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.
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My planes attacked first. " u( ^# m% \" N8 m3 ?- ~$ |
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!
: {) }2 H- X" J" n4 DAnother 1000 lbs-bomb hit CV Soryu and exploded beneath the deck.
5 W: n: V- o! ~8 z; X& c+ \0 _+ \# eAh, by the way...No Zero shot down... " f* S; I }! V6 d2 ^3 ^6 e
) t5 L$ C) _; u& yThe 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.
2 P3 v4 N& f/ r23 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. 9 P3 u$ y, X1 ?, O6 r6 I& y# v9 F
CV Shokaku received 11 bombs, while CV Zuikaku received 9 bombs and 1 torpedo. a: z" ]" U J$ e5 R
% l3 [; F* L6 m) F" BThe 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. / s, q; b8 y1 g3 u8 q" \# K
CV Shokaku received 4 more bombs, CV Zuikaku 2 bombs, while CA Aoba and Kinugasa have been hit by 1 bomb each. . D7 q/ m0 ]( t: X& X
r! }* q/ [' \; a" y2 DThere 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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( K g8 o& o+ d$ YThen 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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% D5 k+ M; }* n/ ?The third massive wave, composed by 61 Val, 78 Kate and 37 Zero, easily escaped from my 81 fighters on CAP.
/ I0 F4 _0 ]7 M4 Y2 o+ DCV 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.
4 I; c+ \, a0 aI lost 15 fighters, while japs lost 10 Zeros, 6 Vals and 9 Kates. - e$ r& h2 n1 p
; r, O& ~; n) `( u20 Kate and 6 Zero formed the fourth wave. 65 fighters were on CAP, but were unable to stop them. 6 R6 A( P8 f0 B1 V" n. h
3 Kate and 6 of my fighters shot down. CV Enterprise took 2 more torps. 5 o* q9 R$ v0 S$ K7 J9 o
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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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5 W! Z$ a3 A2 }! q5 aAll this happened in the morning!! . p& ?4 m* l/ A) V9 h
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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.
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# m0 D# s# L. l; ~7 \* ~4 _ O8 lThen, 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. 4 i9 f/ C8 w8 e7 b" \- i+ f7 I
\- ^3 o8 c; B# L8 p. L0 m! S44 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. # E7 R: _& Z3 M) v) ?
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. * D, r/ Y$ g3 ~3 z
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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. + d+ h( W/ K+ u4 b
! O0 O# X$ K% { ] V; P% q; ?During this terrible day, this are the air losses.
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8 A/ ]& t' |' |( t( ^# C89 Kate 2 X% b$ w, q: Q `( o8 g/ g
60 Val ! `' w. @2 i: @9 O" T8 W; b6 z
39 Zero " I5 ~! @; P$ y! }
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188 a/c 5 `, v( [( P; i4 p, I% E" c
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1 j9 i3 f; q: ?: [" T" T z126 SBD
( Y% W* u0 E( m# Z6 [61 TBD # t/ b2 j7 x4 R
19 Albacore
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14 F2A
# L' I8 K6 M! ]+ W# m19 F4F-3 5 E ^" v5 Q/ U- j
24 F4F-4
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The damages for my ships are the following: , A" w2 e+ s6 j( B, _
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CV Formidable 50/69/38
- X5 f( ~& \2 [+ @ z% V! Y2 t( ]; BCV Indomitable 35/34/42
) o; ]8 p4 O, Q: }1 x$ n2 CBB Prince of Wales 35/6/14 # B9 t7 V+ \# I6 _: g
BC Repulse 25/14/10 ! C% ^7 J5 R$ L* l0 t4 Q
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CV Hornet 58/89/49 5 ~- _- K5 V+ d
DD Lamson 64/19/25
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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。
1 O$ |6 R; C# X) _, b$ y/ @% R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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