est 2nd. Lt. King's F4F runs out of gas and lands right next to Santa Isabel. The plane is almost intact. After King is collected by Kuper, Kuper hauls the plane onto the beach. He tells H. a serviceable F4F is on the beach waiting to be picked up. 34 years later, Kuper was still waiting for it to be picked up.
Yura is in bad shape, she tries to beach herself on Fara Island. SBDx4, P-39x4 F4Fx3 attack. Then B-17x6 bomb her - Yura is on fire!
est Yamamoto's urging works, Nagumo turns S. again. He's upset because he knows he'll be spotted by PBYs/B17s and the USN CVs are ghosts! Around this time the USN CVs are heading towards Nagumo but neither side knows this.
est Submarine Amberjack arrives at Tulagi with 9,000 gallons of AvGas. (part 2 of the Amberjack story)
CL Yura abandoned. Escort DDs torp her. (picture from 1938) As CL Yura is bombed to smithereens, coastwatcher Kuper and his rescued air crew watch the show from 7 miles away.
During today's air combat over H., IJN lost about 14 or 22 or 27 Zeros and Bettys - depending on which book you read! Marines lost 3 F4Fs - all pilots saved. "Enemy fighter planes were over Cactus at irregular intervals throughout the daylight hours. ... Our Grummans were almost continuously in the air, landing, refueling, reloading and taking off again time after time." - Geiger
H. started the day with 35 working F4Fs. H. is down to 12 flyable F4Fs (23 more need repair), SBDx11 and P-39/400x6. However... Rabaul is *spent*. In the last 2 weeks they've lost 25 Bettys and 18 zeros. There will be *no more* large raids against H.
est The Ent strike lands about an hour after sunset 1 F4F seems to run out of fuel and is lost. 6 other planes run out of fuel and ditch. Over the course of the day, the USN CVs lost 11 planes and 1 pilot due to various reasons.
(Bloody Ridge) As the IJA approach US lines the usual trash talk is exchanged. J: Blood for the Emperor! Marines: Blood for Eleanor! --- Marines: Tojo eat shit! J: Babe Ruth eat shit!
IJA attack Bloody Ridge. This time, both wings are able to attack at once. Groups of 30-200, backed up by LMGs, attack over and over. Nasu leads the attack. He's so weakened by malaria that he has to use his sword as a cane. He's machine-gunned as soon as he gets to the barbed wire. So is almost every other officer in the attack down to company level within the first few minutes.
est The attack is most intense at the juncture between the Marine and Army positions. IJA are met by 37mm AT firing canister, MGs from both battalions, 100s of riflemen firing '03s and M1s, cases and cases of hand grenades.
est Col. Furumiya and 8 others from the 29th break through and enter the rear area! Furumiya turns around and tries to order more men through the breach. It's already closed. The 9 find a place to hide.
est The first wave leaves 250 dead J. in front of the wire after the attack breaks. There are more attacks all through the night. Each weaker than the last. US reinforcements are alerted but they don't have to be moved in.
Guadalcanal 72 Years On
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kham
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Re: Guadalcanal 72 Years On
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Re: Guadalcanal 72 Years On
est Commander John Crommelin gives a pep talk to Enterprise pilots. (starting with "This may be the beginning of a great battle")
Yamamoto gives orders to Guadalcanal Support Force
IJA does a probing attack at hill 67.
A B-17 is over Nagumo's CVs.
Kondo adds to Yamamoto's order. Tells pilots that weather and enemy planes shall not allow them to break off searches. Kondo says there is a great likelihood of ... DECISIVE ACTION tomorrow. (**
at what point do you just become complete parody? This comic opera is even funnier, when you consider these RETARDS were persisting with this mindset right through into 1945 - and I dont mean January....)
est Another attack on Hill 67. This time battalion sized supported with snipers and artillery. The attack is repulsed with difficulty.
est The attack at Bloody Ridge is broken. 2 nights of attacks leave over 3,000 dead or dying J. on the ground in front of Marine lines. The IJA gives up the attack. General Nasu dies.
