Okinawan Fleet Air War 1945 -Corsairs

Been trying to get a handle on Okinawa invasion campaign in 1945 and the use of US carrier planes, especially as its the major event for carrier based Corsairs! The British even had a carrier fleet nearby and they used Corsairs on their smaller 18,000t carriers!

The Corsairs are mostly written about in the ground attack and kamikaze intercept role, but they must have had some traditional air combat there?

You might want to drop the message to some of the members here - eg. syscom3 and barret (Tillman) - in order to have them contribute here.

Thanks I wanted a lead where to start there is access to a ridiculous number of books these days with the internet. Corsair: The F4U in World War II and Korea Paperback – January 15, 2014 by Barrett Tillman (Author) may be what I need

taly01 said:

Been trying to get a handle on Okinawa invasion campaign in 1945 and the use of US carrier planes, especially as its the major event for carrier based Corsairs! The British even had a carrier fleet nearby and they used Corsairs on their smaller 18,000t carriers!

The Corsairs are mostly written about in the ground attack and kamikaze intercept role, but they must have had some traditional air combat there?

Click to expand...

There are a couple of books that I have in my garage somewhere about the RN and FAA in WW2. Written in the eighties. Can't find them on google though. What about: British Pacific Fleet - Wikipedia

Operation Iceberg began, actually, with carrier strikes on Kyushu beginning on 18 March 1945 and lasted through 21 June 1945 and included action around Okinawa and additional strikes on the Japanese home islands.

Credits to F4U squadrons operating of fleet carriers during the period were 317.5:

Bunker Hill (CV-17)
VF-84 total: 61.5
A6M 10.0
B6N 0.5
C6N 1.0
D3A 6.0
D4Y 3.0
E13A 1.0
G4M 2.0
Ki-27 21.0
Ki-32 1.0
Ki-43 2.0
Ki-44 1.0
Ki-51 1.0
Ki-61 2.0
Ki-84 5.0
N1K 2.0
P1Y 3.0

Essex (CV-9)
VBF-83 total: 85.0
A6M 40.0
B5N 1.0
C6N 3.0
D3A 10.0
D4Y 6.0
E13A 2.0
J2M 2.0
K5Y 1.0
Ki-43 7.0
Ki-45 1.0
Ki-51 1.0
Ki-61 2.0
Ki-84 6.0
N1K 1.0
P1Y 2.0

Franklin (CV-13)
VF-5 total: 14.0
A6M 9.0
D4Y 3.0
Ki-43 1.0
Ki-44 1.0

Hancock (CV-19)
VBF-6 14.0
A6M 7.0
C6N 2.0
D3A 2.0
D4Y 2.0
Ki-45 1.0

Intrepid (CV-11)
VF-10 total: 80.0
A6M 28.0
B6N 2.0
D3A 18.0
D4Y 2.0
G4M 8.0
J2M 1.0
Ki-27 17.0
Ki-45 2.0
Ki-61 2.0
VBF-10 total: 16.0
A6M 8.0
C6N 1.0
D3A 1.0
D4Y 1.0
Ki-43 1.0
Ki-44 2.0
Ki-61 1.0
N1K 1.0

Shangri-La (CV-38)
VF-85 total: 34.0
A6M 14.0
B6N 1.0
D4Y 1.0
F1M 3.0
J2M 1.0
K5Y 5.0
Ki-43 2.0
Ki-45 3.0
Ki-84 4.0
VBF-85 total: 6.0
A6M 1.0
B6N 1.0
Ki-51 1.0
Ki-61 3.0

Wasp (CV-18)
VBF-86 total: 6.0
C6N 3.0
G4M 2.0
Ki-49 1.0

Bennington (CV-20)
VMF-112 or VMF-123 total: 1.0
Ki-44 0.5
C6N 0.5

Thanks looks like A6M Zero, D3A Vals and alot of Ki-27 Nates! made up the bulk, the Nates must have been Kamikazes or misidentified Val or even more interesting the Ki-79 trainer, that they made 1300 of (a ki-27 with a lower powered 500hp radial was pressed into action sometimes in 1945!)

I found a list of the sorties the Japanese made, I think this is only "kamikaze" attacks on the fleet, 1465 sorties is alot given the state of their air force in 4/1945, but I think the number of allied carrier sorties each week was in the 1000's.

The airfields I added to this map were used by the US, i think any JP use of the Okinawan airbases was near impossible by 4/1945?

Details on F4U credits can, for the most part, be ferreted out with a lot of cross checking report reading, the right books (probably Frank Olynyk's USN credits work is the best place to start, that's where a lot of this comes from) and some judicious sorting of various of my spread sheets, for example, VF-10 A6M credits:

