1275psi
Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005 Status: offline
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29/4/43 We again awaken to grey and sodden skies, another front. The speakers blare "yesterday allied air forces from Lunga attacked the battleship Kirishima in a dusk air attack. Our land based Jack and army based Tony fighters provided air escort it is claimed 11 corsairs and 7 bombers shot down for the loss of 16 of our own fighters The BB was hit, but suffered only minor damage. that is all" So the enemy is going to stand and fight! The convoy is here, and the sea is covered with ships, a huge formation, covering the full 60 miles around us. more news as the day crawls on, The kirishima has engaged some PT boats at lunga, inflicting some losses, for no damage sustained. No enemy ships about, so the task force commander is going to set max CAP when the weather clears The alarm sounds -to our planes!!!!! I have survived. We, all 3 have survived! 237 AM3a and 54 AM3 on patrol, spread over 120 miles of sky. One imagines a huge air battle -but it is not like that -with so many planes, so much sky, one cannot hope to see all that is happeneing The word comes over the radio -enemy planes approach -30 bombers, 40 odd escorts i am at 16000 feet, and the sky suddenly sprouts black streaks of falling planes some 2 miles away -black darts swooping down , and the school -our fighters scatter ahead of them Throttle to the wall, Hori leading, banno to his left, I to his right. The rest of A-11 daitai are with us. Gull winged shapes flash past -they are so, so fast!!! We turn, hard, hard, to follow, and they are already gone! their speed is amazing. ****!, this will be difficult! 2 burning, shattering zeros plunge past as we try to engage more sharks plunging down onto us, I sense some of our planes going down! I hang onto Hori! as we invert -and we fire together at a flashing target -it smokes -not only are they fast -these gull winged monsters are tough! A pause -on the horizon all around us -dozens of small combats, the sharks are not in close contact with their bombers -in fact non are to be seen, they must mean to blast a path through us. Another cry, another 3 corsairs are coming our way, we turn -guns chatter, I do not duck as they flash past. A huge bang as something strikes me behind my head, , I pull instinctively and turn hard, for the second time in my life i see eye to eye the man trying to kill me. Where is Hori! There-firing -the corsairs do go down! We form a ragged formation, 100 plus zeros circling the fleet, the enemy come again 2 corsairs dive straight into the circle!, and zeros fall. But we fight back -and this time, this time surely my guns get a kill! the guns shudder empty. I wing down, and land quickly on the 1st deck i find - shokaka. The crew are not cheering as usual -the guns are tense, and the men are frantic as I sit and wait for the fuel and bullets. All around the skies are dark with smoke trails of falling fighters. I take off again -how glad I am to be away from the target of so much effort! Only by chance do I see another A-11 daitai fighter. I join him Its ENS kiru? I think -I do not know our ace very well Bombers attacking At least the zero climbs so quickly -we see them sliding in . The zero ahead dives -and I follow, keeping him covered. 1, 2, 3 dauntless go down. And then the sky is clear in our area. I see nagato -hello brother! -a wite circle behind her in the ocean -some one missed the battle wagon. I am totally exhausted as we land. the tension eases quickly, we have suffered, but as the sun sets, we have done our job - De briefing -dissapointment -i am NOT credited with a kill. Our daitai has lost 7 planes, and have 2 damaged -I have a hole the size of a fist through the back of my canopy! Today our fleet lost 71 AM3a, 25 AM3, and shot down 30 corsairs, 30 dive bombers, 13 beufighters, and some 9 hudsons. The battle is not finished! The enemy carriers are passing Ponape -rushing south to save Lunga I think our Admiral will risk all tomorrow As dark falls, all the battlewagons detach -tonight Lunga will be closed, the convoy must reach tassafronga untouched! We swing north So few escorts, and we are so short of fuel, Kaga rolls so unstaedily! Matsuyama is grim the brief is simple -Admiral Herebiesan has stated -"the objective is simple -we must protect the convoy, the battlewagons. 30% CAP -tomorrow we attack" Intelligence from ponape states that only 1 CV load of planes attacked them! Maybe, just maybe Herbiesan has caught the enemy by surprise! We refuse to believe the allied threats of a blood bath -lunga will be retaken! Again kagas decks and hangers ring to the sounds of planes being prepared for attack . I swear -I will give my life for my kate companions -if they can get through! Banzia!
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