A Black Cat PBY flies a Radar Guided Torpedo attack* against DD Isokaze (Vanguard group). *(first one of the war for USN) The pilot concentrates so hard on making a perfect attack that he gets too close to the DD and the torpedo is too close to arm! On the other hand, Black Cat PBYs can now do radar guided torpedo attacks at night. Pretty scary for IJN ships that don't even have radar! Many (all?) of the PBYs searching at night carry radar.
A PBY spots part of the IJN armada N. of Santa Cruz islands. 2 Black Cat PBYs try to bomb CV Zuikaku. They each JUST MISS with their 500 pound bombs! Zuikaku gets splashed - it was that close. Here's rare film of Nagumo on the bridge during the attack! (Not Really... but its likely close
Considering what happened to him at Midway, his paranoia meter likely went sproing a long time back, and he shouldn't be commanding Kido Butai Mk II at all...)
Yamamoto gives orders to Guadalcanal Support Force
IJA does a probing attack at hill 67.
A B-17 is over Nagumo's CVs.
Kondo adds to Yamamoto's order. Tells pilots that weather and enemy planes shall not allow them to break off searches. Kondo says there is a great likelihood of ... DECISIVE ACTION tomorrow. (**
at what point do you just become complete parody? This comic opera is even funnier, when you consider these RETARDS were persisting with this mindset right through into 1945 - and I dont mean January....)est Another attack on Hill 67. This time battalion sized supported with snipers and artillery. The attack is repulsed with difficulty.
est The attack at Bloody Ridge is broken. 2 nights of attacks leave over 3,000 dead or dying J. on the ground in front of Marine lines. The IJA gives up the attack. General Nasu dies.
A Black Cat PBY flies a Radar Guided Torpedo attack* against DD Isokaze (Vanguard group). *(first one of the war for USN) The pilot concentrates so hard on making a perfect attack that he gets too close to the DD and the torpedo is too close to arm! On the other hand, Black Cat PBYs can now do radar guided torpedo attacks at night. Pretty scary for IJN ships that don't even have radar! Many (all?) of the PBYs searching at night carry radar.
A PBY spots part of the IJN armada N. of Santa Cruz islands. 2 Black Cat PBYs try to bomb CV Zuikaku. They each JUST MISS with their 500 pound bombs! Zuikaku gets splashed - it was that close. Here's rare film of Nagumo on the bridge during the attack! (Not Really... but its likely close
Considering what happened to him at Midway, his paranoia meter likely went sproing a long time back, and he shouldn't be commanding Kido Butai Mk II at all...)You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
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kham
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Re: Guadalcanal 72 Years On
MAJOR Assault on Hill 67! Col. Oka goes all out. Most of it falls on one company. It barely holds on thanks to some reinforcements that show up just in time. Mitchell Paige is another one of those elite machine gunners. Paige is at Hill 67. Here's his account Account of the Defense of Henderson Field, October 24, 1942
Medal of Honor quality fighting! (**Mitchell Paige IS GI Joe...his likeness was used....)
IJN CVs are within 250 miles of H. Nagumo orders an emergency turn to the N. They zip along at 28 mph. (**Ah, if we only had half those ImpStars... )
It's Map Time! I'm not showing the typical map with coded lines showing the path of each TF. It's confusing and doesn't help to understand the battle as I present it. All you really need is the general area - as shown here.
Medal of Honor quality fighting! (**Mitchell Paige IS GI Joe...his likeness was used....)
IJN CVs are within 250 miles of H. Nagumo orders an emergency turn to the N. They zip along at 28 mph. (**Ah, if we only had half those ImpStars...
)It's Map Time! I'm not showing the typical map with coded lines showing the path of each TF. It's confusing and doesn't help to understand the battle as I present it. All you really need is the general area - as shown here.
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Re: Guadalcanal 72 Years On
est One group of IJA break past hill 67. They move near the Marine 7th Regt. HQ. The HQ staff keep quiet and the IJA move on.
est Kincaid Ponders
est PBYs have intermittent contact with Nagumo's CVs throughout the night. Kondo's TF turns N. to stay in position relative to Nagumo. PBY spots CVL Zuiho (in same group as Zui/Sho) It takes *2 hours* for this report to reach Kincaid. Kincaid likely would have launched a night attack if he had gotten the report - since he had prepared for one. The PBY is low on fuel and can't shadow. USN loses track of IJN CVs.
