South Pac 3 m0 K U1 Q8 m7 a, n7 S
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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. 9 M9 N2 y/ e- Y- w. ?; `4 P- S' E/ V3 \1 T: f& w% R
My planes attacked first. . P1 e8 V% r' SFirst 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 K6 F% i) Q8 {' O6 s
Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. 6 ]( ? l S7 _3 J! ^3 e* b. j) D3 X, EAh, by the way...No Zero shot down... ( l' t& V/ ?4 r* h
8 {4 y' A3 S. q0 w; M2 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. 8 s# W2 n1 `# V9 }4 x2 f6 v+ 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. ; J0 S1 y# ~, ?3 ?+ n
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. * I& f4 {% i5 t8 |% Y, _3 M' O; T, M( @. d- F
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. / o9 K6 E+ v) J/ PCV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. $ L, @ K9 T3 \7 c* {1 ^6 g 8 S$ Q1 b3 Z% A. e6 wThere 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. / \4 B. y1 H; E3 q2 }! n
7 G: X- F+ f5 Q( E0 ~* Q0 OIt’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. # X/ `1 E* k0 a$ N1 ? ) ^/ R' _0 v; U0 R( W6 eThen 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. ! ]/ S4 h0 E6 }( x8 q J0 C
% N3 ~; O2 Z3 D8 G" E$ M' p- EThe 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. % x& U4 k4 `7 x: M" C4 r# I+ g( j1 y) d/ W
The third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. & u9 I5 X# P# MCV 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. ' }8 ?! U# d$ O/ e( ]4 |I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. - K( Z0 |: I$ D# {- h& V$ g2 w# t% S0 `# D1 {5 I
20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. 4 B2 M6 | A, W" t
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. $ P. }: }( S6 ?1 M1 d1 P# |( m/ {1 Z) }7 Z$ G& f9 n' i3 @
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. : T, p. y/ X( k" ~* F+ s( _
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All this happened in the morning!! Y4 a1 f/ n) k5 I
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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. 1 P$ K' h8 P. c; C7 r1 M7 l( |9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. . K6 a1 b G6 Q2 a: ?- m% i9 ~4 O3 i& y! n# _- Q' d# T
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. 4 p! Y/ k+ C, ?& S) [! C& D6 r/ A3 b, Z- z: U
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. ) c( }/ e% t' K* \) P# Y
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. # J; E: ?5 m) H5 F. T: M3 S/ E$ d% Q9 ^
5 }6 m! Z# {+ Y8 mBefore 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. 1 K0 m S3 ]- L
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During this terrible day, this are the air losses. , C8 r7 R1 ]' V8 b0 q/ E; f9 J, h1 B) U. a
89 Kate + X; F9 \$ d7 a3 @$ Y; a
60 Val 8 n6 J t% ^7 i) K* l8 O& J0 _
39 Zero # q/ e3 `) F; @7 _" d$ M0 y- W+ f/ N6 F& }: y
188 a/c 7 a7 |: C' ]- j; ^' E% u {0 e; G" c0 w( }9 S* u$ @: g- s: {
) ?# N" @) ]' M5 h4 I+ I5 j t% _126 SBD 1 {0 {3 w! z0 U6 q5 g61 TBD I" j& p7 g/ Z7 H& c/ E
19 Albacore $ Z8 p8 k; B: e/ u4 t2 D- v, C
5 Sea Hurricane - R9 g6 \" n, r7 c% n
21 Fulmar % n* X- V3 s# h r! \0 p14 F2A ( U9 L# ~" g4 d) s5 u; ?" j" g% q
19 F4F-3 # J) R& Y: z+ C- I7 V x
24 F4F-4 " r" i. L# h; D6 B/ f5 c: U$ ?& L t4 ?) g
The damages for my ships are the following: % n" [4 V5 C/ d. B* |3 D+ @, z6 D. x
: `: b* O& O4 A. Z( }4 O! dCV Formidable 50/69/38 + {4 \* L2 p$ w BCV Indomitable 35/34/42 / M" A5 ]- |# J' d; e) a
BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 . R- F. l$ V5 ~1 b1 T) L, e% mBC Repulse 25/14/10 % C! z5 M1 M) B
