South Pac
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6 y- G1 i2 S, K3 H6 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. 8 L. Y/ Y3 B% s7 e6 |
" D) _. q3 U- |$ w; L( D& XMy planes attacked first. 9 S7 c/ E' E$ P' s8 D5 l
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!
' R( U- x- G. wAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck.
& {3 ?# P. `5 \) jAh, by the way...No Zero shot down... 3 [ ]" i4 J7 i3 P5 ~$ q) C" k& n
2 L' M' k' o5 u% 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.
3 Y% N. e. `6 U& A! o" P$ c23 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. # W( g5 g+ }9 l5 Y5 ?! l
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. " ^ P0 O+ d+ a: w
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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. 1 X P J0 R2 Z
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. X5 F+ k& E6 P
$ `. O. B, ], D( F# T' ?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. 1 m% x' r$ Q$ o* t, e$ P8 U
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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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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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' J7 I& t) O2 wThe 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. / ]: J( _; ?3 b$ o
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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.
9 a1 c# a) b k/ v8 v6 s% ~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. % ]9 D$ Q! x* e
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates.
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' _! r* r Y5 q' e8 V20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them.
$ Q. G; z/ i, d* I3 e3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. # f6 k! n, T7 Y# M' h2 i* P8 o
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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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All this happened in the morning!!
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" {- W7 p) x1 t* AIn 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.
( m/ @+ n( z% X2 ]# s, y! Y3 d& b9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. " u+ ~2 J7 j W2 r7 p0 Q( d
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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. + i* H! P% f6 e5 L3 L
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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.
- e$ T) _& g: H6 o5 Y5 |# c. u: GCV 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. 9 y, B. V/ A- r; J9 j* ^5 d
8 P: N! l; P: L) n; R, QDuring this terrible day, this are the air losses.
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89 Kate 7 }$ F3 e3 f0 e8 ~# T
60 Val
# f# N! U: [3 e! J" ~' x( M39 Zero
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126 SBD ( G0 _8 w2 g6 Q& ^1 A
61 TBD 6 \8 M- N* P; `& C U" V. X8 y( F
19 Albacore
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3 y+ u- J4 a$ ~! E21 Fulmar / h% m3 H5 s+ e7 U1 g& G
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19 F4F-3
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' U# z4 J) l* i8 V rThe damages for my ships are the following:
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% W7 o( c7 Z1 E ECV Formidable 50/69/38
# B8 D6 w* y) E+ VCV Indomitable 35/34/42
; A* J1 X% s7 B* {+ T4 vBB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
7 e* ?2 D: C x# G7 @2 ZBC Repulse 25/14/10 & e% G& @- A$ ~) o: a4 ?& i
4 v5 ?$ k7 j7 R" |1 K$ NCV Hornet 58/89/49
& Z1 m7 E8 F4 ~/ }& w- ADD Lamson 64/19/25
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3 |) x5 h5 n1 U# c; T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 o1 L1 u }# H5 L( }: U
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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