F4Fx4 prepare for a 1-way pre-emptive strike before dawn. All their .50 cal ammo will be incendiary tracer rounds. They'll strafe the decks of the IJN CVs, presumably filled with planes full of fuel and bombs, and then fly away until they're out of fuel. There were plenty of volunteers and, since the PBYs were doing a good job of shadowing, it seemed like they'd find the carriers. The mission is cancelled without explanation.
It's dawn and everything starts to happen all at once! Halsey to Kincaid: "Attack. Repeat, Attack."
Maruyama's attack on bloody ridge is over. IJA remnants retreat into the jungle. Sendai Division is combat ineffective now. Col. Furumiya, still wandering around behind Marine lines, burns the regimental colors and commits suicide. Marines estimate 2,200 J. dead. They count 1,500 bodies in front of their positions on Bloody Ridge. Total IJA casualties S. of H. are around 3,500. US losses over the 2 nights S. of H. were 90 killed and 200 injured. Spirit and Machine Guns beat Spirit. --- "The Butchers of Nanking are now the Butchered of Guadalcanal" - Carmichael, "The 90 days"
Early in August Marines looked at the terrain S. of H. and decided it was unsuitable for offensive operations. They were right.
est MEANWHILE on Hill 67. IJA have occupied most of the defensive line they were attacking last night.
Lt. Paulos' PBY, 500 miles out of Espiritu Santo, spots a float plane fighter being launched from a J. sub! The recon PBYs left earlier than usual today - otherwise that fighter would have been in a good position to ambush a PBY. The IJN will play every trick in the book today. They've brought their "A" game!
est After launching search planes, Nagumo steers his CVs South.
est Kincaid Ponders
est PBYs have intermittent contact with Nagumo's CVs throughout the night. Kondo's TF turns N. to stay in position relative to Nagumo. PBY spots CVL Zuiho (in same group as Zui/Sho) It takes *2 hours* for this report to reach Kincaid. Kincaid likely would have launched a night attack if he had gotten the report - since he had prepared for one. The PBY is low on fuel and can't shadow. USN loses track of IJN CVs.
F4Fx4 prepare for a 1-way pre-emptive strike before dawn. All their .50 cal ammo will be incendiary tracer rounds. They'll strafe the decks of the IJN CVs, presumably filled with planes full of fuel and bombs, and then fly away until they're out of fuel. There were plenty of volunteers and, since the PBYs were doing a good job of shadowing, it seemed like they'd find the carriers. The mission is cancelled without explanation.
It's dawn and everything starts to happen all at once! Halsey to Kincaid: "Attack. Repeat, Attack."
Maruyama's attack on bloody ridge is over. IJA remnants retreat into the jungle. Sendai Division is combat ineffective now. Col. Furumiya, still wandering around behind Marine lines, burns the regimental colors and commits suicide. Marines estimate 2,200 J. dead. They count 1,500 bodies in front of their positions on Bloody Ridge. Total IJA casualties S. of H. are around 3,500. US losses over the 2 nights S. of H. were 90 killed and 200 injured. Spirit and Machine Guns beat Spirit. --- "The Butchers of Nanking are now the Butchered of Guadalcanal" - Carmichael, "The 90 days"
Early in August Marines looked at the terrain S. of H. and decided it was unsuitable for offensive operations. They were right.
est MEANWHILE on Hill 67. IJA have occupied most of the defensive line they were attacking last night.
Lt. Paulos' PBY, 500 miles out of Espiritu Santo, spots a float plane fighter being launched from a J. sub! The recon PBYs left earlier than usual today - otherwise that fighter would have been in a good position to ambush a PBY. The IJN will play every trick in the book today. They've brought their "A" game!
est After launching search planes, Nagumo steers his CVs South.
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kham
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Re: Guadalcanal 72 Years On
IJN: It Is Time! *Unleash The Mountain Snake!* IJN have set up the Shuai-Jan for today's battle. Wut?
Ent launches 16 search SBDs Recon SBDs work in pairs. Each carries a 500 pound bomb. SBDs on a strike usually have a 1,000 pound bomb. After they leave... THEN Kincaid gets the report on Zuijo's locatino from 2 hours ago.
est The weather out where the CVs are is good. Occasional rain showers.
