1945-Contin ued

in May of two CVEs with Marine Carrier Air Groups on

board marked the combat debut in Marine Air Support

earners.

Task Force 57 (Vice Admiral H. B. Rawlings, RN), a

British task force built around four carriers equipped

with armored flight decks, operated south of Okinawa

(26 Mar-20 Apr and 3-25 May), from which position it

neutralized airfields on Sakishima Gunto and Formosa,

and intercepted air raids headed for the assault area.

Subject to frequent suicide attacks, all four carriers

took hits in the course of their action, but all remained

operational.

Patrol squadrons of Fleet Air Wing I, based on sea-

plane tenders at Kerama Retto, conducted long-range

antishipping search over the East China Sea to protect

assault forces from enemy surface force interference,

flew antisubmarine patrols in the immediate area, and

provided air-sea rescue services for carrier operations

from D minus I day to the end of the campaign.

Army and Marine Corps troops landed on the west-

ern shores (I Apr) against light opposition, established

a firm beachhead, and captured Yontan airfield the

same day. Supporting shore-based air moved in

behind the landings led by the OY-I spotting planes

(3 Apr). As ground opposition stiffened, Marine Corps

elements of the Tactical Air Force began local air

defense patrols (7 Apr) and shortly started their close

air support mission. A Navy landplane patrol squadron

joined forces ashore (22 Apr) and extended the range

of seaplane search operations, and an Army fighter

squadron began operations from Ie Shima (13 May).

Strong Japanese air opposition developed (6 Apr) in

the first of a series of mass suicide attacks involving

some 400 aircraft. In seven mass raids, interspersed

with smaller scattered ones, during the critical period

(6 Apr-28 May), the Japanese expended some 1,500

aircraft, principally against naval forces supporting the

campaign. In the three month's struggle against the

humanly guided missiles of the Kamikaze force, the

U.S. Navy took the heaviest punishment in its history.

Although Task Force 58 lost no carriers during the

campaign, one light and eight heavy carriers were hit:

Enterprise, Intrepid, Yorktown (18 Mar), Franklin,

Wasp (19 Mar), San Jacinto (6 Apr), Hancock (7 Apr)

Enterprise, Essex, (II Apr) Intrepid (16 Apr) Bunker

Hill (II May), and Enterprise (14 May). Three escort

carriers of Task Force 52, Wake Island (3 Apr),

Sangamon (4 May), and Natoma Bay (6 Jun), were

also damaged.

Opposition from Japanese naval surface forces was

brief and ineffective. A task force made up of Yamato,

the world's largest battleship, one light cruiser, and

eight destroyers, took part in what was to be the last

UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

151

sortie by the Japanese Navy and was beaten decisively

by carrier aircraft in the Battle of the East China Sea (7

Apr). Only four Japanese destroyers survived the

encounter.

Carrier air support was on a larger and more exten-

sive scale than any previous amphibious campaign.

Fast and escort carrier planes flew over 40,000 action

sorties, destroyed 2,516 enemy aircraft, and blasted

enemy positions with 8,500 tons of bombs and 50,000

rockets. Marine Corps squadrons ashore destroyed

another 506 Japanese aircraft and expended 1,800 tons

of bombs and 15,865 rockets on close air support mis-

sions. Task Force 58's time on the line (18 Mar-IO Jun)

was surpassed by the escort carriers (24 Mar-2I Jun),

but of several records for continuous operations in an

active combat area that were marked up by the carri-

ers during the campaign, the most outstanding was

logged by Essex, with 79 consecutive days.

21 March The development of a rocket-powered

surface-to-air guided missile, was initiated as the

Bureau of Aeronautics awarded a contract for 100

experimental Larks to the Ranger Engine Division of

Fairchild.

26 March Commander, Fleet Air Wing I, based on

Hamlin, arrived at Kerama Retto to direct the opera-

tions of patrol squadrons assigned to support the

assault and capture of Okinawa.

14 April Commander, Fleet Air Wing 10, arrived at

Puerto Princessa, Palawan, to direct patrol plane oper-

ations against the shipping in the South China Sea and

along the Indo-China coast.

23 April PB4Ys of Patrol Bombing Squadron 109

launched two Bat glide bombs against the enemy

shipping in Balikpapan Harbor, Borneo, in the first

Bat, WWII automatic homing Navy missile 701606