- h" g2 i! |' l9 m- m: ]! R; ^/ _' T4 bEarly 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. ; ]4 q( o( I+ d' [$ C& K$ L H8 G7 k2 X# e2 c
My planes attacked first. ! R u7 |1 Z# G( ^: p
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! ' _2 D& t8 e9 Y1 yAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. $ _3 w# M6 O0 q. V/ y2 [4 SAh, by the way...No Zero shot down... 7 J0 Q, l7 u5 s* m+ ~1 e
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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. 5 X2 p- W0 }% ~+ d/ S& ?
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. \- ?- y$ T* I! C
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. 7 ^ p" `9 m: B T2 w4 c- W. O1 v7 L( w
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. ; J1 i& w3 r- R# l) r, J5 R% d( x5 u! z
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. 1 S9 h& }5 |+ G! x
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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. : `6 v+ C3 {9 T2 b
& ^% h' h5 a! d# @It’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. / Y$ `) k4 A2 K8 b/ R/ m% j
6 ] k7 E" }7 h/ UThen 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. 8 l( l' ` ^# w* i4 z2 B, J
0 P4 V+ }* T* s3 Z& k+ oThe 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. ! V# m* } b* ^: Q
" S0 z/ m5 i! [* m4 eThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. + ~7 T% P+ f2 L. J2 Y l) ]2 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. 8 d# J) J6 P( p5 X/ A
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. : ~/ R% u( K' U " ~' t" Y0 E% d# w2 ^8 _20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. , u& q0 \$ m" T0 r8 O3 J8 C) `
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. " f$ ~# H; p0 W: V. m
5 ], Z: C- u, Y' R+ n- 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. 9 G" i5 f. q3 @7 \7 S, S6 P" A/ w# u
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All this happened in the morning!! , A" q$ v! {3 T% q; i$ i K2 _ A
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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. ' Z: l* I, u+ J, a# Z j' O
9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. 5 X) b6 y7 [! f. u4 w: f! ^0 O4 o! g! U# ^7 h3 B
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. , V' l% D. W1 \! |3 b! U) _( d# q# S# _1 I
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. ; d9 h$ D; L$ 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. 0 f/ C" j9 Z) H# B3 h1 C+ [6 s- g
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. , ~1 l! e* ?( {& w# c# ~/ f% t5 F- ]9 z& `' i% L) P
During this terrible day, this are the air losses. / a4 V# p0 T& {! @" y
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89 Kate / q' f# ?" D5 F' y) o! T$ t60 Val $ Q0 R1 S9 {& I: ~* @9 E# Q
39 Zero $ g8 c. S8 s9 X, h: N+ \8 h3 t4 x+ I
188 a/c 0 Q0 W1 L- ]- s
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