; a' w4 e, g) U: UEarly 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. " H3 m5 t+ }# \ ) y3 v& X* g" u7 Y5 \3 P' [My planes attacked first. 2 }' [# z- d+ h* _/ XFirst 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! 9 h3 e+ a' W, I. `- m0 \$ `
Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. 5 b6 F# t( B( a2 l; o, N/ K& D& G5 I4 c, B
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down... : Y: g9 y& _! l1 W* Z$ g : k1 ] R. P4 h, G/ R& L$ F6 bThe 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. , w$ v: G+ k/ e9 E, Z
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. 0 E. h0 k% e! M
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. , B; Q! [/ S3 P1 }& Y$ O# Z
0 S, u& }. k) AThe 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. 6 I, J7 \$ s. \3 j# UCV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. ! K! Q& P* p4 r# |# q3 \# p( W& B' {( a* \6 a1 M
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. 6 @1 U* x5 K( F, q5 s- H 5 U( T% ^0 w5 R$ _& ?It’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. . _. n- d% I1 j % _1 H$ c9 N& c$ j6 e/ ~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. & } j7 p+ d) b7 `7 d2 {* s: R
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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. P! V. t! v, O' L- 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. 2 Y6 K3 q' Q3 s* c: m* B$ v
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. $ R9 T+ Z; C& m3 c- p2 K
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. % t! J0 c, B$ d8 H& V( u + m$ c, ^/ n% D0 V& ^- z5 Z* G20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. ) f' l, ?# q/ Q7 @4 t& ]3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. 1 l* g9 }1 G1 a 7 I, }! s+ I. e8 }' {) dFifth 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. " ~ I# U* n1 h8 S) l$ o& T6 i
7 i ^7 t k. p$ \8 GAll this happened in the morning!! 8 Q) h2 {: O8 |* K: H: t
1 t7 N2 r* ?! t0 z6 }0 j% dIn 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 [) A k" S0 P m9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. " a7 Y+ @ d; l% {8 b) d% K: N4 u! _ - v7 L0 x$ k; f: j CThen, 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. 4 U) ~4 t- [% S+ Q; n) F* ` 3 {- H# W; Z1 b) E: ~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. 8 q& S; _# n# u# E# C, W7 d6 jCV 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. # [! Z' `$ ~2 y1 |
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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. ) e8 I0 j7 e& q+ `9 }( a6 o# b + }7 P$ }/ E5 e$ C9 yDuring this terrible day, this are the air losses. 3 b8 E" v1 y/ {9 | # O5 _& f* y, y3 [89 Kate 3 o- D) ^: l# u7 b( J/ X; v1 n
60 Val 4 ]6 I9 L( e/ `; @& o
39 Zero $ P# e7 N& \5 t; O* L4 E
' X6 I. T( \; h, }0 U- V; Q- l+ A6 v3 v188 a/c 3 j% G& o- \' w5 M/ v/ {1 z, s
% H6 O4 q$ M, A* c! h& _
' Q9 y: B/ a' h# ?$ _# `
126 SBD ( w! [" ~. ~ ]61 TBD % I/ g+ \1 c2 T. a19 Albacore # f) y- ~9 ^6 N2 Y5 F6 t$ f$ y5 Sea Hurricane 6 q$ }8 a* Z: O# Y
21 Fulmar 3 L$ S1 ~" B9 ]! b3 m
14 F2A 7 E1 J5 q7 ~2 f) F19 F4F-3 . I$ m0 N4 P! }" T" T* d {
24 F4F-4 2 f/ K2 N9 u% D# `: w* y' w" X% X U* S2 Q: O9 h9 m
The damages for my ships are the following: / d/ b" [' R) Q, ?; W9 Z' ?8 h3 O( h" V2 ^- Q
CV Formidable 50/69/38 % T- Z) S. ~: I% O U4 SCV Indomitable 35/34/42 ' J5 a8 b9 Q. D7 VBB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 * y5 I* N* p" {7 F1 Z2 W& {( hBC Repulse 25/14/10 ! T3 _7 J2 v* c" ^
