South Pac # v. s# {1 r& A$ ]( j" ?; p
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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. " W+ A) y/ d. r8 g' L5 I, k7 `) E; U$ m1 k/ c+ J2 ]6 O2 `' ~: O0 j2 N' Y
My planes attacked first. ?& S/ y/ M. V( O' eFirst 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! * r6 V% x: U+ g5 e hAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. & \% z. u/ {: `0 M( y% X9 P9 QAh, by the way...No Zero shot down... L8 J/ r) |4 [* l. e$ d1 c! A) [$ Z4 c) ^% v4 K
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. 6 y$ Z, T% c" x3 T# x: T: H
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. 4 w' g) Y3 B- vCV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. 8 d% g6 P9 A( v5 s * l! d1 |# l' a% I& zThe 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. 2 S, f* K/ L, A# Z2 K, j
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. ( H, R: G/ s( k4 `$ Q
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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. # d6 F' n# `/ x3 D' `1 V& y/ o% Z
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It’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. 0 J% h) a7 ?' x " [) n2 |) f& S+ q2 @2 VThen 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. ' ]0 P4 U+ Q) f: L: R7 H # v& l/ E+ l5 `+ 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. : k5 h( y# s) m8 A. ]0 \
; i, b8 `' o* |+ fThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. : R+ X) Q2 s+ R% N+ ]* U$ E1 \
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. 3 O1 k/ [& `/ N- q/ ?9 B" w
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. ' }. t" B! r* I: M# I
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20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. . y1 B1 ~* c2 a: P5 v
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. . I; Z1 d, {; F/ W
0 i7 _; B$ Q; L$ S+ R W, iFifth 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. % {0 O# I: [/ F6 N: ] 0 n$ n& R; ~3 ?9 P0 A8 CAll this happened in the morning!! $ t1 j5 \* }9 A" H5 ~' ~& c- V 0 O+ v( ?( R& Y! |; B; YIn 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. " Z5 _' ]! ?& U$ K5 r6 _& x
9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. - W0 F# c$ J' L) ?8 b7 Z6 a9 T! }" n3 T+ ~* P. y
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. , i6 ~9 P- z5 v7 T' ^3 h, I: Y' U }/ M3 j
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. - ^9 q0 P2 r6 w* x' O0 O) R0 v
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. ' Y. q) Q+ U9 k! r5 _$ Z
* q' @& ^( o& \2 QBefore 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. 9 B0 Q5 W8 a U* Y! a: r
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During this terrible day, this are the air losses. 5 c4 H8 `; C0 A8 u
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89 Kate ) B4 y3 ~3 U9 ]2 H# I, T
60 Val 5 R2 g8 b- c, ]/ b6 n( n* [39 Zero : O- E: R$ H0 C6 G) @$ `
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188 a/c % o# k! K0 p5 J- B* k: Z9 x( f2 g3 g8 l! k
7 ^2 u+ E# F( T* B6 k126 SBD Q: z& P0 X8 z* C61 TBD ( R. R) w3 p, N
19 Albacore . F: B k( c% c1 |
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21 Fulmar % K; c3 Z, g+ I' p$ v$ l- e
14 F2A 0 c/ X2 Q. X8 ~) N19 F4F-3 * S* W8 F" X5 M9 w' H9 @% p; f$ i24 F4F-4 - B7 b: `7 O+ B, u. D( i 9 I+ |1 A, o4 J( B+ [2 M6 T# D! SThe damages for my ships are the following: 3 L" S9 w# Q2 S: L+ ~ ! z" N; Z4 C, P* UCV Formidable 50/69/38 0 g& Y+ F) ^4 r9 H5 |
CV Indomitable 35/34/42 # ~7 Z' ]2 d9 R0 [" y7 eBB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 & c' s# [! H3 M& {: VBC Repulse 25/14/10 # k; u- M+ w# Y4 `3 z3 X* c+ }
, F$ c/ t h5 }7 MCV Hornet 58/89/49 p2 X t! }4 N& l" ]# e7 ]
DD Lamson 64/19/25 1 a+ G8 b0 Y# k; h+ Q; C－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－: ?9 y' t1 {7 Y @. B6 a( j% 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。; |* r4 c# P' I0 W, d5 I ^. k$ T3 t
从战果上看，盟军的结果比我想象的好不少。而且还混编CV.作者: harry 时间: 2007-8-29 12:04
