South Pac * m# V" L5 `7 C( [! h9 J: Z+ v1 l1 n% U1 m
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. ( H6 `0 j/ X1 T5 [9 E# q! M+ w
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My planes attacked first. " T3 m, ^# A% \
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! d4 `4 D& e4 G, `Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. ) }! q% P% J: P$ g0 BAh, by the way...No Zero shot down... . \! w7 E* `: q% W$ D U0 R; R- X1 x
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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. 8 K- s: B8 K7 |4 C5 a2 r! j23 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. : Y& K) P! G" x! _7 M1 i
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. ! _9 v) h& |' a
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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. 2 m# V* A5 ~* r8 S: B% zCV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. 5 k9 h4 ^$ m) Y/ O* X& K
4 M9 ?$ h6 Z+ Y9 LThere 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. - ?' R' }" P/ `/ y' n, d7 f5 W) A: ~) l
It’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. 9 P$ @, n0 P" V3 L+ E4 e! p' Z
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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. / F. D4 X# Q% I) S8 v1 E% f
, \2 M6 g8 ?7 HThe 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. # o5 i! u3 N7 M4 X : U1 P* p f7 [4 d" U* V5 t5 |+ oThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. ! i) J- L6 o6 M7 M& V4 `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 V0 W1 E& y, ]- ^# j/ h! WI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. 4 B) l# U# `5 l5 V% B5 R% ?4 o, n$ @ + z+ q r6 m' z" `& Y, ]20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. ( ^: `$ U7 X4 P4 c+ V B4 ]& p
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. 7 t+ A. ?" H2 j$ P: d j! `; w- Z" N6 ]: j3 R% k+ L% j
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. . M: j9 A0 N' U$ B: b$ M z; J# ? * c! |% R* l5 F* }% FAll this happened in the morning!! 3 F! N! g5 I5 m! S 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. ) w$ q Q; P0 n9 z- w
9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. 0 e/ e+ `$ E: Q$ ? P4 t! T
) [4 t$ ]% P0 L# xThen, 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. & ]# p1 i k0 k & i9 Y6 I8 D2 A44 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. 8 Z L7 S& Y' v- f* [
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. 5 \$ ?. N Z! C 5 r% G! |' n. P5 v9 D2 y ABefore 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. # e& o) b' {3 u+ X- ? t$ B' o
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During this terrible day, this are the air losses. : i- c) t3 w4 h5 Z
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89 Kate + g% |! }" \! \$ w60 Val 7 v& }+ B6 H. k" j
39 Zero & u. b: R! z6 G: `* s3 b7 |) E z6 l3 Q2 q
188 a/c 0 r* Z2 b, V4 k4 H5 l/ z9 C5 o* @: c9 `- M8 {- n5 N" D
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126 SBD 6 }' L& A5 ~5 ?6 T6 r61 TBD " Q/ W% H# O, m' e3 h2 e1 [
19 Albacore 9 M$ G/ r, ^/ o# [5 Sea Hurricane 4 L3 p, ]# ~2 [6 N- _' Z
21 Fulmar / B1 y7 [: m8 w0 K0 Q8 v O
14 F2A 2 j x l8 j( d
19 F4F-3 3 ^; } m" `- ^0 X6 h
24 F4F-4 ( K0 k# b2 H3 B# T, N% o( R" a ! V+ a, `5 O( X7 i8 YThe damages for my ships are the following: 8 [# L& F: o% T* w
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CV Formidable 50/69/38 $ @7 H! e2 Y, j' _CV Indomitable 35/34/42 " j1 t" \' \+ w4 f4 @
BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 & @3 v6 M E) i3 G
BC Repulse 25/14/10 & V T7 S; @ B6 s
! K# C6 a( N) r" fCV Hornet 58/89/49 : F( T! e$ t, p( J @DD Lamson 64/19/25 1 j3 Y% r0 c: R3 R
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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。, N6 z0 `# X% p3 J/ L
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
