Convoy off Okinawa
Text: Jan Bobek
Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz
Cat. No. 82205
In mid-1944, the escort carrier USS Petrof Bay (CVE-80) embarked its combat unit, VC-76. A typical Composite Squadron (VC) could deploy up to thirty FM-2 Wildcat and Avenger aircraft. The USS Petrof Bay's combat history exemplifies the crucial role of escort carriers in the final year of the war. In September 1944, the carrier supported the landings on Peleliu Island, and during the Battle of Leyte in October 1944, it was among the first vessels to encounter Japanese Kamikaze tactics. During this historic battle, aviators from the USS Petrof Bay attacked a fleet that included the battleship Yamato, contributing to the sinking of several enemy warships in later phase of the battle.
By the spring of 1945, VC-76 had achieved a total of four confirmed victories. In March 1945, VC-93 replaced VC-76 as the combat unit aboard the USS Petrof Bay. Later that month, its airmen began participating in operations covering the landings on various islands around Okinawa. By mid-April, they played a key role in neutralizing airfields in the Sakishima Islands, from which Kamikaze attacks were also launched.
On April 1, 1945, as part of Operation Iceberg, American forces landed on Okinawa. In response, the Japanese command ordered large Kamikaze attacks on American vessels from April 6 to June 22, as part of IJN Operation Kikusui.
On the first day of Operation Kikusui I, which took place from April 6 to 11, the Japanese deployed approximately 300 Kamikaze aircraft in the target area. The U.S. Navy lost three destroyers and three other vessels, with ten additional ships sustaining damage. U.S. Navy airmen claimed 257 victories, while their U.S. Marine Corps counterparts claimed 18 more. However, quite a few Japanese aircraft managed to penetrate the fighter defenses and were subsequently shot down by anti-aircraft gunners.
For the four Wildcat pilots of VC-93, who took off at 1330 from the deck of the USS Petrof Bay, this was their first opportunity to engage the enemy. They were ordered to patrol over Ie Shima Island, west of Okinawa. The first victory was achieved by Lt. (jg) Foster, who shot down a D3A Val bomber attempting to attack an escort destroyer. Both the gunner and the pilot bailed out of the burning aircraft but did not survive. Lt. Myers then shot down a Zeke whose pilot was attempting to crash into a transport vessel. The following Zeke was credited to Lt. (jg) Tuttle. Another Val came under fire from Lt. (jg) Sherlock and crashed on Ie Shima Island. A few minutes later, Lt. Myers engaged another Zeke, flying head-on. Myers struck the enemy's engine and, utilizing the FM-2's characteristics, quickly positioned himself at the enemy's six o'clock, shooting it down. The last victory by this VC-93 division was highly dramatic and became the model for Piotr Forkasiewicz's box art. The unit diary describes it as follows:
“The division reformed and at 2500 feet altitude Lieut. Myers saw a Val leave the clouds at 5500 feet altitude, 12 o'clock, 500 feet distant, 180 knots, in a 45 degree glide onto a DD (Note: US Navy destroyer). At 2000 feet he was 500 feet to the rear of the Val, following in the glide, regardless of the intense anti-aircraft fire from the DD, and fired a three second burst which started smoke from the Val's engine. At 1000 feet and again at 500 feet altitude he fired from 100 feet behind the Val, at the port wing root. The wing exploded from the plane and the Val splashed about 50 feet from the DD”.
There were only three formations of Val bombers deployed on 6 April. The first belonged to Hachiman Gokō-tai No. 1, which was formed from part of the Usa Kōkūtai, the next formation was from Seitō-tai No. 1 (Hyakurihara Kōkūtai), and the last was called Kusanagi-tai No. 1 (Nagoya Kōkūtai). All three formations took off in succession from Kokubu Base No. 2 on Kyūshū Island. In the target area, where their mission was to attack supply convoys, 65 airmen from these units sacrificed their lives.
The most senior commander among the three above formations was Lieutenant Satoshi Kuwabara (NA 71, 1942) of Seitō-tai No. 1. He had served aboard the warships Nagato and Maya, and had been a member of the Hyakurihara Kōkūtai aviation cadre since mid-1943. He was posthumously promoted two steps to Lieutenant Commander.
A number of farewell letters from the airmen of these three units are available on the Kamikaze Images website. https://www.kamikazeimages.net/writings/ Hundreds of letters that have been published as part of this project show, in a careful analysis, that their main themes include impending death, farewell to family, filial devotion to parents or accomplishment of a mission. Hatred of the enemy, perhaps surprisingly to many readers, is found only in 25th place.