Paulos, in his PBY, spots a large group of warships - including CVs! After sending the report, he lingers - trying to get a better count. His sighting report is *not* immediately forwarded to Kincaid. The IJN and USN CVs are about 200 miles apart. IJN is W. of USN.
est Coastwatcher Josselyn takes his broken radio to the missionary Silvester. Silvester is also a coastwatcher but has no radio. He sends his reports by canoe.
est Do you recall the hell march to Kokumbona Kawaguchi's men made last month after they lost the Battle of Bloody Ridge? It's happening again. 100s of Maruyama's men will die on the way back to Kokumbona.
Recon SBDs (Welch/McCraw) are flying W of Ent. They see a Kate flying 3 miles E. heading directly towards Ent/Hornet. They keep doing their recon. Conceivably, one or both could have attacked the Kate but that would leave a gap in the recon pattern. There was no policy in place about what to do.
Lt. Birney Strong is flying one of the recon SBDs. He is Pissed And Has Something To Prove. He was one of the pilots who spotted Ryujo at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. When he returned, his commander blew his stack because Strong didn't try to bomb Ryujo. (attack with recon SBD up to the pilot's judgement) He, essentially, called him a coward. There was no formal punishment but Strong was confined to his quarters for a few days. Birney Strong is Pissed and has Something To Prove.
Welch/McCraw spot ships! They use clouds to sneak closer and maneuver so that the sun blinds lookouts. Welch reports BBx2, DDx7 (the Vanguard group)
J. Recon plane spots the Hornet's TF!
After an hour, Paulos and his PBY leaves.
Ent launches 16 search SBDs Recon SBDs work in pairs. Each carries a 500 pound bomb. SBDs on a strike usually have a 1,000 pound bomb. After they leave... THEN Kincaid gets the report on Zuijo's locatino from 2 hours ago.
est The weather out where the CVs are is good. Occasional rain showers.
Paulos, in his PBY, spots a large group of warships - including CVs! After sending the report, he lingers - trying to get a better count. His sighting report is *not* immediately forwarded to Kincaid. The IJN and USN CVs are about 200 miles apart. IJN is W. of USN.
est Coastwatcher Josselyn takes his broken radio to the missionary Silvester. Silvester is also a coastwatcher but has no radio. He sends his reports by canoe.
est Do you recall the hell march to Kokumbona Kawaguchi's men made last month after they lost the Battle of Bloody Ridge? It's happening again. 100s of Maruyama's men will die on the way back to Kokumbona.
Recon SBDs (Welch/McCraw) are flying W of Ent. They see a Kate flying 3 miles E. heading directly towards Ent/Hornet. They keep doing their recon. Conceivably, one or both could have attacked the Kate but that would leave a gap in the recon pattern. There was no policy in place about what to do.
Lt. Birney Strong is flying one of the recon SBDs. He is Pissed And Has Something To Prove. He was one of the pilots who spotted Ryujo at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. When he returned, his commander blew his stack because Strong didn't try to bomb Ryujo. (attack with recon SBD up to the pilot's judgement) He, essentially, called him a coward. There was no formal punishment but Strong was confined to his quarters for a few days. Birney Strong is Pissed and has Something To Prove.
Welch/McCraw spot ships! They use clouds to sneak closer and maneuver so that the sun blinds lookouts. Welch reports BBx2, DDx7 (the Vanguard group)
J. Recon plane spots the Hornet's TF!
After an hour, Paulos and his PBY leaves.
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Re: Guadalcanal 72 Years On
est Lt. Birney Strong hears Welch's report. He does the math. Strong has *just* enough fuel to climb to attack height, fly over, bomb a Battleship and return. He goes for it. Recon SBDs of Lee/Johnson have gone their full 200 miles outleg ... they can see ships 35 miles ahead!
Same J. recon plane as 20 minutes ago: "Large enemy unit sighted. One Carrier, 5 other vessels"
Lee/Johnson get to within 15 miles... they see 2 CVs!! The CVs are launching planes. They report the position 4 times in 4 minutes. Enterprise doesn't hear them - other SBDs do and head that way for some hot Dive Bomber on Carrier action! Nagumo gets the sighting report from 8 minutes ago. He orders a strike!
