South Pac 7 `: j; v5 O7 m5 F' R
: }5 z, j5 a* K/ T- 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.
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4 n# v; ?: R# @4 p6 a8 f6 ZMy planes attacked first. / g; D# { X3 E7 S, I
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!
$ Y1 J% ?# E% MAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. & C& _+ K2 I6 g& l0 V4 G+ T
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down...
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/ R- R" G# S) @ p. t( `+ wThe 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.
! |% R8 w, r+ d: S# u1 I @3 T7 T23 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.
; G4 E5 B) L; Z7 G5 ?- K% Z) D$ f X! YCV 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.
3 b( N+ J) X# W9 [- MCV 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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( ] N/ _ M. e3 QThere 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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! a& d9 ]) ?, n B8 k1 HIt’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star.
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Then 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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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.
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! y8 K; C* Z1 v: q- r/ Q+ k. RThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP.
4 U+ {9 J6 z9 JCV 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.
& l( U5 z1 B( {; s* r2 a' rI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. - A" ?) Y* r1 Y
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20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. , J, {. p7 f5 a/ U# B4 }
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps.
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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.
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5 \% s" p6 z. e5 HAll this happened in the morning!!
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9 ]- V9 Z0 d3 F0 V' EIn 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. # T9 _7 j. G/ B
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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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.
( f( D8 p9 k& |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.
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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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5 A2 x& d5 `- ]$ K6 `. b: B, J( xDuring this terrible day, this are the air losses. 3 I& ]8 ?. |' P p' n, A
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89 Kate
: m/ \/ r0 c+ Q" I, o) a# \5 s60 Val
, L, {! k$ k' t39 Zero
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& u0 V6 P) L8 b% o* Q3 x188 a/c 4 V5 A& X( u1 Q( k, ~( A
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) W6 Q4 Y* k8 h/ i) C126 SBD 2 R* h- P& G/ i; ~
61 TBD # G$ G# _/ ^) M8 m* D! {
19 Albacore " [$ `1 W* W, ^+ Z3 ?
5 Sea Hurricane + n6 L; n1 y) X4 u0 V& D
21 Fulmar
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; E* S1 T5 j6 [6 r19 F4F-3 1 n |. i, B9 Z
24 F4F-4
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The damages for my ships are the following:
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CV Formidable 50/69/38
* B' g. y4 e( V: [; t1 bCV Indomitable 35/34/42
6 A2 N/ O; W8 E1 _BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
6 f& b4 h: u9 a% C' _! K( BBC Repulse 25/14/10
2 M! F8 ~) y' h, ]3 l9 p9 x: C& @8 H# N
CV Hornet 58/89/49 e! D0 U2 Y! j" K
DD Lamson 64/19/25
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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。4 C% i1 N# d# Q$ m' e; _0 |7 G. g
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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