South Pac 9 { }( s |4 B8 |; S3 \* O
$ l0 U; i+ c; E h6 ?0 b5 cEarly 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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, G. H" D" E: c3 UMy planes attacked first.
+ M2 O, D7 A; _ hFirst 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! ) e- x5 H% f, J2 e- z% K+ c
Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck.
: |0 v2 V' a; b) Q& kAh, by the way...No Zero shot down... ; ^. V# t" I( y: i) w- a
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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.
( z! Q: X5 f% R23 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 h6 A9 ^# Q2 i" A; _
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. . ^( ~' E1 U$ y3 U6 y$ p
2 [5 B q' V* nThe 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.
0 w K" a8 I2 FCV 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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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.
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It’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star.
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* a: ^) ^" I( W& q' ]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. ; k6 b" W' n/ y6 Q
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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. : S. i4 {# x! C$ a9 _6 q
) G C$ {0 r& E' m0 d; n }. RThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. ; _1 y' |, D% l) j7 L" I( [
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. 1 E" a- T# n5 J8 Y
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. : U2 T- ]$ U7 \9 z. z" H4 g
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20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them.
6 W" C, r* `8 ]7 C3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps.
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: K% u1 f/ E. Y# Y( j0 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. # f8 f2 J2 ^. e
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All this happened in the morning!!
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7 x. z0 [8 Z' w7 P5 R% p A: x1 ` bIn 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.
, O# w, Y. @4 \- s- B* s1 v1 U9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. 2 x' Y6 B; r. y
- ]; S4 g! B3 w; K O+ q W; HThen, 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. 5 ^; s5 |# o, z* D6 K1 F
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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.
5 r E, D+ C. TCV 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. 1 }. j$ S& @3 q7 J
+ R3 Q& u x0 y1 J* e a% t! i) v" GDuring this terrible day, this are the air losses. ' K4 L- m1 M/ `7 v) d3 ?( V& {
0 A% x8 q& ?* `1 _' N. D, J, a- [. N( V* a89 Kate
9 C: f- T f& f V- E8 z" k; W2 y2 o60 Val - a" F# a' k( |' z& B% K, l
39 Zero
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188 a/c & U1 k4 j1 a8 R8 `5 P, o7 {
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126 SBD
" \$ @0 Q7 k" c$ Z5 D7 t61 TBD * T4 C+ T2 Z# G
19 Albacore " H) F4 \2 A# `2 \- K5 Q0 p# \
5 Sea Hurricane ' a7 Q7 Q- Y2 R7 g8 b5 z/ ?
21 Fulmar
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19 F4F-3
: d) s& ~4 r6 y% a, E) ?; B24 F4F-4
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The damages for my ships are the following: " Q- ^6 A: ^+ P2 Z' {) R& f
- E Q% o1 K; _1 t- g+ s+ s9 G5 l$ zCV Formidable 50/69/38 ! Y0 ]7 x$ q( P. V6 P, E0 l$ G& j
CV Indomitable 35/34/42 * j2 c9 F- Q4 K2 I9 M1 S
BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
) ]$ z/ M$ J+ f5 d9 \BC Repulse 25/14/10 6 O c# |) j. {3 _9 d1 y/ l: H
+ p1 g0 z$ T O: C1 T
CV Hornet 58/89/49
1 U* `- }3 v! DDD Lamson 64/19/25 1 N! i4 h/ O+ c4 _1 R0 F5 i! V
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( e6 `4 {" r G3 E0 {6 t, W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。* C4 {! s% ]1 a# H3 _: O( z: Y
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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