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. / L2 g. b, e- e4 g" h& u+ o g& h
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My planes attacked first.
6 o/ a8 e3 _# [ F- H9 H: aFirst 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!
+ Y0 h& s2 k! V" ~: J% Z; C. k XAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck. 5 m! S+ e! {- P$ @% [* J
Ah, by the way...No Zero shot down...
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7 C* Y% L2 A4 [2 A, {4 m# c3 E+ sThe 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.
, I3 W+ _9 q2 ^/ r/ T23 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.
' b2 u% N: S/ Y! X+ Q8 yCV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. / R! n' ]# B3 |, l$ Q: o* r
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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. % Y1 U* Y6 z9 a2 D
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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' L5 c( l' a5 P8 U3 j1 C3 [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.
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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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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.
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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. ) }7 s3 c) \1 \& @, 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.
0 t( U0 p( B# N9 |. M0 bI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates.
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) _" p% W- z; M4 c6 d- ~. A20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. ' Z3 Z# I( o! q: J; r
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps.
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1 q+ p5 O! O3 o; AFifth 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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5 A- h0 Z( q l- YAll this happened in the morning!! 5 N! @2 m$ n4 v$ }7 o
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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. 9 [6 ?/ s& D, d
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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, U' T' N- l9 A6 FThen, 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. ' h! ]0 C6 _9 V! ~2 K2 |
- z& K1 i4 t& b: e44 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 [4 |9 _/ w/ E
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. 8 I% i+ n D; ~& i5 g
: d; `8 x, Q/ hBefore 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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During this terrible day, this are the air losses. $ |: L2 \8 S2 {7 I5 q
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89 Kate 7 M* S2 {# U5 h" G+ U
60 Val * x" U, m8 f& j: }/ W8 {
39 Zero
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188 a/c
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126 SBD
+ G; w0 B- M. R* Y61 TBD
5 k8 [& j! R( w4 l, o19 Albacore
k) Y/ @0 U1 p: f' p3 ~0 P5 Sea Hurricane
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19 F4F-3
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The damages for my ships are the following:
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S+ G# G/ f, k' Y6 F0 B' |- d& i) TCV Formidable 50/69/38
1 J/ b/ N1 ], n# J# y$ VCV Indomitable 35/34/42
6 w2 {: L$ C* T; ^4 e% _BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 - q! D% t+ G% x; p" D7 f
BC Repulse 25/14/10
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CV Hornet 58/89/49
- b( }: z- _# V3 DDD Lamson 64/19/25 . R t6 E7 r( O. j- O
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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。- n8 P8 b |& M0 k5 U3 O
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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