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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.
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8 f ?1 d+ A1 V& m( b& c! bMy planes attacked first.
4 M9 A. }4 Y9 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! % [+ W0 p: [$ j+ {7 u: C
Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. / Q/ z6 k, E4 z; ^ K8 \* e
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down... , n q2 `$ i, L: }' u, I! ]$ F
# ^4 U" L" s) YThe 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.
1 e% j$ n! V3 I5 E5 M2 Q23 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. $ m2 S8 m& I: _
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. 4 L3 p( Q# W/ R6 v9 \9 O
/ Q' Q9 q5 g! @! U2 DThe 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.
% e5 f0 @/ B# z+ ]CV 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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! l; G- b# R6 R" l% W2 j: K2 J0 ZIt’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. - t2 ]' N _5 m! Y2 T
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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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2 `8 S, X" ]- h/ s9 mThe 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. 4 N2 s+ i. U; y" {) L4 h
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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. + ~. a( i3 w4 l
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. ) K% s. G& H8 ?9 h
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates.
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20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them.
' T. P/ s* g# i+ Z0 o$ |# Y3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. : u$ P2 l2 k i( c' j& K8 r' |
1 K$ X+ S- a Z0 mFifth 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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All this happened in the morning!!
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7 d8 [: C" r$ J6 L: J5 W1 e# ZIn 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. 2 A$ ?* [2 h. M# q5 Z% t p# O
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. : U" w8 {% b% G9 y3 Q0 ^, E1 a
# t. j: p8 o8 o9 ^- n% }- d9 r: p& `/ Q44 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.
- k* t% T9 ^8 D5 I* D+ y2 `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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7 ]; I/ c' |" P) B" c" t" [! x8 eDuring this terrible day, this are the air losses.
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$ S+ S% [5 t3 T3 }. r! W6 A: v: q89 Kate
( F, Z, S( z! W+ Q K7 l. a/ v60 Val / L( z0 Z2 S* H, C& N, F
39 Zero * d" I& L8 @4 r0 }/ j
4 R8 W, N0 r" q6 v5 H188 a/c
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# E. G( t+ n% i126 SBD
/ c% V7 T, G1 }0 N/ C- h0 V" d61 TBD 1 p w$ j/ L' x4 I" a L
19 Albacore
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" A2 q. V1 \5 J- \- h- S: g' d0 O21 Fulmar
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19 F4F-3 : ^1 Q1 o0 R" v/ E' {
24 F4F-4
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The damages for my ships are the following: 4 f2 m/ G+ w/ _0 k. Q+ _
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CV Formidable 50/69/38 1 u0 n! \+ d- C9 J0 L
CV Indomitable 35/34/42 ! {' L9 j3 z0 E
BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
# Y3 {5 d0 t3 G. x ^' P- UBC Repulse 25/14/10 * Q' w' l. u O8 ~$ B" N# n2 w
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CV Hornet 58/89/49
) d" S; A# Z: j! o& QDD Lamson 64/19/25 . E; d* j- o% c. I# i
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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。1 h l$ R) w3 p. R
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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