# b1 j) E: k! Y+ t6 XEarly 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. 9 Z1 c3 Q8 r5 y9 u$ u: m : y0 @( p: b9 i! h4 g# AMy planes attacked first. 3 m2 w+ ?7 |1 `+ H: w+ e$ Z
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! 8 `; m1 ~5 n0 \# [4 uAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. - X; j6 e O+ ?
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down... & L' E1 g; o- |7 h! k) M4 f . w+ T' C0 }8 sThe 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. ' k9 E5 s) K5 N/ ~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. $ J: Z' v5 Z/ y: j: Q" W9 m
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. : {6 \% M4 z8 L! ~6 D" {/ x) q
' K8 z9 W6 d- a! Q2 A5 uThe 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. " X0 s$ q2 C, w4 y% V {
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. : |+ }8 k6 K) z `* D0 K* g& I+ E" g" F5 o8 F: S$ d
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. 4 S- t2 [2 j7 t4 U5 H! I3 b# `- {7 R& c3 s, z* q8 A4 J
It’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. ) O- e/ g8 O5 V, g# x* e/ Y - t. \" Y5 d) n+ `3 R" a( v. x" RThen 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. 5 R0 f& I2 X* j( g" B! y, u' _
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The 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. * J3 e7 z. C* V" ~! i/ I: c
$ z$ B9 C) @* s) |3 rThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. 7 y& t, _0 i1 o4 R3 ]2 eCV 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 t# {3 T* C$ qI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. 7 }: k5 G) j9 l9 u& m& }8 t , ]: A1 M. |3 P7 t5 b20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. + ?4 N; o+ A/ T; I- F2 |3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. 1 a4 M- T- W1 ^& U
) v1 F7 b' I# [* r3 R
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. % [$ E" d, A1 l$ p" G3 ^/ j0 Q* O* {7 [$ S
All this happened in the morning!! g) W0 N3 y4 i! Y8 p9 F& m/ P
/ R6 _0 ^- {0 f% S# S, B" z' ^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# K! \5 Y4 W# e0 J9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. , n0 c3 o, @* k5 p
) ]" o' b& k x. V4 oThen, 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. ' b7 i7 f- |# g: |+ i- k& i3 b: j' B2 Q5 ]) O' a9 y9 N4 q9 ^
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. ) L$ x$ A, W3 S5 I
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. ) j3 U# f1 c5 t6 D4 r
6 Y1 A0 f9 O/ p- uBefore 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. - j. X3 l) g7 u# Z6 E8 {$ F2 h8 `- P+ N' X1 {4 _
During this terrible day, this are the air losses. ' b: W' X% k$ R) ]8 G# ~& l
* F+ c% e. K& q; [/ A# g
89 Kate ( u) s7 J7 ~- g. U5 q9 c& @5 C. a
60 Val 7 G$ ~8 n3 M7 D7 |/ I39 Zero 4 ^' f" E! i2 l, N% ?$ p. t
/ s8 r W' n1 | R7 _
188 a/c 0 [6 U/ S' X5 e: ~+ Y6 s% p. |# V0 q' R$ l) `
' m$ C2 Y0 ]7 T) ^! p126 SBD 6 n' d; D+ Z2 P$ Z/ W( R) }) D61 TBD 4 v6 ?: @2 n. \- N- ]: Y) a
19 Albacore 0 ]" t! u7 x! X0 W5 Sea Hurricane $ z+ y: |+ V6 F) f
21 Fulmar - i/ s- S z* }, [5 o; k14 F2A ( c3 _6 b1 {* ~3 {- V7 l19 F4F-3 4 e" S/ v$ [% X3 g9 P+ g
24 F4F-4 $ K z M3 k- ~, T3 S+ j( T, w* Z) t1 x4 |
The damages for my ships are the following: & U' P/ [% C9 ~% ]) O
- x1 m+ J$ R" L1 { vCV Formidable 50/69/38 e+ U% E& H; d: cCV Indomitable 35/34/42 1 r# T! K$ b2 ~3 A: ~4 aBB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 7 D% q- L" @$ R/ p
BC Repulse 25/14/10 9 n% R7 Z& t6 y) _9 c
% n$ Y/ b" B; UCV Hornet 58/89/49 8 n- d, I) Z n, L/ tDD Lamson 64/19/25 6 v5 c; G0 Z1 c－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－; U: R, q) }4 O! l
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。7 J( o8 [2 N9 H* J: v$ c$ T w& A, f4 w
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
