South Pac
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% z1 s2 E/ h$ o6 |1 A) Y- R+ z. iEarly 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. : f" O+ G' |1 V: Q
% P& m% S2 |: i' k+ X1 E0 O/ yMy planes attacked first.
$ t$ V) \4 ]0 [+ RFirst 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! 7 M8 X5 A/ P! s; e! U/ q
Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. ! H$ t8 u5 }( Y N$ C+ E! L5 [
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down... 3 C+ m* ]! I. 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. ' A, n5 h& w' p7 X
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.
" k7 Q3 J7 K, A# G* ~; I! v! g+ vCV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo.
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V7 d. ^+ T3 W; E6 aThe 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 W7 D% O" _ G6 TCV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. ; z1 S1 l# T. h2 D
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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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8 t) s7 p9 q% G2 lIt’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. . H+ H9 ]+ X2 s
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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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# I% f- O- ?% R" ^2 O4 i- x/ iThe 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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The third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP.
, D1 i. I5 @7 W- ~& P- C' hCV 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.
: d! v; e" K8 Q9 G& e& ZI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates.
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% C; p. x$ m, h- O20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. - t( R+ N3 M0 A/ p$ O
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps.
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? e) _- ~0 ~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. $ {; D3 b* T, N$ I
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All this happened in the morning!! ) M' T9 M4 H; V/ \2 m$ O: `1 j; j0 }! C3 D
! T3 P( @- R- S lIn 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.
* N: @ C5 d& E( l9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. 5 V& F$ b: Z) x' b8 G
" r/ W& l+ U4 t' \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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3 l' Z! X' 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.
6 F$ Q8 O& c! I, i0 S) }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. - f' e; O3 m( t/ S# X# X
' K& i0 s: V, \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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X1 V6 ~% u' K- q nDuring this terrible day, this are the air losses.
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89 Kate
3 f# a d4 J& S6 r60 Val
3 N% N3 D+ G9 ~) O( m39 Zero # P6 p% }) R2 Z/ p% W
2 q* ?! B5 e: V8 s1 `188 a/c & w$ d4 J, B6 m! O/ {) [/ C
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126 SBD
& x2 a7 A5 X: k: F* ]/ V- m61 TBD
5 z3 B, @" ~2 f9 G( ^7 E$ ]' W0 i19 Albacore
% X+ S }0 @3 [ |: U5 Sea Hurricane
: f2 g. h, J+ X0 A9 w% g/ j$ g9 Q21 Fulmar ) }! s( Z) C* } I
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19 F4F-3
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, ]; j. W1 W6 \- T' w1 TThe damages for my ships are the following: . a1 ^# M L# f
" W3 v) a+ X+ C; i% K% yCV Formidable 50/69/38
4 Z# s$ x2 L, F% s* X* v8 LCV Indomitable 35/34/42
# B6 l' ?/ W0 J2 j+ ~: k5 cBB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
I* O6 M- L3 _9 Z! x# s& `BC Repulse 25/14/10 ( G: @! h: ?8 s$ p [ q0 J. n
w( H; g2 q! [CV Hornet 58/89/49 # m. V+ Q( J$ x! K* z$ S
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。/ P/ n2 d) X7 s; @3 v H% O, f
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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