South Pac 6 H2 ~3 l/ n; C3 t' v0 C8 e' i+ v
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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. 5 [# r* e k% O
. a2 x1 z9 _2 B+ p& F+ YMy planes attacked first. 8 \& [6 x$ N( j2 t8 u6 u; u4 A5 k7 N
First 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! ! N9 ^) V$ I* H" l- d tAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. % _9 ]! I$ @) R- H/ K; W( h lAh, by the way...No Zero shot down... 8 c3 N$ H* B, s2 G l( ~ M8 ?4 T, n6 `, G
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. 3 v1 m# y% Y" a' _0 N, f- f
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. % q8 O7 R/ U& N! H3 r0 G
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. 3 R w* r8 e! N7 @6 r( O' A5 }3 p) J, J
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. : _0 W4 G6 |& H, H
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. 8 C$ ?1 M1 Y' D4 I* x- r2 p7 N$ M% e! \0 n2 g+ e9 V# Q ^! ^
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. ! b# M) } e3 D! k& n) f$ |
) A* p( A- E1 S \It’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. # R; P H" y$ D3 i# W# ^- H9 _
- G Q2 u/ V7 }/ {3 }9 \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. # B" S, Z! `, p" m: c/ K! t I2 j8 R
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. ( W+ a* d7 h* l
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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. ) U. |+ T+ J1 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. : C+ x0 L2 H# U5 x
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. * ~+ e" Q( N. C + B4 Z3 l& j) x' N20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. $ W5 }5 B5 B2 z/ ^& j9 N* a: n3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. j3 _/ i# m% ?7 X$ K: O: ~( k1 a$ _5 Y$ T6 a2 p5 F
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. 9 O6 s* a4 j/ D+ u& I' v' y5 `* T7 H- K a
All this happened in the morning!! - G( y; \) v, F: w) i
; B6 V" @& O, U: `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. 0 N/ r) Q* K. |6 ?9 }, j5 q' R! D3 c/ g* |9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. 5 A1 g0 z+ C+ b6 l& H$ t: d5 F; p) C ! t6 C+ I* y# eThen, 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. ! K# n3 R- U0 X' W: v9 }
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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. 2 Y) g, Q. k. _2 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. ( F+ c ~* _# U2 m3 u& E: r' a3 P
2 b" ~- x0 d: [0 y p, f4 |- P1 s; h1 yBefore 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. 3 b4 k; J! v8 O* W' E- v
8 O7 N/ W# a% h8 [- Z6 ^During this terrible day, this are the air losses. 1 m+ C( o3 N# }- E& \6 k# }3 l& |: z7 u
89 Kate ! M7 l5 k. T& o% F- ?) ~
60 Val : N( s, k- ?+ U6 {7 G% g: }39 Zero ' `! l' w$ ? V4 ?9 j; t
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188 a/c ! a; F: K) A6 v3 O
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126 SBD 6 e& Y6 L% v0 j7 }1 ?
61 TBD ' g+ n3 R: @6 I
19 Albacore 0 X% U! @2 i. I9 E
5 Sea Hurricane 6 Y# o# v1 ]/ _21 Fulmar F4 ?1 a! d8 X. m1 C5 ^14 F2A & Z5 U% n( ~+ F a$ S" [. B% H19 F4F-3 , Y+ f' K2 ~- v y# V4 O. \5 l* F
24 F4F-4 # c9 T% _$ s: v, B7 S( l' [& e : i9 E* a+ P/ G: EThe damages for my ships are the following: 1 M1 [/ f/ H7 |
/ o* e& r% j: T" M6 f; w5 ICV Formidable 50/69/38 ; I3 a& U% h0 e7 o6 ^
CV Indomitable 35/34/42 & }8 g+ ]/ W. N4 r2 tBB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 G% E: a7 _. ], `/ F6 v" B) f
BC Repulse 25/14/10 % C, P( c1 b3 d1 N; q1 i7 G; k2 W" U5 i! d! Z" Y6 n8 M; O: ^6 V
CV Hornet 58/89/49 9 Y8 w4 u) Q8 m: N W. ~" b) J/ ^
DD Lamson 64/19/25 $ p8 }0 p! F! _; u7 N+ H－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－& S, C" |' X5 h; ], Q
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。 6 x) |# O( M2 A* S! D0 J6 j9 o6 ]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
