South Pac
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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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My planes attacked first.
- G9 U* r! W: r9 H0 k" K6 OFirst 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!
& ^( \1 F$ t. u' R5 H! Z4 |Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. : s [' y- `) q' n/ b
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down...
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& N4 S9 }+ t9 D Z" _2 J! CThe 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.
o; H' z0 Y V* ~9 N+ z3 S23 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.
2 X3 B2 K2 P& [; w: l- BCV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo.
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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.
: T6 n- c$ g+ x' ZCV 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. W5 `6 C# e! w* o) B
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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. % x8 z- _( Z5 } n4 r& b
5 [8 ~4 c- \; R' W# zThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP.
9 g j# ]! O1 u; e1 G) ]; ICV 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. ' |- d6 V8 {! C) K' d3 e
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. " m3 U, q" t( U
' ]8 i! y0 ^% }, }20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them.
5 B2 ]0 p: j' y% f; |, F3 f3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. # J( D7 z$ n* t& u$ P1 ?. I- a
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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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2 }4 h$ _9 g. z( V/ s! ^* A' ~5 xIn 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.
' G& [- ^; g. J1 V9 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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1 C9 G" K4 ~! N0 nThen, 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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- l/ w8 y+ Z N) m) S3 y! g& A44 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. - G b( U4 M- k+ g8 v9 n7 v
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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9 {6 _; g6 w; l" `$ J, h3 _During this terrible day, this are the air losses. ' ~9 j6 U+ Z6 h) G: O
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89 Kate 6 a5 n! Q' [1 u. Z* U: c% d, r
60 Val
5 b4 H m" [* U U1 N6 z" I8 Y2 V39 Zero " j' w) y; V3 d
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126 SBD
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- C1 h' Z, B6 W19 Albacore : R+ n/ B; r8 _2 A* T
5 Sea Hurricane
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14 F2A
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* Y9 Q+ W9 ?6 H% qThe damages for my ships are the following: + j$ [) p% o: F4 v
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CV Formidable 50/69/38 % j& r" E. Q; V6 N+ ^
CV Indomitable 35/34/42 7 V1 r4 P/ g- |5 z3 F' \
BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
8 H: b$ f- m6 R& H6 B' {BC Repulse 25/14/10 6 E+ V& O0 A" Z+ p& m
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CV Hornet 58/89/49
" w. t! L3 P5 \- {' y% ^& GDD 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。+ ]: |# K. B- 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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