Mamoru Seki, flying a Val, is strike commander. He will lead 22 Vals, 18 Kates and 27 Zeros.
est Lee/Johnson are climbing to make an attack. 7 Zeros intercept.
En route to his BB bombing, Strong hears Lee/Johnson's report. CVs trump BBs, and they're 50 miles closer! Strong wants one - BAD.
est Burnett/Miller heard Welch's report from 32 minutes ago. They attack based on that. Deliver 2 near-misses to CA Tone. (Vanguard group)
est Lee and Johnson play hide and seek in the clouds with the 4 Zeros for a few minutes. Then they turn back towards Enterprise.
The IJN is running like a Seiko watch today - it takes only 12 minutes for the 67 plane strike to get airborne (from Shokaku) IJN immediately gets to work preparing a second strike. Junyo, 40-50 miles further away, prepares a 29 plane strike.
est CV Junyo is about 330 miles from US CVs. Junyo charges after them - the course change and speed increase is so sudden it takes her escorts an hour to catch up. Amazing since Junyo (like Hiyo) has a reputation as an under-powered ship. (converted ocean liner)
Same J. recon plane as 20 minutes ago: "Large enemy unit sighted. One Carrier, 5 other vessels"
Lee/Johnson get to within 15 miles... they see 2 CVs!! The CVs are launching planes. They report the position 4 times in 4 minutes. Enterprise doesn't hear them - other SBDs do and head that way for some hot Dive Bomber on Carrier action! Nagumo gets the sighting report from 8 minutes ago. He orders a strike!
Mamoru Seki, flying a Val, is strike commander. He will lead 22 Vals, 18 Kates and 27 Zeros.
est Lee/Johnson are climbing to make an attack. 7 Zeros intercept.
En route to his BB bombing, Strong hears Lee/Johnson's report. CVs trump BBs, and they're 50 miles closer! Strong wants one - BAD.
est Burnett/Miller heard Welch's report from 32 minutes ago. They attack based on that. Deliver 2 near-misses to CA Tone. (Vanguard group)
est Lee and Johnson play hide and seek in the clouds with the 4 Zeros for a few minutes. Then they turn back towards Enterprise.
The IJN is running like a Seiko watch today - it takes only 12 minutes for the 67 plane strike to get airborne (from Shokaku) IJN immediately gets to work preparing a second strike. Junyo, 40-50 miles further away, prepares a 29 plane strike.
est CV Junyo is about 330 miles from US CVs. Junyo charges after them - the course change and speed increase is so sudden it takes her escorts an hour to catch up. Amazing since Junyo (like Hiyo) has a reputation as an under-powered ship. (converted ocean liner)
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Re: Guadalcanal 72 Years On
est Strong/Irvine spot Shokaku and Zuijo. They ninja from cloud to cloud to set up their attack.
est Ward/Carmody were 90 miles away when they heard Lee/Johnson's report. They charge in!
est Strong/Irvine continue to stalk Shokaku/Zuiho. They are not bothered by Zeros. The Zeros are off dueling with Ward/Carmody. Strong and Irvine pull off their sneak attack from 14,000 feet! They think they're diving on Shokaku (it is Zuiho)
Hornet launches SBDx15, TBFx6, F4Fx8 with Gus Widhelm as strike commander (in an SBD)
There's almost no AA opposing Strong/Irvine. Bombs released at 2,000 ft. ... HIT!!! ANOTHER HIT!! Zuiho takes 2 on her rear flight deck! Strong/Irvine use the speed from their dive to make a quick getaway. Zuiho's damage isn't too bad. She will soon be able to launch planes but can't land any. She has a 50 ft long gash in her flight deck.
