South Pac 5 c# p+ o" E; I& W5 y# u
/ m: ?$ e% O2 T+ k0 [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. 3 N X. E( R; c% u
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! # G& u: t. a$ W4 o
Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. ; H0 x5 X( g7 C
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down...
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5 p! ?% W0 _& R, Q, PThe 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 E$ i" e, R7 Y1 P$ a0 S" x
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. 3 q% j/ w, E" e f" r
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. ' m5 E: g9 n& }* p' @
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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.
- n+ F9 R: m1 h7 C& FCV 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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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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+ ^3 F- F3 M" z. T" GThen 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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( |' L, F" a/ L# i/ aThe 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.
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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. 5 F7 S* N9 e, E
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. ) `: v' i' N; i) S& J
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. 3 M. M8 Y0 h, \( d- Y8 o. t
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. ! y9 H/ m* l& |; E) C
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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. ( ], x2 P6 R- h l) v3 y3 w
4 |. G1 D9 u( S( I9 Z& @8 LAll 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.
; u. S8 B: e+ u8 ^) G9 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. : K/ T* C) }! k& y+ O) O8 {/ @
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. & w: l$ g7 W- L3 m& ^! ?( o
" I6 b; ~5 }/ U" ~: u9 w+ c# ]' q( p. vBefore 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.
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89 Kate
7 {/ R' E% t4 d$ q7 {' j60 Val 9 n; ~" s- a' {+ P/ P3 F/ x
39 Zero : |% L. G- f: B8 @
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188 a/c ; ?& s# D# v7 B. n; A: }7 g/ U
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8 [& l8 P" Q8 ]126 SBD $ i/ p w U6 U. ~7 K
61 TBD
I1 I0 d2 N* \1 `& @2 q19 Albacore
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21 Fulmar
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- l* {6 |& H$ T3 d9 w$ H19 F4F-3 8 c2 D5 \- E0 _. A7 ]7 b$ a
24 F4F-4 4 L+ J% I# ]! n7 [( E U
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The damages for my ships are the following:
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CV Formidable 50/69/38
! a: d4 e5 X' @9 [& f% oCV Indomitable 35/34/42 & D$ v7 T# U- H! Z
BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
; r" c9 K- w" x6 C8 O7 Q+ pBC Repulse 25/14/10
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5 i- Q7 l. b3 z( |, e! w- BCV Hornet 58/89/49
) i* Y* z) R- e, TDD Lamson 64/19/25 3 e4 t( x) b! U3 `! @* E* o
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' h' o2 T* C3 Y( B# c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。
f" Q4 H9 l2 G, [# F8 D; 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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