South Pac
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* U; J$ h) U% s. T$ R/ b PEarly 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. / x5 C# M e; ?2 o6 t, n
& d; Y; g! x- b/ d7 z" A6 v0 S0 pMy planes attacked first.
4 l: \* K6 p o pFirst 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!
) t4 F O6 l% DAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck.
' C4 A, ^0 M( ~* J, EAh, by the way...No Zero shot down... ( F1 ~4 m/ w2 ^ h, t' N
$ ~7 V: x( p5 j) F- t0 l4 nThe 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. 5 U5 a/ G5 ~- C- v% b
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. # N% P! K* e' p4 E2 u T5 R
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo.
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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.
+ }% v$ V+ s4 PCV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. & D: y$ m# }! \" a+ G1 E5 s* p
: r) k) W0 R3 r7 [# 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. 4 A. n1 @/ [5 j/ \/ o
) c1 z7 P7 N$ U& FIt’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. 8 u. f9 \$ [3 H9 z% W/ s
4 d4 y% d" ^! b! q w JThen 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. $ \ H1 a1 x. f
1 I u" ^, U5 Z; [/ ]- X- LThe 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. / z' \1 J' B G0 Y
$ B% l j d& ^The third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP. * z, @7 f1 a( R8 d2 c
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. - z% ?0 R$ d" a8 y t; ?* [
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. 3 b5 U2 S7 b: ^% t, O. n
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20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them.
$ m2 {" e9 @" [1 I3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. 9 q/ d+ Z- B' d" \
) T* g8 G5 d+ j# J5 c1 Y) n8 uFifth 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. ; X' b: U+ ^9 {- D8 u1 U& u
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All this happened in the morning!! ! i( [; K7 s3 y9 h( 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.
/ i+ b4 ?2 t- D# Q9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. , s H& T; C' B9 I( W4 y
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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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4 j* {$ R6 g" D1 t% @3 U44 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. # F# F( m7 b" b; K
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. + P% K6 m& y# z/ L/ f9 P
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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. 2 T$ e* |9 m! P5 ?4 s, i
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During this terrible day, this are the air losses. 9 J% g+ c0 ^. T% w, q* g2 S4 Z
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89 Kate
. c: M, W% `: Q- [60 Val , X( A9 O4 x5 j7 d
39 Zero 9 q8 ?7 o( w1 v2 I1 \3 w7 H
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188 a/c : ]# p3 ^9 K( H$ P
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% u: J" c& T& ?. v6 i* i; ? ^ y126 SBD
6 W# l/ }: ]# }61 TBD
$ p1 x) K$ F; j19 Albacore
8 i# j6 v- g- A0 B8 c8 }7 Q5 Sea Hurricane
* b6 \# H2 A. I9 o6 {21 Fulmar # _, ]5 V# d1 G. ?
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19 F4F-3 8 U; K0 n3 X, p! {! u) n% Z
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% w! O9 z5 I. a) d/ VThe damages for my ships are the following: 0 M- p6 w+ X1 w- G) [. m' ], F" @3 J: g
, j9 I; K' B/ a. [0 yCV Formidable 50/69/38
' y, {5 \3 C8 @CV Indomitable 35/34/42
1 n6 l+ N! }1 |9 S1 _BB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 4 Y7 V6 v2 k9 o) D
BC Repulse 25/14/10
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& `7 z9 g9 g& x& _7 P' b! _+ `CV Hornet 58/89/49 8 N* m+ y7 [7 x" ?
DD Lamson 64/19/25 " A y& I) _4 z
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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, N7 ~3 Z. ]: v
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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