Strong's commander, who confined him to quarters before, writes him up for a Navy Cross - and Strong gets it.
est Ward/Carmody were 90 miles away when they heard Lee/Johnson's report. They charge in!
est Strong/Irvine continue to stalk Shokaku/Zuiho. They are not bothered by Zeros. The Zeros are off dueling with Ward/Carmody. Strong and Irvine pull off their sneak attack from 14,000 feet! They think they're diving on Shokaku (it is Zuiho)
Hornet launches SBDx15, TBFx6, F4Fx8 with Gus Widhelm as strike commander (in an SBD)
There's almost no AA opposing Strong/Irvine. Bombs released at 2,000 ft. ... HIT!!! ANOTHER HIT!! Zuiho takes 2 on her rear flight deck! Strong/Irvine use the speed from their dive to make a quick getaway. Zuiho's damage isn't too bad. She will soon be able to launch planes but can't land any. She has a 50 ft long gash in her flight deck.
Strong's commander, who confined him to quarters before, writes him up for a Navy Cross - and Strong gets it.
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Re: Guadalcanal 72 Years On
est A Lucky break near start of battle (don't know what time) J. recon planes crashed into Hornet and DD Smith.
A code book is recovered from one of those planes and transferred to the RIU on Enterprise. Major Holcomb exploits this tactical level codebook for the rest of the battle.
Enterprise launches her strike. SBDx3, TBFx7, F4Fx8. A small strike - Ent used most of her bombers for search and ASW this morning. Commander Gaines is strike commander in the special long range TBF, packed with radios. Hornet sends 2nd strike. SBDx9, TBFx8 (with bombs), F4Fx7
The USN strikes are a mess. Each strike used whatever planes were handy. Due to the extreme range, no attempt was made to link Hornet and Ent strikes. Each strike was spread out over several miles. (If the first launched planes wait they waste fuel - don't want to do that on a long range strike) Being spread out makes it hard to coordinate an attack and the F4Fs can't protect everybody.
est Widhelm's strike (Hornet) meets the incoming J. strike!
est Widhelm radios Hornet with a warning about the incoming strike. The Enterprise strike doesn't hear this message.
The 2nd strike lauches from Zui/Sho. 12 Kates, 20 Vals, 16 Zeros. As they approach the USN TF they will separate into two waves. A Kate wave and a Val wave. Hornet gets Widhelm's message about the incoming J. strike.
est IJN strike runs into the Enterprise strike!
A code book is recovered from one of those planes and transferred to the RIU on Enterprise. Major Holcomb exploits this tactical level codebook for the rest of the battle.
Enterprise launches her strike. SBDx3, TBFx7, F4Fx8. A small strike - Ent used most of her bombers for search and ASW this morning. Commander Gaines is strike commander in the special long range TBF, packed with radios. Hornet sends 2nd strike. SBDx9, TBFx8 (with bombs), F4Fx7
The USN strikes are a mess. Each strike used whatever planes were handy. Due to the extreme range, no attempt was made to link Hornet and Ent strikes. Each strike was spread out over several miles. (If the first launched planes wait they waste fuel - don't want to do that on a long range strike) Being spread out makes it hard to coordinate an attack and the F4Fs can't protect everybody.
est Widhelm's strike (Hornet) meets the incoming J. strike!
est Widhelm radios Hornet with a warning about the incoming strike. The Enterprise strike doesn't hear this message.
The 2nd strike lauches from Zui/Sho. 12 Kates, 20 Vals, 16 Zeros. As they approach the USN TF they will separate into two waves. A Kate wave and a Val wave. Hornet gets Widhelm's message about the incoming J. strike.
est IJN strike runs into the Enterprise strike!
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Re: Guadalcanal 72 Years On
est After launching the 2nd strike, Nagumo turns his CVs NW - heading away from the USN CVs and their strike.
Hornet's radar sees the incoming J. strike - 55 miles away. Hornet and Enterprise are about 10 miles apart. There are 38 F4Fs either in the air or ready for immediate launch. Since J. are flying inbound on same course as outbound USN strikes it was hard for radar to tell them apart until they got this close.
On Hornet: Sailors are about to close the steel shutters on the Flag bridge (where Admiral Murray is). Murray: Leave them open, I want to see the show too. (Murray is in charge of the Hornet's TF - not in charge of Hornet.)
J. strike is 34 miles away. Enterprise moves under a convenient rain squall. The fighter director on Ent is in charge of the F4Fs. For reasons too long to tweet, he fouls it up. (**CIC is still not executed properly; the fighter-direction channel is cluttered, not enough channels for different squadrons; bearings were given in relative to ship, rather than true vectors - this alone would utterly fuck things up, especially when the pilots can't see the damn boat!)
