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. # q( ~6 A2 p1 X$ c, `* e( _
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My planes attacked first.
; L3 n# _, j" {5 k" ~4 l5 |2 yFirst 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 c E) \1 [8 P, pAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck.
. X' u$ ~$ K' n) ]$ mAh, 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. 6 c+ D+ ^% Q9 A$ C
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. ( k7 ^ P t0 R- Z
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. $ e! ^9 V- n0 V. s0 o
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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.
: O" F/ B0 f1 n/ Q) t) ~CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. ; C' z$ @! w5 U8 Q8 h' L
% q* m c" z" J( \) ^" E7 n aThere 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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& a0 ^7 \( b( s3 N" X- iIt’s obvious that Chuck divided KB in at least 2 TFs. This decision saved the death star. 3 \1 X& Q% {3 _
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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.
, ?: ^, [) _8 J9 o$ K7 M$ ?2 N3 ]6 _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. 7 z) ~1 T+ j& ^& c# d$ a
I lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. 4 Q& |' ]) ^) \2 e
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20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. 4 q. I% t7 w$ p- p; E
3 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. 6 X8 V. A- s+ k& Y3 I
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All this happened in the morning!!
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) P$ l0 u0 U8 ?6 A1 j bIn 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. # Y2 Q# \3 K* _* {0 }
9 SBD and 2 TBD tried the same, and a SBD scored 1 1000 lbs – bomb on Akagi. 2 SBD and 1 TBD lost. ( I7 S9 _2 ]1 |7 n
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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. ' {; K7 V3 l7 Q5 g+ ~9 @0 V
6 F8 M4 d0 D: K44 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.
; b( r* c: t( o( _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.
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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.
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During this terrible day, this are the air losses.
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8 F4 ^7 ]* L. t4 v89 Kate
* [' f% l; d6 R60 Val 2 Q, w& Z5 W U9 a0 x, k j
39 Zero & X+ T3 \( ^+ H% o+ f, u |
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188 a/c
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126 SBD # T# m6 n2 Z8 C9 F
61 TBD
- e5 v3 K. B4 x19 Albacore
7 I3 W: P3 o- X3 e! X: S5 Sea Hurricane
$ q @; a# g- T; o0 l% q21 Fulmar ! c2 |+ M8 U/ L1 p% R5 K
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19 F4F-3
3 j* T P8 E9 r3 l' T24 F4F-4 2 O4 ?3 w/ K& R) g
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The damages for my ships are the following:
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1 q& f7 G5 _* @8 D( \) Q: s% ICV Formidable 50/69/38
( j, l! X' h4 w$ X; D4 |, QCV Indomitable 35/34/42
3 {, y4 [- ], r9 QBB Prince of Wales 35/6/14
! j! t: l" J2 Y- ^ F5 a, e8 nBC Repulse 25/14/10
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CV Hornet 58/89/49
' Q2 r6 o1 L1 x7 |# M8 R& F5 F- rDD Lamson 64/19/25 % u+ Z0 Y- h8 e* H
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$ t) c+ A8 `( K5 f7 W6 ^, B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。
: T5 O0 a( M: U' C1 u' v# Q. E! l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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