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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.
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My planes attacked first. 6 w& {: T5 F- r7 ?) y# Y0 Q7 q0 e
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! 3 Z/ J: X; u/ S. \6 |
Another 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. : o. @ \5 Y; T4 M
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down...
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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.
& O5 {0 u1 n& x6 l" f: w& w23 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.
. r; D7 N. \- i p% UCV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo.
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7 m5 ]- F0 \3 mThe 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. | U( [, x% o
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each.
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7 W- E, C, s9 E- hThere 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.
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5 d! c) x- v) z. i( m- GIt’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star.
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3 }8 x, @1 Y8 Y* z0 H# N# 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. - c$ l7 l5 \! K" [0 O, j
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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.
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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.
1 R* f! E+ I& _; n2 t# aCV 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. 3 _, Z# ^$ U) C! M' q i) C# K' n9 v
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. ' m: k- r4 `. ^$ Z9 S0 ^8 B; `2 r
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20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them.
1 v$ h' E& E: O4 M# L7 n3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps.
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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.
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% a+ H: q0 h; r3 C2 [All this happened in the morning!! ( w, Q9 L' v8 u* D# k* G" L) v
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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. 2 j) J1 @ M" N; @
9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost.
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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.
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( U; ?* Q( v2 n44 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. & e$ _9 n& s+ y0 x) R: {
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. ( N7 X9 e, f, R0 p* _
/ V" _& d* G: cBefore 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. $ W. [* F1 b. t/ l3 u$ K
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During this terrible day, this are the air losses.
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2 {6 @1 B; x; R$ b89 Kate # j( Q Q5 Q' j( a
60 Val / Z$ F2 r& f: o# F, Y+ Y
39 Zero ) f* X h, {" D4 U/ o/ D
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188 a/c
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126 SBD
3 Y0 \; t/ S% z& e2 @$ U61 TBD
4 Q k5 x8 `* F, B: F- F1 A% Z19 Albacore 8 [% q+ x+ ^4 J6 \5 g/ m! E
5 Sea Hurricane / H H2 ?: c _, ^( h9 L7 J5 H6 _: j
21 Fulmar
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19 F4F-3
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% ]- n0 ~2 w/ U, Y8 W$ SThe damages for my ships are the following:
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CV Formidable 50/69/38
% r! \( w7 R9 t; c, O: q+ J& mCV Indomitable 35/34/42
4 i0 o3 Z* [1 K* n5 m/ W% |* j. EBB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 5 g& V+ ~+ M: i3 F7 c
BC Repulse 25/14/10
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CV Hornet 58/89/49
5 [5 N3 T9 \" l# Z8 G2 z5 i8 gDD Lamson 64/19/25 : W- ^4 `8 ]( d7 }7 T
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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。
, i, }# P! l$ b, Z从战果上看，盟军的结果比我想象的好不少。而且还混编CV. |
发表于 2007-8-29 11:42
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