South Pac ; Q( Y$ b1 S5 `& e
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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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6 u/ O4 C+ ~7 j) F* ?! E* I9 FMy planes attacked first.
' O/ V: l0 ~+ |9 b/ _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!
) Y! T4 X6 Y+ M: \9 X2 K: U" \- w; DAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. # p" `) [8 w0 n- W @; V" }
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down... 9 Y) x/ s6 v# _# ~8 T) q* j
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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. - P) P" v% {: w3 y
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. 7 \& p* M! s' s# O- ^8 m" b
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. : G! Y6 l$ O1 Z" M: w; ^; b
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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.
9 P2 R) n3 }5 F1 [CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. " w, N! S8 _9 g4 Z- D [
L; J0 ~ {4 X% y* ^5 D" ~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. / {; w, N. @6 l( S
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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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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. 7 F, H( t1 i7 Y! z
8 u1 g9 g4 \9 |" a' UThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. 3 K2 w4 t. l9 p9 N, b& D, ^' d
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.
, s2 a* W: O( }7 B8 W- J7 |; \I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates.
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# P) P7 {" A2 g9 q7 q2 s20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. 8 }) l2 N* P5 X
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps.
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; x: s$ e5 I$ w" f4 Z- yFifth 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. 7 F# L: q u) o0 C
: j; c% F! ]. a8 Q' |All this happened in the morning!! , ]5 T! q9 q+ [* t* S% Q' f' Q
, s4 Y- o, i7 N8 nIn 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.
1 S7 V m+ r0 l! q9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. 7 W9 W0 H* B: l8 t
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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. 6 ~' o7 S) o' p2 B* P+ y
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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.
9 M3 ?0 k N% J; H' yCV 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. - |0 k+ ]# k6 I- A
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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. # Y/ w' t' [9 t9 M. z
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During this terrible day, this are the air losses.
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) Q# i/ g2 p1 U5 }7 }' a# {1 P89 Kate
. P1 L2 G2 m) _60 Val
$ D6 c* f& x5 ~39 Zero 7 R' y/ t5 i9 m" S5 O
0 b# u7 k- b+ z5 R) ?, g188 a/c 6 e [: r/ v6 A2 w! I. c
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126 SBD
8 e9 D0 e2 D8 }' L5 i6 W2 W% U61 TBD & e' \5 ?+ Q' U' A" U8 J! t
19 Albacore
; h( c8 l6 N' X9 p3 E# e; N5 Sea Hurricane
; n1 F. c( O% ?6 F21 Fulmar 8 t. T/ t; G/ u
14 F2A * I! K2 q' h ?& K
19 F4F-3 . o" K: z# W6 W
24 F4F-4
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The damages for my ships are the following: 6 v/ d6 N* q+ ^* d% E
7 z+ N5 J& E* P' T- |CV Formidable 50/69/38 : K" X! {) P M/ ?
CV Indomitable 35/34/42 / n1 D8 b: ?" U* o, B+ b' l
BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
$ Y8 I( ^6 P8 _2 NBC Repulse 25/14/10
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CV Hornet 58/89/49 # ]( ]( Q. y8 i$ L7 `2 y
DD Lamson 64/19/25 : u/ Z" G; \/ t& O, T8 x- b$ ~
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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。% j6 T. P+ e I. E. l
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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