South Pac
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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. . E2 M+ U" Z1 Y) a
1 o3 W# u/ p6 I1 `My planes attacked first.
% H: \7 w& H9 u8 |0 B0 u! i; H) 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 m5 F- N* ]: q* BAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck.
8 W0 q0 v+ f1 w0 t' S# N$ t' UAh, by the way...No Zero shot down...
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4 {- q, ^) i5 e. I: W" s, Y: qThe 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.
$ ~+ M3 }8 J4 f: H23 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.
. O$ b( L( K8 b& @4 L; J- |4 OCV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. ) D- H9 \) i5 ]8 r7 c+ Y! [; |7 C
+ v% N* z4 W6 J9 a- p2 ~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. " U u, m, e2 g5 B9 z7 h7 ?2 M( r
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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( D( |, A, u2 C* X V+ EThere 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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It’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star.
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, o1 m: \7 I9 d1 XThen 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. 7 I7 I/ b: ^2 `
, X; O0 x+ i+ s! V% m7 B( I, A/ C- kThe 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.
, h6 z5 m* j+ D9 w, J. I' Z7 c JCV 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.
+ L$ Y! E4 n6 t8 B% ^5 VI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. : G6 i ?1 j1 X: J" p
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20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. $ [: X2 R) W, S0 v9 J
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. $ N! y D/ a# `
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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. ; W9 d+ Q; M0 G
- o( P" o8 P. [0 Y0 N7 M. `+ y) }All this happened in the morning!! + F2 e- W* Z. C+ P+ D5 N
: Q; h" r# A; d' |( U; e2 hIn 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.
& l, T' j+ @2 V8 W& ^9 I2 G4 m8 D9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. 2 d7 e. O4 p5 D
+ k, X) ]* o6 I- 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. : A5 |0 \9 G) h @0 }
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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. : [% K. d4 A; }( S
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. 6 C5 ~) o( K6 g3 `6 f4 `
( M9 [3 l/ a2 J" z- VBefore 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.
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2 ~0 i% ^, A: M7 n, BDuring this terrible day, this are the air losses. - ?, j+ k& {# V2 V7 F
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89 Kate & ?% Q, F" X) q1 N
60 Val
" ?5 e: S. d; ^. \9 u+ n39 Zero 7 }; x4 p6 b. z* r( K
6 q8 ~) C0 l2 O5 I5 f6 p188 a/c 9 V1 I3 d5 Z; s ?" ?& l
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& E. u/ `+ c% j5 B126 SBD
- \. i& D$ G6 V5 \+ G: ~) E. Z( Q61 TBD
3 g) G4 y6 T; s19 Albacore
2 V% b1 j7 Q1 a% ~5 Sea Hurricane
" d r% q. e+ K! I* Z# g21 Fulmar ( y; I0 m& Q/ [! w& B/ U
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19 F4F-3 3 J. |3 [! f' r5 u9 {+ k$ H( @. U" {
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# A v. m) x) R4 wThe damages for my ships are the following: 7 s- ^# D7 t* t( O: v: ]
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CV Formidable 50/69/38
/ a1 F9 ]/ \ k# QCV Indomitable 35/34/42
- G! @7 |/ {, w- lBB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
~$ O2 L( y7 l2 K& x; T- RBC Repulse 25/14/10 4 l. Z$ B9 N4 \ ]/ M# i. O
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CV Hornet 58/89/49 . {5 A* q9 j: m7 D- g$ K
DD Lamson 64/19/25 6 K8 d; {, i/ w e4 l
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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。
9 F2 R, t. C3 E$ r3 h) v, w S从战果上看,盟军的结果比我想象的好不少。而且还混编CV. |