South Pac , i, S" w( u8 e2 l4 c9 M, Y , t5 V9 \ {. M5 B! r9 x5 VEarly 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. 9 S0 ]% V& O+ A5 Q; g& J, W+ G
: t& M! \ {. R rMy planes attacked first. 6 _5 X7 l$ k9 W3 M. A
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! # q$ \, y* c! b, ]) |: O
Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. 5 u) P/ O7 Q* i* I2 T# n8 p* UAh, by the way...No Zero shot down... & x2 x; t: ?6 w3 ?* D! L5 i4 ^9 t2 ?$ @1 i3 T5 w
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. : t9 Y! z- F# K# r
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. ' g+ O7 M4 C& s
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. 9 D) X3 s" T% k$ H4 v7 {
' U9 X+ n. X2 p2 CThe 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. 2 U& o- A+ M+ X+ t% L! v! z
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. ( m' _4 o- F6 [; w9 u j6 ?. F' I- Q9 ?
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. - q& U" R7 E+ u, m- b
/ o$ V! g+ r; l# `3 J- ?+ s& XIt’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. " @+ V, B: h/ {# ^% ?% N/ F" W% l4 z! m6 t; l
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. 2 {( q+ x4 u8 d4 R 5 S) c3 h- N! c! [, P& g: zThe 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. , z( o7 N& X5 @( Q! p5 c
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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. : d) d$ A3 y0 f
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. ( y* n3 H, c& ^! cI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. 3 S* F& j+ x: |& X5 v" `
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20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. + u2 n- U- R1 o3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. 4 V1 n: e7 Z- D& S
" ?' a7 S2 b+ L5 sFifth 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. ) V5 ~5 t" G/ t2 |$ Y- ^) Q1 A* _- { T( a
All this happened in the morning!! & y) E7 p9 Z3 E8 h, c 2 `2 W3 U4 g1 y6 \, OIn 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. : C& b( h; D: A) y, ]9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. & f- `( I. q" _& W- e
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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. / W7 ^: s' F" f* `2 j# O 6 A0 r8 f) K2 y( ~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. ' `7 f0 K! t9 T/ L+ m mCV 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. - |+ ^7 S+ F+ Q: P& o( {: c- ]) G {3 }* D# X
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. ; d- Z- ~; F+ S
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During this terrible day, this are the air losses. 6 C7 E7 v; K, G
