South Pac : G) o N$ r; x' T/ ]/ ^
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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. ( @6 X; v+ m/ n# ?, y, a5 R. J1 [' _# h; o
My planes attacked first. / p6 F6 R1 F8 N; q, `9 r; ]
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! & N( R% R. x0 SAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. 0 J" k% y3 @6 B& C! p) b4 {Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down... 9 K9 r! i3 \1 v1 _) u: {" G& F' N* N
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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. $ B5 ?* Z4 ?1 {
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. 8 o g0 K7 b- xCV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. ! W8 L* l9 B4 P7 Z% B
9 r% Z) e) [7 `. a" {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. 4 x% r/ n9 d2 i$ L G1 B' eCV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. 0 Y4 _+ l% T* L# Z ' ?' Z4 C; ^, i9 |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. ! D1 J9 Z# M4 Q" x. D# ?) a! T: h7 x0 n$ A0 B; O5 k Q# L& `
It’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. 2 @' j% u( _9 X9 y% H7 ^' O) C% W8 Z$ v2 n1 T6 @& `
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. ) S4 o+ g/ K |9 W
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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. 1 ^7 E1 [& `, T. [$ k ^; P
2 |) h6 m1 U1 o# D4 a: n( ?; R4 IThe third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. 9 j& T, g2 g$ H: {+ q0 W. m
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. 5 K3 i. B+ ]. J/ JI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. 9 c# U" p2 Z& {2 a
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20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. 0 f! C- y0 G0 P( Q
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. * @2 ~! P( L- C5 s. z9 v# m
4 ]" r1 \1 Y, Q" }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. 2 Q% G0 ~8 E9 g: d7 i% G, g; k: ^" }. X h) s# B
All this happened in the morning!! ' \9 U# P3 n9 o9 Z9 Z, J7 W
( N" C. z6 W4 }' |* g2 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. 5 Y: J( p p5 s: d" e9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. 6 _, f7 H" M1 e# e3 s
2 V- ]7 W7 ?4 z' iThen, 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. - l1 n5 i0 y8 z( g; i/ f' G 4 M7 V' m: b; J3 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. / S R8 K h4 m
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. , f3 I3 j% D r7 K' m F# e& g2 p3 u$ H' g; D9 n* ?( 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. 4 \5 z4 j4 @% n; N( O5 x* F# ^6 D$ g, h
During this terrible day, this are the air losses. " d7 c/ T! \+ q# f1 g3 l
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89 Kate + p9 J U! B( o/ J2 h4 M: I1 _60 Val - |' v2 f8 B; l7 @& S39 Zero - o& R4 f4 L3 r' a8 h$ m9 ^7 [
