South Pac $ X2 c2 O; U4 \, c0 L 5 a. Q- |* K" {8 Y6 ^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. 3 c- f2 ~6 W ? v5 B+ |' F
- r6 r( j' B1 `; |! EMy planes attacked first. + O v3 Q" e0 hFirst 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! , G9 S$ Y2 O' Y$ @Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. 0 _& D9 f! }4 w* _; ^) _
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down... 9 c! x) Q9 C4 x. O9 G7 w
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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. 7 u' l5 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. $ O) {7 e+ O7 A9 @# Y: H. @7 GCV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. + m# Z4 i0 t x3 D' Y- g: n, u8 x$ q$ f3 x
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. + e+ V" x1 y3 U& m7 `
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. , e) K! n* q+ ]" o/ J
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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. 0 [1 |8 H* X5 i. C
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It’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. 3 y, f& J% C& a
' w+ c4 Y! Q! h( [9 cThen 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. / f" @* F6 O _& C
. ^7 I+ Y8 d& L# |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% Y- T, K% t- S( Q) s * l e/ l; v1 l& H. GThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. ; s! R0 M( d9 P8 X, L
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. q1 }! N1 E1 M: T- U+ _9 F" w
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. 4 t/ ]# V, j' M8 W4 O+ L& | v% Q6 p8 k- a3 [
20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. 0 K" x2 t; q: u6 a# q) m# @3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. 3 r9 K: N) @/ n" B9 S [8 G7 V& a3 Y( e1 _' `
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. : E4 q/ c5 b' I
! t; a6 N+ z0 GAll this happened in the morning!! - Q( s$ s8 h% c' q3 c1 {
: u; M/ [# {$ K5 s6 mIn 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. ) Z" Q( p, Q0 z$ G; K; y9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. 1 n- \2 q! Q+ H# c& q: x7 F* v
3 I# v& G, v& |% j0 f9 X& FThen, 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. & i) `5 m$ s) X5 }9 F |5 d& `$ O6 H* N$ \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. , @( M) h' m) Q* CCV 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. 3 a0 [4 M2 T: ~4 } * h* \) B- n5 rBefore 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. 5 I t3 a$ @% D
2 l! o5 J8 b) \During this terrible day, this are the air losses. 9 y! w$ N) P+ h& {1 k! | 2 v" E! L# c) Z) l* ~/ A! C5 ?89 Kate ; v9 V6 x: {- j3 J5 ]; x4 P
60 Val 7 O! q7 R. z# p8 K* ]& m) `39 Zero ( [1 ~- C) \. j: [, X: R! ^! S3 ^0 t- n! B0 d9 c# Q2 o
188 a/c 7 l9 m4 ?4 X6 J3 T& D, i( d& c2 S1 j, i5 @5 X; y t, |
2 f$ z% N, h9 g9 b. [
126 SBD ' b: f+ ?6 h; K5 q6 G7 O* o! q61 TBD $ C2 m- Q( s9 h* g0 j n
19 Albacore 8 W0 o2 D m f$ Q3 [
5 Sea Hurricane 8 p6 I, w- |3 [4 I21 Fulmar " ]( o; T [$ m; j1 M1 w
14 F2A % w! ^9 \2 L5 d; Q- s
19 F4F-3 9 |+ W3 e, f( M8 X9 G# ~24 F4F-4 ) ~" u* T- K# Y! I. ^# k; P" E0 o& L4 S - R2 S4 \8 h8 nThe damages for my ships are the following: : F% |+ j; p- Y+ e2 V0 ?! o
5 X' b' x& q0 z) h" NCV Formidable 50/69/38 6 f4 P% c* M; _- o; ?3 ECV Indomitable 35/34/42 . C) h7 c$ U. d) x1 |BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 , K' X i6 B# X5 ~3 M, BBC Repulse 25/14/10 : g. p' M3 \$ a; e- T b7 X3 p' O4 n7 j7 V2 K3 V2 B( Q
CV Hornet 58/89/49 0 ]6 R$ Z5 D; j$ r
DD Lamson 64/19/25 3 t: t& X1 _" y( s, t4 `
－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－( @4 }5 p5 T+ I
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。! Y. V& `6 \% k- @$ B1 W* f
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