• On 3-29-1945 at approx 1500 ENS Horace Walker Heath (378553) USNR was credited with downing 1 A6M near 31-30N,131-50E
• On 3-29-1945 at approx 1500 LTJG Philip Leroy Kirkwood (250908) USNR was credited with downing 2 A6M near 31-30N,131-50E
• On 3-29-1945 at approx 1500 ENS Frederick Eugene Meyer (379162) USNR was credited with downing 1 A6M near 31-30N,131-50E
• On 3-29-1945 at approx 1500 ENS Norwald Richard Quiel (379181) USNR was credited with downing 1 A6M near 31-30N,131-50E
• On 3-29-1945 at approx 1500 LT John Sweeny (100107) USN was credited with downing 1 A6M near 31-30N,131-50E
• On 4-11-1945 at approx 1430 LTJG James Harris Dudley (250787) USNR was credited with downing 1 A6M near 27-15N,129-50E
• On 4-11-1945 at approx 1430 LT Frank Marion Jackson (102064) USNR was credited with downing 1 A6M near 27-15N,129-50E
• On 4-11-1945 at approx 1430 1st LT George A Krumm (O-024751) USMCR (TAD) was credited with downing 1 A6M near 27-15N,129-50E
• On 4-12-1945 at approx 1415 LTJG Lester Eric Gray Jr (173780) USNR was credited with downing 2 A6M near Tokuno A/F
• On 4-12-1945 at approx 1415 ENS Jack Lynn Twedell (382633) USNR was credited with downing 1 A6M near Tokuno A/F
• On 4-12-1945 at approx 1430 LT Frank Marion Jackson (102064) USNR was credited with downing 1 A6M northwest of Okinawa
• On 4-12-1945 at approx 1430 1st LT George A Krumm (O-024751) USMCR (TAD) was credited with downing 2 A6M north and northwest of Okinawa
• On 4-12-1945 at approx 1430 2nd LT Hugh F Newell (O-032781) USMCR (TAD) was credited with downing 2 A6M north and northwest of Okinawa
• On 4-12-1945 at approx 1430 ENS Thomas Winston Tucker (378598) USNR was credited with downing 1 A6M northwest of Okinawa
• On 4-14-1945 at approx 1715 ENS Edgar L Mills Jr (378394) USNR was credited with downing 1 A6M over Tokuno A/F
• On 4-16-1945 between 0730 - 0930 LCDR Walter Edward Clarke (81770) USNR was credited with downing 1 A6M northwest of Okinawa
• On 4-16-1945 between 0730 - 0930 LTJG Charles Davis Farmer (299323) USNR was credited with downing 3 A6M northwest of Okinawa
• On 4-16-1945 between 0730 - 0930 ENS Ray Lester James (414271) USNR was credited with downing 1 A6M northwest of Okinawa
• On 4-16-1945 at approx 0922 ENS Charles John Schlag (382862) USNR was credited with downing 0.5 A6M 10 to 20 mi southeast of Kikai
• On 4-16-1945 at approx 0922 ENS Charles John Schlag (382862) USNR was credited with downing 0.5 A6M 10 to 20 mi southeast of Kikai
• On 4-16-1945 at approx 0922 LT George Thackray Weems (111656) USN was credited with downing 2 A6M 10 to 20 mi southwest of Kikai
• On 4-16-1945 at approx 0922 LT George Thackray Weems (111656) USN was credited with downing 0.5 A6M 10 to 20 mi southeast of Kikai
• On 4-16-1945 at approx 0922 LT George Thackray Weems (111656) USN was credited with downing 0.5 A6M 10 to 20 mi southeast of Kikai

But this is extremely tedious exercise as the data is not all in one place and the reports for some squadrons have exquisite detail and others are maddeningly vague.

For some of these credits in from the big list in the above post I am sure, someone has more data than I and can provide more info. Some folks specialize in ships, others in air groups and squadrons; my specialization is USN aviators, and the occasional USMC aviators assigned to USN squadrons, as in who were you and where were you? Some of the more units/activity orientated could probably fill in more blanks than I.

Sometimes, even here, there is a satisfying "ah ha!" moment. Note one LT Frank Marion Jackson. I'd seen his name before in a couple of VF-10 roster of officers. When cross checked against the July 1944 USNR Register of Officers, he showed up with a DV(G) designation, a qualifed deck watch officer, not an aviator. So, he never made it to my aviators list; USNR aviators in that register are, generally, designated AV(N), AV(T), AV(G), and the occasional AV(S)(09). But, there he is on the credits list, and the service numbers match between the roster and the register. And there he is when I manage to drag out the VF-10 squadron history . . . damn, missed him altogether. Therefore I can conclude that sometime after 31 Jul 1944, said LT Jackson completed flight training and was designated a naval aviator. If that occurred before November 1944, then his designation would have changed to AV(G), a reserve naval aviator who is qualified to stand deck watches on any ship. In November 1944 this designation changed to A3; meant the same thing. So, on my next go-around, at the end of the year, LT Jackson will be added to my "the great list of naval aviators" with as much of his service history as I can trace.

I wouldn't want to go through the entire exercise for all those squadrons/credits.

The most technically descriptive book I know of is "Kamikazes, Corsairs, and Picket Ships Okinawa, 1945" by Robin L. Rielly. The author even describes the various types of landing craft and support vessels modified into AAA platforms.

Thanks for the book hint, the integrated fleet defence system at Okinawa must be the result from the US experience of 4 years of carrier warfare, I bet there are some good papers written about it at US staff colleges.

Many Corsairs are pictured carrying drop tanks and rockets at Okinawa, I think they started carrying napalm in the fuel tanks, or was it just just raw fuel to drop? The rockets vs entrenced infantry probably wasn't very % useful but probably helped own sides moral!

There's a bit of info here: Task Force 57: The British Pacific Fleet

Not sure if it helps with what you want but it does talk about Corsair ops in the BPF.

One reason for the drop tanks was CAP loiter time. Though "interceptor" scramble and climb to altitude did happen, it wasn't the ideal tactical situation. The importance of the radar picket destroyers was well appreciated and they took a hammering in accordance. Being on the perimeter and isolated didn't help their situation. The further from the fleet that interceptions began, the more effective. Perhaps the Battle of Britten has some air defense parallels.

I get a kick out of the map inscription "Ie Shima Island", since "Shima" means Island. A little like Mt Fujiyama. Ie Shima is where Ernie Pyle was killed.

He he I guess calling an island Ie is a bit confusing in US/English i.e. I saw Japanese tourism webpage english version does called it Ie Island, Island looks like an air base dropped into the middle of the sea.