From 26 March through 20 April 1945, a portion of the British Pacific Fleet, designated Task Force 57, conducted operations in support of Operation Iceberg, the invasion of Okinawa.

 From 26 March through 20 April 1945, a portion of the British Pacific Fleet, designated Task Force 57, conducted operations in support of Operation Iceberg, the invasion of Okinawa. 

During this time, the task force carried out a series of air strikes utilising the aircraft carriers Illustrious, Indomitable, Victorious, Indefatigable and Formidable against Japanese airfields and other military targets in the Sakishima Gunto Island Group and Formosa. 

The purpose of this was to protect the southern flank of the American Fifth Fleet, which operated directly against Okinawa. This proved to be redundant and taxing duty for the British aircrews as they saw little appreciable benefit for their efforts as they repeatedly bombed and incapacitated the Japanese airfields during the day only to have the Japanese repair them at night.

 Similarly, the fleet operated under the strain of the Kamikaze threat with some of the British aircraft carriers having been hit, although none was seriously damaged.

On 4 May Task Force 57 renewed offensive operations against the Sakishima Gunto following a week-long replenishment and refit period in San Pedro Bay in the Philippines.

 In addition to their normal programme of air strikes, the British commemorated their return to action by conducting a fleet bombardment against the island of Miyako. During this bombardment the battleships King George V and Howe, five cruisers and six destroyers fired some 200 tons of heavy-calibre shells against Japanese positions on the island. 

In the absence of these heavy warships, the Japanese launched a series of air attacks against the exposed British aircraft carriers. British fighters and anti-aircraft fire destroyed 12 of these attackers, but two Kamikazes got through to score hits on the aircraft carriers Formidable and Indomitable.

 Five days later the fleet underwent another Kamikaze attack that scored hits on Formidable and Victorious. These attacks destroyed large numbers of aircraft on the flight decks but failed to significantly damage any of the British carriers. 

Finally, on the 18th Formidable experienced an accidental hanger fire that further exacerbated British losses by destroying 30 aircraft.

Despite these adversities, Task Force 57 successfully remained on station and continued its interdiction efforts against Sakishima Gunto.

 In all, the British carried out strikes on 11 separate days in May. These strikes helped neutralise Japanese resistance in the area, and aerial opposition soon waned. In fact, during the fleet’s last eight strike days following the 9 May Kamikaze attack, the British encountered minimal opposition and only managed to locate and destroy a handful of Japanese aircraft in the air or on the ground. 

Nevertheless, the British continued their cratering efforts against the regional Japanese airfields while concurrently carrying out attacks against local Japanese shipping and other targets of opportunity. 

On 25 May Admiral Raymond Spruance, the commander of the American Fifth Fleet, released Task Force 57 from operational status, and the fleet departed for Sydney. Meanwhile, heavy ground fighting continued on Okinawa, and it wasn’t until 22 June that American authorities finally declared the island secure.

The results attained by Task Force 57 during Operation Iceberg will be covered in a future post. Pictured here is the British aircraft carrier Formidable entering Sydney Harbour after the war. At the time, the carrier still bore the blackened funnel that was the result of a Kamikaze hit sustained during Operation Iceberg.

 Nick-D at English Wikipedia, public domain. Also pictured are bombs bursting on a runway during a British attack on a Japanese airfield in the Sakishima Gunto in May 1945. Unidentified Royal Navy photographer, public domain. 

For more information on this and other related topics, see Forgotten War, the British Empire and Commonwealth’s Epic Struggle Against Imperial Japan, 1941-1945.