. [3 Q$ |) z( s! Y: K7 Z! nEarly 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 |4 L1 }9 X0 H* Z( w0 R3 l/ Q* e) u n( s
My planes attacked first. - d+ ~% t+ p& Q+ p* eFirst 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! 1 l+ ]) `7 z5 C: G6 B5 ?Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. 7 t; W# g4 t. u
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down... 9 T/ J3 z( N" }- \. S+ i % G' X" X. ^6 }, M( f3 B; wThe 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. ! X7 U, n3 t& R5 n5 I* P! @
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. ) x5 d0 Z" r8 q m4 p5 kCV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. 1 ^, l6 G$ c, F* T: n# y4 T; K- q+ e2 b' \) I+ ]
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. ; a+ x0 f9 i. s7 WCV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. & b5 I/ n5 j {( S5 m& }% K5 g9 [; J# W% X$ ?5 j
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. 9 v/ X/ x8 y2 g& ~9 b; B' w
5 p# k; {8 ?+ M' X
It’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. * a1 E( ^/ X2 P1 X8 y0 y6 w. M8 d+ T
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. 8 e( G# F$ i% r
9 S1 l" Z3 `$ n0 H) n, }$ M3 [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. 6 y( I: O3 d! F- z & ^1 \" s) }( X$ i8 |' bThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. 8 N; z$ ~8 H& Z+ ]) d6 I0 K) c" V( bCV 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. 7 Z& g* n; ~. E8 r i7 E
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. 6 D9 [. O( X/ o6 Z # k. G9 L8 L! H' ?. \* T20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. . T! D; N& Q8 ^' r, o4 D, v9 W; }7 f3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. ) F0 g" A Q3 s( v
' f2 n5 c( n2 o5 v# e! B
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. ! w1 P9 [ X ^6 N0 D# `2 x' f: O! T
All this happened in the morning!! / @) [/ g& y2 g$ _ 9 {6 Z+ e e& L! pIn 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. 5 g z9 y# a. k9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. ' H! n' {. [- ~" ]- g2 `9 E# d1 c' k# m+ C* \% W2 h- `* s
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 W* ^/ j4 R4 [7 x, _5 E
6 F" E1 N) z2 e$ 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. 7 I- w( ?$ V8 F, N! [+ N
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. ! ~3 |# w/ Y$ T5 r/ _3 H* }" G$ N, `+ i* s' A l& T
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. * ~. g# C; q6 r' o) k / l! `% i1 x c& N1 kDuring this terrible day, this are the air losses. ; ]' Y, I0 L+ C$ e1 A% n
7 x0 O9 \( S, D
89 Kate + m, Y+ [: W4 _* U, h# b% c
60 Val 6 u, j7 [8 f; f& u+ k
39 Zero ! u, F; p5 c4 W) O8 z8 [
5 j- E$ f$ |" T4 t3 ?9 S
188 a/c 4 N$ B9 K( B$ K# A X
9 c9 o0 g$ q' j- d' r
+ M0 c6 e( F# M: ~4 Y% m126 SBD 4 W ?6 s$ R/ J) z; I" K
61 TBD / I& ?( v. y" v! g* ]19 Albacore $ D8 v% T6 Q8 H2 r, l( {+ v5 Sea Hurricane 4 g2 n. t5 m" p: H21 Fulmar ! @0 s0 ~; {! B8 p
14 F2A 2 Q* O3 V! b- F6 o8 f' H
19 F4F-3 b @( Q7 p; C# G24 F4F-4 / G' M+ {7 H) @( M# ], U; c8 S7 Q( D, `. i
The damages for my ships are the following: 4 t, C$ A) O7 q8 {5 z2 e% F) H
" t5 j3 X$ X |, QCV Formidable 50/69/38 6 q/ y% C9 E0 t' FCV Indomitable 35/34/42 & b- U ]# |! X3 E
BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 , C* j1 F# }5 D3 ^4 n
BC Repulse 25/14/10 . \' x( ?) b |2 O6 j6 a8 _2 S 0 M, A |& G( c pCV Hornet 58/89/49 _) D8 l6 N5 `" }9 E6 `DD Lamson 64/19/25 - j' X* j+ I9 B0 R( L* s2 M t－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ * N" @( p1 a _- p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。1 v9 C4 l; K5 y1 A
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
