The result was the bloodiest battle in the war up to this point. Please forgive the wall of text, but I can’t take more out without losing content some readers might find interesting.
I guess at this point in the war it is to be expected that the Japanese Attack arrived first. This time the weather helped me, though:
Morning Air attack on TF, near Rossel Island at 106,135 DAY ONE
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Japanese aircraft
* A6M2 Zero x 41
* B5N2 Kate x 66
* D3A1 Val x 44
Allied aircraft
* F2A-3 Buffalo x 36
* F4F-3A Wildcat x 23
* F4F-3 Wildcat x 46
* F2A-3 Buffalo x 10
* F2A-3 Buffalo x 10
Japanese aircraft losses
* A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed
* B5N2 Kate: 15 destroyed, 7 damaged
* B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
* D3A1 Val: 13 destroyed, 8 damaged
* D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed by flak
Allied aircraft losses
* F2A-3 Buffalo: 2 destroyed
* F4F-3 Wildcat: 2 destroyed
* F2A-3 Buffalo: 1 destroyed
Allied Ships
* BC Chesapeake, Bomb hits 3
* CVL Jacksonville, Torpedo hits 1
* CV Enterprise
* CVL Charlotte, Bomb hits 1, on fire
The Enterprise was attacked, but not hit, which was a relief. The Chesapeake should be able to get back home without much trouble. The CLVs, on the other hand:
*** Fuel storage explosion on CVL Charlotte
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVL Charlotte
Then it was the Allies’ turn to Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war:
Morning Air attack on TF, near Rossel Island at 105,136 DAY 1
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Japanese aircraft
* A6M2 Zero x 43
Allied aircraft
* F4F-3A Wildcat x 22
* F4F-3 Wildcat x 44
* SB2U-3 Vindicator x 27
* SBD-3 Dauntless x 99
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
* F4F-3A Wildcat: 4 destroyed
* F4F-3 Wildcat: 6 destroyed
* SB2U-3 Vindicator: 1 damaged
* SBD-3 Dauntless: 7 damaged
* SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak
Japanese Ships
* CV Amagi, Bomb hits 2, on fire
* CVL Ryukaku, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
* BC Chichibu, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires
* BC Ishitaka, Bomb hits 7, on fire
* CVL Nisshin, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
* CA Suzuka, Bomb hits 1
* CL Tokoro, Bomb hits 1
* CA Niitaka, Bomb hits 1
* CV Akagi, Bomb hits 2
No Japanese CAP was destroyed, but at least Allied plane losses were lower than expected. However, damage to the IJN ships was considerable:
*** Ammo storage explosion on CVL Ryukaku
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVL Ryukaku
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BC Chichibu
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVL Nisshin
It was then the afternoon of the 27th, and the Allied seamen braced themselves for a second wave of attacks... which never came! The Allies did fly again, though:
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Rossel Island at 105,136 DAY ONE
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Japanese aircraft
* A6M2 Zero x 50
Allied aircraft
* F4F-3A Wildcat x 15
* F4F-3 Wildcat x 27
* SB2U-3 Vindicator x 27
* SBD-3 Dauntless x 98
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
* F4F-3A Wildcat: 2 destroyed
* F4F-3 Wildcat: 5 destroyed
* SB2U-3 Vindicator: 1 damaged
* SBD-3 Dauntless: 4 destroyed, 6 damaged
Japanese Ships
* BC Ishitaka, Bomb hits 3, on fire
* CV Amagi, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
* CV Akagi, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
* CVL Ryukaku, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
* DD Tanikaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire
* BC Chichibu, Bomb hits 1, on fire
* CA Niitaka, Bomb hits 1
* DD Kagero, Bomb hits 1, on fire
Once again, Japanese CAP does its job without losing any planes, but Allied losses are lower than expected. Damage to Japanese ships is, once again, considerable:
*** Fuel storage explosion on CV Akagi
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Akagi
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVL Ryukaku
*** Fuel storage explosion on CV Amagi
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Amagi
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BC Chichibu
And then, next day, the airstrikes continued. It was a one-sided battle:
Morning Air attack on TF, near Vangunu at 111,136 DAY TWO
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Japanese aircraft
* A6M2 Zero x 17
Allied aircraft
* F4F-3 Wildcat x 12
* SB2U-3 Vindicator x 27
* SBD-3 Dauntless x 18
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
* F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
* SB2U-3 Vindicator: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged
* SB2U-3 Vindicator: 1 destroyed by flak
* SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged
Japanese Ships
* BC Chichibu, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
* CV Akagi, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
* BC Ishitaka, Bomb hits 2
* DD Akebono, Bomb hits 1
There was CAP, so Akagi was not too damaged to begin with, but there were no other capital ships in the hex, so the previous day’s attacks must have hurt.
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Akagi
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BC Chichibu
Morning Air attack on TF, near Vangunu at 111,136 DAY TWO
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Japanese aircraft
* A6M2 Zero x 8
Allied aircraft
* F4F-3A Wildcat x 13
* F4F-3 Wildcat x 11
* SBD-3 Dauntless x 51
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
* F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
* SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 damaged
Japanese Ships
* BC Ishitaka, Bomb hits 12, on fire
* CV Akagi, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
Once again, Japanese naval fighter pilots prove their ability, but they are too few, and the USN bombers do their job.
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Akagi
Morning Air attack on TF, near Vangunu at 111,136 DAY TWO
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Japanese aircraft
* A6M2 Zero x 3
Allied aircraft
* SBD-3 Dauntless x 22
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
* SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged
Japanese Ships
* BC Ishitaka, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
* CV Akagi, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
* BC Chichibu, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
Once again there is CAP up, which means Akagi was not terribly damaged before the attack. But the USN bombers score some hits, though.
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BC Ishitaka
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Akagi
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BC Chichibu
And it continued in the afternoon:
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Vangunu at 111,136 DAY TWO
Weather in hex: Overcast
Allied aircraft
* F4F-3 Wildcat x 9
* SB2U-3 Vindicator x 18
* SBD-3 Dauntless x 17
Allied aircraft losses
* SB2U-3 Vindicator: 1 destroyed by flak
* SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 damaged
Japanese Ships
CL Tokoro, Bomb hits 1, on fire
Note that there was no CAP, and that only a CL was attacked.
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Vangunu at 111,136
Weather in hex: Overcast
Allied aircraft
* F4F-3A Wildcat x 12
* F4F-3 Wildcat x 11
* SBD-3 Dauntless x 52
Allied aircraft losses
* SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 damaged
Japanese Ships
* CL Tokoro, Bomb hits 1, on fire
* DD Hamakaze, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
* DD Kagero, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
* DD Urakaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire
Only a CL and DDs were attacked. Hopefuly, nothing larger is still afloat.
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CL Tokoro
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Hamakaze
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Kagero
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Urakaze
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Woodlark Island at 105,133
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Japanese aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 16
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 6 damaged
Japanese Ships
* CA Niitaka
* CA Suzuka
* CVL Ryukaku, and is sunk
*** Heavy smoke from fires obscuring a Japanese AV
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