South Pac
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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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0 d! }* i Y& R$ mMy planes attacked first.
! g" @( P: {( o8 u8 X: Q, }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!
: c+ Z3 b0 l" g3 F1 l {# \Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. 1 k2 g1 g- Z! q2 m( {6 E
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down...
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" q- H! L) C: C' `: iThe 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. 5 _3 z5 f1 l2 W0 D/ m) ^5 s* d1 Z
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.
2 h+ y, h% j& |, vCV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. 7 Y" [, Q! G; G4 Z0 w7 A {1 ?7 Q8 k
0 n8 Q8 j' H4 S- _2 p3 n1 bThe 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.
! z; ]) e# q MCV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. 5 ~& B: s' O. c. Z" [
9 C, Z" P P- y9 F7 KThere 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. * T0 |* y1 K [7 i
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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.
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2 s' f3 I |: H1 K* V2 KThe 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. ) N0 |+ T+ X' Y& T; s' {. o* P/ F
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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. ) X6 Z$ c) y6 q7 J! t% i7 C9 ^5 T3 B, H
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. " `8 J7 ?7 h _( \- a$ N( O
I 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.
0 J' n; M% R; d7 [3 Y5 A3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. ) d I! j$ l; W9 }' u) W) G
7 E0 M! A7 v3 J, b! r9 ^" }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. 6 E; a- |/ O& C2 l
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All this happened in the morning!!
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4 h; Q& x9 |( {! w 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.
, y* M* D4 e+ [4 X1 \% `0 {" S9 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.
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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.
, `1 G) X/ s0 C/ fCV 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. 1 X) K+ c' k0 M9 d
" H. {3 k' O7 e. pBefore 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. 1 V( E! P/ F; f1 [
7 Q3 [" A: d, C8 @+ J' BDuring this terrible day, this are the air losses. / \8 s# H8 U) h8 O
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89 Kate $ R% D( ?9 g t5 h
60 Val
) g6 o" k+ x" y+ N! }/ k) O' \39 Zero
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126 SBD
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19 Albacore 1 k2 x2 \8 C+ H0 G9 p$ |$ O
5 Sea Hurricane
2 a1 X: N# U4 x, F& l- e21 Fulmar
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' Z6 f2 e7 W, z" Q1 wThe damages for my ships are the following: ' n S9 b7 g" I+ K$ u1 ?3 ]7 _
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CV Formidable 50/69/38 3 x/ B5 K" N1 g6 c, o. @
CV Indomitable 35/34/42 + }6 }( M/ h+ p7 Z& V6 h! m
BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
7 J% G E/ y+ C% ~; I) J( BBC Repulse 25/14/10
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CV Hornet 58/89/49 + Q$ M6 f8 \% w3 q+ R
DD Lamson 64/19/25 + W( C& d3 R& i4 F9 }
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; I& d! i" t/ ?# K o7 q3 O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。
9 t3 g# h) C1 v( E8 F4 J# \; j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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