South Pac + l% r0 e) q j9 c5 G) F4 A5 _. E, R$ o
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. 4 p: g% n( U/ c 1 A! F M0 e$ E1 L2 _% x/ a; YMy planes attacked first. 8 ]8 G9 c: L2 h( TFirst 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! 5 ^/ `+ U' k- ?) q* \
Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. " i+ p& n2 Q3 o
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down... " j7 I1 _& W* P) y
) R5 i' Y+ j. E0 Q# q X! h1 OThe 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. 4 j( H/ C6 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. , ]/ {9 e' j' {, {
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. $ c p2 P" m% n* e( |; y S5 i3 t) {8 D& \7 M4 x3 N8 W3 I
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. 7 P4 x9 C& q! o- S4 |$ a2 O0 _' J
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. 4 h) Q; o9 V% E9 W" Y2 x1 t; O " `) x. j, J# r; V- @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. # v2 J1 j; a6 G/ J+ u6 b& t $ d9 {" Q( h# b0 u( k% ?& tIt’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. % m4 a/ a$ ?9 {; f( e2 Z" t, G6 ^2 v5 V$ t
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. 9 n4 C; _5 y. g# r; g j2 F3 H
/ `) o r: |8 E# v: Z3 W3 \% UThe 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. 8 C/ f- k; S [4 O, C6 V) V5 H 5 O5 c7 d- p2 A7 IThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. l2 p2 N) E5 T. }% _
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. / x3 }3 w1 }- `4 @- \5 A% H5 ^8 K" p4 Q
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. # F( T8 k4 Y1 a, m" U
4 g- L0 L* @+ Y9 S/ _1 S4 o20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. * N, L9 S! v! d% J+ \( c
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. 8 @. _/ V4 L8 p% H# L
4 l x" j- |( `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. 8 g' E& Y! \/ j0 l+ A1 h2 ]9 F$ l
All this happened in the morning!! , p& W# o* C0 A6 S0 B4 \8 t2 v: g* [( D2 [ L, |
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. ( }; v0 D) |/ I) h
9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. . w; q+ Y7 i. W) P* h4 K) f: }7 M9 L- f; n: r6 J" z
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. $ r: V# D! _. E1 g- o" ^ ' T8 {5 ]+ M0 F9 O: {" Y44 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. * y$ }8 R& Q8 _5 p4 C; h
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. + M; M8 h9 R w7 o: K
! j0 p, I) K. h" Q. P% uBefore 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. - e$ a {, L( l+ m( b4 d# l6 H/ w2 x1 V* n1 `( a
During this terrible day, this are the air losses. ' f7 `% {9 C1 y0 v) F1 |
! K+ i3 p5 M4 U
89 Kate 9 f; M5 l! ^: l5 O
60 Val - B- o7 Y7 X& z) y. @) E
39 Zero - z: u* s" E7 m0 ~4 r! }+ f2 L% a! K
188 a/c 9 b6 C1 o) O3 d; Y1 L
' s% {! i9 f9 r F$ R 0 H+ y; I- d- R+ w1 s126 SBD , b$ J1 y q: J
61 TBD 4 I8 ^% G# ~- P- }19 Albacore ) ^& ?3 C9 D6 t
5 Sea Hurricane / b4 [4 X+ P o$ G6 q21 Fulmar 6 S8 _; L" I# i: R: R; X. W; T! K14 F2A & K9 i7 H/ A' U& n19 F4F-3 , R' e+ }) F3 \- u* M1 O24 F4F-4 ) F, \: m4 u" s7 M: Y
8 |* C- T0 p# J- I9 F1 t
The damages for my ships are the following: * `& a3 ?; I Z H! _7 _ 7 C+ K5 y" J- }* U* \& mCV Formidable 50/69/38 5 }8 g6 Z/ ~. n1 v. {! bCV Indomitable 35/34/42 ' Y" F+ {: V L) XBB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 % s- {* h8 u* m8 c8 XBC Repulse 25/14/10 ( S1 w/ J" I' `, t1 @
; O0 Z8 x" z! [/ l, s! j; y
CV Hornet 58/89/49 5 P4 j4 Q! y7 P6 o/ j; g, C
DD Lamson 64/19/25 1 {3 ]0 X6 w8 K# r7 F1 Z# E h
－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ 2 S9 y9 I) F! r. g3 R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。 0 C- ^% ^) ~" E( m6 Z从战果上看，盟军的结果比我想象的好不少。而且还混编CV.作者: harry 时间: 2007-8-29 12:04