J. pilots can see Hornet! Good for Ent's safety but a problem for fighter control since directions are based on Ent's location. And now the F4F's can't see Ent! (**La)
Nagumo's TF gets 6 more Zeros up for CAP . They are fully committed to the attack - very little defense.
The F4Fs are patrolling at 12,000 ft.
est (Hornet) Capt. Mason (to gunnery officer): Commence firing on any target in sight.
est CV Junyo launches her first strike. 18 Vals, 12 Zeros led by Masao Yamaguchi
est Just as at Eastern Solomons, the radio net collapses ...
est Those 8 F4Fs shoot down 3-5 Vals, 2 Kates and 2 Zeros for the loss of 1 F4F.
Those 2 Kates were shot down as they began their attack run by Ens. Wrenn. (had to chase 'em)
There's a lot of AA in the air over the USN TF (Hornet pictured)
(Hornet) Capt. Mason wants to evade dive bomber attacks with violent turns.
The J. strike leader, Mamoru Seki in his Val, starts his attack dive on Hornet. After the J. formation splits, few F4Fs other than the first 8 are able to catch them before they attack. 2 more Vals and Kates down.
Hornet's radar sees the incoming J. strike - 55 miles away. Hornet and Enterprise are about 10 miles apart. There are 38 F4Fs either in the air or ready for immediate launch. Since J. are flying inbound on same course as outbound USN strikes it was hard for radar to tell them apart until they got this close.
On Hornet: Sailors are about to close the steel shutters on the Flag bridge (where Admiral Murray is). Murray: Leave them open, I want to see the show too. (Murray is in charge of the Hornet's TF - not in charge of Hornet.)
J. strike is 34 miles away. Enterprise moves under a convenient rain squall. The fighter director on Ent is in charge of the F4Fs. For reasons too long to tweet, he fouls it up. (**CIC is still not executed properly; the fighter-direction channel is cluttered, not enough channels for different squadrons; bearings were given in relative to ship, rather than true vectors - this alone would utterly fuck things up, especially when the pilots can't see the damn boat!)
J. pilots can see Hornet! Good for Ent's safety but a problem for fighter control since directions are based on Ent's location. And now the F4F's can't see Ent! (**La)
Nagumo's TF gets 6 more Zeros up for CAP . They are fully committed to the attack - very little defense.
The F4Fs are patrolling at 12,000 ft.
est (Hornet) Capt. Mason (to gunnery officer): Commence firing on any target in sight.
est CV Junyo launches her first strike. 18 Vals, 12 Zeros led by Masao Yamaguchi
est Just as at Eastern Solomons, the radio net collapses ...
est Those 8 F4Fs shoot down 3-5 Vals, 2 Kates and 2 Zeros for the loss of 1 F4F.
Those 2 Kates were shot down as they began their attack run by Ens. Wrenn. (had to chase 'em)
There's a lot of AA in the air over the USN TF (Hornet pictured)
(Hornet) Capt. Mason wants to evade dive bomber attacks with violent turns.
The J. strike leader, Mamoru Seki in his Val, starts his attack dive on Hornet. After the J. formation splits, few F4Fs other than the first 8 are able to catch them before they attack. 2 more Vals and Kates down.
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kham
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Re: Guadalcanal 72 Years On
Mamoru Seki is killed by AA on the way down.
After the J. formation splits, Lt. Bliss catches up with a Val.
The 3rd Val to attack Hornet... HITS!
Seki's Val crashes into Hornet! (photo shows moment of impact)
3rd Bomb hits Hornet! Another armor piercing - blows up on 3rd deck. A "lucky" hit in that nothing critical was damaged. Seki's Val crashes into Hornet! (painting by Tom Lea)
After the J. formation splits, Lt. Bliss catches up with a Val.
The 3rd Val to attack Hornet... HITS!
Seki's Val crashes into Hornet! (photo shows moment of impact)
3rd Bomb hits Hornet! Another armor piercing - blows up on 3rd deck. A "lucky" hit in that nothing critical was damaged. Seki's Val crashes into Hornet! (painting by Tom Lea)
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
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