Having all but swept the Japanese Imperial Navy from the vast expanse of
the Pacific Ocean, the Allied forces stood on the brink of invading the
Japanese Home Islands. The launching pad for the invasion was to be the
island of Okinawa. Amid the terrible slaughter and the shocking casualty
statistics of the U.S. Tenth Army and the U.S. Marines, as well as the
unrelenting defiance of the Japanese defenders so often detailed in the
many books on the battle, the vital part played by the Allied navies in
transporting, landing, and supporting the ground offensive is all too
often overlooked. The naval forces involved included the U.S. Task Force
58 and the British Pacific Fleet composed of ships from the Royal
Australian Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, and the Royal New Zealand Navy
which together with those of the Royal Navy constituted the most
powerful fleet Britain had ever put together. The total firepower of the
Allied force was staggering, consisting of 18 battleships, 27 cruisers,
177 destroyers/destroyer escorts, 11 fleet carriers, 6 light carriers
and 22 escort carriers and various support and troop transport ships.
Pitted against this formidable array was the Japanese Combined Fleet,
with just one super battleship, one light cruiser and eight destroyers.
But the Japanese had one other fearful weapon - the kamikaze. The
resultant battle saw the Japanese fleet wiped out, but the Allies lost
twenty-four support vessels and a further 386 ships were damaged - many
at the hands of the kamikaze pilots. After the fighting the Admiralty
called for a summary of the battle to be written for internal Royal Navy
consumption. It is that secret report, which it was never intended would
be seen by the public, that is published here for the first time.
