South Pac 0 P. e! H" Z8 k6 R$ M0 } 5 W3 U- g1 t3 G2 n) j8 m6 V) s4 _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. p5 j/ O1 X) q7 }1 Z' y9 I, p
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My planes attacked first. 8 h8 C) } Z& ^, w1 \ v( g$ Y3 o 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! . n. R0 ]+ m7 K+ t; CAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. . z5 I$ I6 c& M( S# o- y' J& yAh, by the way...No Zero shot down... % m/ i9 l# v- O6 @- F: K; M) d9 j / X9 B% V* N `" fThe 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. ! c" Z G$ t( x: G6 C" k& v
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. 6 o! a* ]2 b |/ [CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. ( S) R3 A+ W, Q* J
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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. 6 _( P" R4 U* [% s
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. 0 S5 [! N3 ^" I6 N3 M& J, l) o8 x" R1 p4 A6 J8 W2 l! U
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. & _* G( U3 }3 j- ] D
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It’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. 4 M' Z, M6 g3 C( `$ l1 g( H; q
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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. " ?3 J, N7 [% o8 n/ O6 A
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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. / i* Y ~1 J* S2 E
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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. / W% H5 A1 K% O$ @
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. 1 T4 s2 E6 J, g8 tI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. + K! ~. k2 ]: F5 h' I6 W# O( H/ n' L: F- q5 `4 e
20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. . v+ T- c# {$ c$ q+ L& z- K9 w( C3 S1 |
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. ; l# a# N- z) i+ `/ j6 p8 b
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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. * @& d4 f) u9 x8 c. K5 E1 n$ h) M0 P/ Q* x% _: l. [! G7 X% ~5 a
All this happened in the morning!! . H8 d# D; C1 v' V e# Q2 L# r: @+ W+ _1 t% Z# S# r
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. / i- F3 Y0 w; z5 g6 t: z9 {9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. 6 Y. t! m% k# {8 w9 H0 R
. l8 V, o! e4 |; S* KThen, 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. 8 Z# g$ q: f8 f4 s/ Q" J6 k8 N; P" A; {/ {
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. : b1 q5 `9 v6 F/ yCV 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. ) k% @4 Q: L/ b3 o1 A
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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. 9 O0 c) G/ ~8 W- ~# M! M1 \ 8 i7 A! L P2 J5 p; B8 j# h* ]During this terrible day, this are the air losses. T* Q9 Q3 `2 H1 y( I) }
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89 Kate / f( v, z/ ^( D0 k3 k: x/ |& \
60 Val K: _& H, Y3 N( Y+ r! ]8 n+ L39 Zero ( ~+ |& {3 i9 F; I4 P# S
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126 SBD , s) C$ q4 Z) p- S, J* p' Y; b61 TBD 0 Q, c8 R( {" p& x8 E, L, l1 G
19 Albacore 7 P5 p. E0 \$ @; N S* B6 h5 `
5 Sea Hurricane 5 T- r& }! r5 p% ~8 G/ y8 H5 Y( i21 Fulmar 3 }6 I3 s7 J) P4 M14 F2A ) F" D% Y- ]( w: ~3 `/ [5 s- h19 F4F-3 : X; u# R0 S/ M6 K
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The damages for my ships are the following: , \2 t# F& r( T* E) C% r
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CV Formidable 50/69/38 & w- z, j; r( A4 s$ K
CV Indomitable 35/34/42 ; u/ F! X/ w! \# w
BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 : q7 s, `, G s9 }9 n, e
BC Repulse 25/14/10 # }5 z8 h }. K) D; T5 n2 y6 i! J
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CV Hornet 58/89/49 ; `5 _( B2 k& c; O, p _3 k9 lDD Lamson 64/19/25 : @/ F- Q) |. ^7 J4 e' H8 y－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ 1 t; e( F1 X$ q% O5 i/ B0 C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 N1 Z, P% I b; |4 r. x
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
