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' \- C- S, k1 c( gEarly 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. 1 y$ }! J8 i2 [' [- A
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My planes attacked first.
/ p7 `* ]7 w- X5 p: fFirst 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!
) s' I5 V' K/ v" IAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. ' Y6 z5 U- C/ q; a b- t
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down... & F1 ~0 w3 I; R, {$ V
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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. ]2 S+ n- f' X& L4 J8 b6 G
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. : N+ Z* ^ Z0 ^3 [0 T% K
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo.
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; I) S& C6 _3 c% J' H qThe 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.
; x" Q$ A! N) T1 A; g) {3 b/ h$ ACV 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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9 z+ L4 D2 E& ~4 \3 U( cIt’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. , c3 |6 a8 ^1 Z2 ~/ C/ V& _
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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.
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7 Z! ^9 x% z" UThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. 8 K5 |5 c+ y6 b$ w2 g: p9 g! D0 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.
* W( B7 Q. E# ~2 tI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. ; S' `2 V# l5 d
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20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them.
$ k. j5 A7 ?0 n1 ?" q2 U3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. # l" f% I' \4 f
' m5 _( F4 ^- C! 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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]3 M+ M: k! DAll this happened in the morning!! 1 o' A! |! W! Y4 w' S9 {; ^' G. _
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In 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.
@$ v+ L. Z8 u0 M. @9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. 7 [# q! F* B% y1 A9 G" S6 Y
. ^3 Y) V* a! ^5 eThen, 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. 7 @! L4 H3 b4 v }; _2 |4 F3 m5 r
4 n6 b8 Y: a) }, G44 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.
$ \2 ?" ?: T6 o0 @2 [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. / n8 L8 U" B0 o, C* g
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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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During this terrible day, this are the air losses. T; A. v; H+ Z* s( n
9 C$ A, R) k3 X+ ~89 Kate ; v" m# u) T1 W( W
60 Val
: a" z" t: \8 y" E: t& ^. r39 Zero ; I7 R- S1 @: F% G
6 d/ [' h6 T& q) a
188 a/c
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126 SBD
0 H i5 l6 H( c6 ?* `; A8 {4 p/ p' @8 e61 TBD 8 \4 a: G( ?& N* t: ~, M
19 Albacore
+ Q1 J0 B( i1 Z* P/ ]9 ?5 Sea Hurricane
) {- V* ~. V- r' G21 Fulmar 6 @& H# l- l7 r! I1 E
14 F2A - D% @! E3 Q$ b5 a
19 F4F-3
- f7 i" u% A1 k+ r+ p1 l1 {6 H24 F4F-4
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% Q% s; A. d1 mThe damages for my ships are the following:
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CV Formidable 50/69/38
' @& q% [3 c3 @0 t- g! T* ~& K, aCV Indomitable 35/34/42
* V K+ q, w9 L9 O$ kBB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
* v9 _) j( G) rBC Repulse 25/14/10 % R) @* m- O: J; @) ]' q3 {
! A/ w2 e3 y C [. H: b1 M1 m a8 WCV Hornet 58/89/49 + f: U, K/ a v- @% p! a5 D9 ^3 Z
DD Lamson 64/19/25
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9 v N: o( ]. T8 ^* b$ W- 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。
; |, t6 W# g) Q$ p, a! 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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