4 n6 c6 [- J* Z' c
( g7 }& I( K# h/ H2 a; WThe 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. 8 G% y) N# V. [
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. 8 \0 j0 Q; c- Z3 J& q& L9 w/ {
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo.
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2 X9 `2 `5 R- X* [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. 3 l$ i; Z% K: ]8 ^
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. 9 j2 k! d% y7 F- V' `2 Q( p* ?
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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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; M' G/ V3 ]/ L5 tIt’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.
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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. $ i! Z. Y3 q8 G r3 q; g
) d7 n2 n* i6 s7 i# T! wThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. ( U% u% Z( I4 l- `6 {) e$ t* C1 U
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.
' d8 O0 Y/ d+ T+ H( fI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates.
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. I/ O" w: d: t n1 O% A20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them.
8 C }6 l$ S8 v* t3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. : I! }2 u/ H% z5 I
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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. , @8 G: u& q& i. `- e) s
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All this happened in the morning!! . I$ _% V& A8 f$ q. I! j( N" F" N
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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. 3 i' n D& Z8 p& U
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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Then, 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. - X# L9 ^9 r1 V; W
& t/ T1 N* c. g& d44 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. 2 t; q% t. w" r) @
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. 2 J$ X6 I4 R6 b5 t0 d6 o: ~
+ R7 j6 w- i* qDuring this terrible day, this are the air losses. 7 Y& c! C5 {8 Y$ e! I8 A0 X
5 K- s* v+ n; }9 ^ i7 ~ V- T* D89 Kate
0 L1 \4 \$ W' c60 Val 0 f* O0 S9 M: U- M$ O" a
39 Zero
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188 a/c 4 Z8 l3 ]4 i/ f ~
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4 F) q! n8 X' N7 A- M y5 e126 SBD
# _$ J6 B3 B4 v: @61 TBD 4 G- L( Q5 W( F9 M' Z& r$ H
19 Albacore
g& G0 ]7 P% y5 Sea Hurricane / m! e$ e! a- {7 A' p
21 Fulmar 9 l/ ~7 i0 n. | Q
14 F2A
* A1 I4 y' R( ?8 y, V0 K! @19 F4F-3
1 \, N+ x7 S, X j# i Z# X24 F4F-4
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The damages for my ships are the following:
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CV Formidable 50/69/38 ! `* g6 [* X w! x3 c5 t
CV Indomitable 35/34/42
# K4 k4 P7 ^7 T% S" i" }3 CBB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
+ c% o$ E# R* G4 }9 BBC Repulse 25/14/10 2 R, ^" B) I) B2 r
V$ s( v' f1 z) r1 H4 n4 Q9 F9 h! RCV Hornet 58/89/49
% T' N! h. `/ y: ?% s- w! e8 X) xDD 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。8 n* k. F$ [4 c i5 K; v
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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