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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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( p3 [' K* K5 _& z: ?My planes attacked first. / W3 b8 G; D1 I4 H4 j* d
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! / ?9 L3 H |( I% B; T: X2 B
Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. ' p( o' ]1 \% H" d
Ah, 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. 7 J# P, H- {8 o
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.
o1 F3 n; I7 F) ^$ `# _) qCV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo.
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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. ) E7 }; b9 |+ l
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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2 k9 o5 k# _1 ]/ G$ j+ dThere 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. 8 @' @; O! V6 t- D
4 q O9 _1 x* jThen 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. ' Y+ o$ B" F5 d. Q
( g" o6 W3 w' t4 x1 \( SThe 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.
: ?& k- g: j; V( n4 p! ^1 u1 d% KCV 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.
3 A' d$ @+ V3 yI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates.
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7 l& v2 p5 u2 H20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them.
+ N. ?, y+ E8 d: g: R: {3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. / Z' m* h; z% O& l4 g8 Q
3 i7 J- d! z. g7 q' QFifth 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. " J" D3 E [/ ]/ v6 l) ?
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All this happened in the morning!! ' c3 t% z5 b8 y* b5 M6 @6 u
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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. 1 P+ L# C9 ~) O# R' y7 Q" ?
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.
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- X3 p5 n# I9 n0 l6 s' a! E0 L44 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.
$ W3 d6 R: l" s0 F6 hCV 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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0 `' @+ L: |* V9 jDuring this terrible day, this are the air losses. % T8 L$ o! L0 h, `
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89 Kate ! G1 E8 ~' D' r% C- y7 u
60 Val 6 I, a2 I8 L5 N' h
39 Zero
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% ^/ v3 C2 ~+ v$ q9 y% u- z' V188 a/c " P; U3 H+ B3 V2 i* Y4 c
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! U7 E8 c! u0 U# O2 y" k126 SBD 1 k) p- H9 A: r& X* }: a
61 TBD : t: b, c( n0 k# W, [
19 Albacore & |* O: {" }9 g% h
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21 Fulmar ' ^& v. H* S( C2 @: a3 c
14 F2A
2 G# ]% m5 N( w; D& g2 S19 F4F-3
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The damages for my ships are the following:
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$ r9 T8 X: B5 p% P+ @9 l& C; h NCV Formidable 50/69/38
% o: S) q$ p( C. F; z" R$ H7 FCV Indomitable 35/34/42 0 e( }9 m* H4 d+ K7 E" K
BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
8 ?! ~: `( Z" RBC Repulse 25/14/10 9 V' T6 p0 N" r6 A4 |! e% a9 b1 ]* y. T' j2 O
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CV Hornet 58/89/49 0 \. N# M D9 O/ c
DD Lamson 64/19/25 3 q6 F9 y: b- M1 c0 q
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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。; z$ k3 t/ N5 b$ W! I
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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