F4U Corsair pa Okinawa Gawo 2
Corsair Navy-312 "Chess" ndi khalidwe chessboard kwa gulu ili pa chivundikiro injini ndi chiwongolero; Kadena, April 1945
Ntchito yofika ku America ku Okinawa inayamba pa April 1, 1945, pansi pa chivundikiro cha onyamulira ndege Task Force 58. Ngakhale kuti ndege zonyamula katundu zinachita nawo nkhondo pachilumbachi kwa miyezi iwiri yotsatira, ntchito yothandizira asilikali apansi ndi kuphimba zombo zowukirazo pang'onopang'ono zidapita kwa asitikali apanyanja a corsair omwe ali m'mabwalo a ndege ogwidwa.
Dongosolo la opareshoni lidaganiza kuti zonyamulira ndege za Task Force 58 zimasulidwa posachedwa ndi 10 tactical ndege. Kupanga kosinthika kumeneku kunali ndi magulu ankhondo 12 a Corsair ndi magulu atatu ankhondo a F6F-5N Hellcat usiku ngati gawo la Marine Air Groups (MAGs) a 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW, Marine Aircraft Wing) ndi USAAF 301st Fighter Wing, opangidwa. m'magulu atatu ankhondo a P-47N Thunderbolt.
April kuwonekera koyamba kugulu
Corsairs yoyamba (ndege 94 yonse) idafika ku Okinawa pa Epulo 7. Anali m'magulu atatu - VMF-224, -311 ndi -411 - omwe ali m'magulu a MAG-31, omwe adachita nawo kampeni ya Marshall Islands. VMF-224 inali ndi mtundu wa F4U-1D, pomwe VMF-311 ndi -441 idabweretsa F4U-1C, mtundu wina wokhala ndi mizinga inayi ya 20 mm m'malo mwa mfuti zisanu ndi imodzi za 12,7 mm. Magulu a MAG-31 adatulutsidwa kuchokera ku operekeza operekeza USS Breton ndi Sitkoh Bay ndipo adafika ku Yontan Airfield kugombe lakumadzulo kwa chilumbacho chomwe adalandidwa tsiku loyamba latsikirako.
Kufika kwa Corsair kudagwirizana ndi kuwukira koyamba kwakukulu kwa kamikaze (Kikusui 1) pagulu lankhondo zaku US. Oyendetsa ndege angapo a VMF-311 adagwira bomba limodzi la Frances P1Y pomwe amayesa kugunda ku Sitko Bay. Anawombera pansi pa konsati ya captain. Ralph McCormick ndi Lt. Kamikaze John Doherty adagwera m'madzi mamita angapo kuchokera kumbali ya chonyamulira ndege. M'mawa wotsatira, MAG-31 Corsairs adayamba kulondera zowononga zombozo komanso owononga ma radar.
M'mawa wa mvula pa Epulo 9, Corsairy MAG-33-VMF-312, -322 ndi -323-adachotsedwa kwa onyamula USS Hollandia ndi White Plains ndipo adafika pabwalo la ndege la Kadena. Kwa magulu onse atatu a MAG-33, Nkhondo ya Okinawa idawonetsa nkhondo yawo, ngakhale idapangidwa pafupifupi zaka ziwiri m'mbuyomo ndipo akhala akuyembekezera mwayi womenya nawo nkhondo kuyambira pamenepo. VMF-322 idafika ndi F4U-1D, ndipo magulu ena awiriwo anali ndi FG-1D (mtundu wovomerezeka wopangidwa ndi Goodyear Aviation Works).
VMF-322 inali itatayika koyamba masiku asanu ndi limodzi m'mbuyomo pamene chombo chokwera LST-599, chonyamula antchito ndi zida za gululo, chinawukiridwa ndi a Ki-61 Tonys angapo a 105th Sentai omwe amagwira ntchito ku Formosa. Mmodzi wa oponya mabombawo anagwera pa sitima ya sitimayo, n’kuiwononga kwambiri; zida zonse za VMF-322 zidatayika, mamembala asanu ndi anayi a gululo adavulala.
Mabwalo a ndege a Yontan ndi Kadena anali pafupi ndi magombe otsetsereka, komwe magulu omenyera nkhondo adaperekedwa. Izi zinayambitsa vuto lalikulu, chifukwa zombozo, podziteteza ku mphepo, nthawi zambiri zimapanga chinsalu cha utsi chomwe mphepo imawomba pamtunda. Pazifukwa izi, pa Epulo 9 ku Yeontan, Korsei atatu adagwa poyesa kutera (woyendetsa ndege m'modzi adamwalira), ndipo wina adatera pagombe. Choipitsitsacho, pamene zida zotsutsana ndi ndege zinatsegula moto, matalala a zidutswa zinagunda ndege zonse, zomwe zinachititsa kuti anthu a m'magulu a Marine awonongeke ndipo anafa. Komanso, bwalo la ndege la Kadena linali moto kuchokera ku mfuti za ku Japan za 150 mm zobisika m'mapiri kwa milungu iwiri.
Pa Epulo 12, nyengo itayenda bwino, ndege za Imperial Navy ndi gulu lankhondo zidayambitsa kuwukira kwachiwiri kwa kamikaze (Kikusui 2). M'bandakucha, asilikali Japanese anaphulitsa ndege Kadena, kuyesera "kutera" mdani. Lieutenant Albert Wells adakumbukira chigonjetso choyamba chomwe adapeza a VMF-323 Rattlesnakes, omwe adayenera kukhala gulu lankhondo la Marine opambana kwambiri pankhondo ya Okinawa (yokhayo yomwe idapambana kuposa 100): Tinakhala m’magalimoto aja n’kumadikirira kuti wina atiuze zimene tikuchita. Ndinkalankhula ndi mkulu wa ntchito zapansi panthaka, yemwe anali ataima pa phiko la ndegeyo, pamene mwadzidzidzi tinaona anthu ofufuza zinthu akugunda msewu wonyamukira ndegeyo. Tinayatsa injini, koma mvula isanakwane inali kugwa kwambiri moti pafupifupi aliyense nthawi yomweyo anamira m’matope. Ena a ife tinagunda pansi ndi zopalasa zathu kuyesera kuthawa. Ndinayima panjira yovuta kwambiri, kotero ndinawombera pamaso pa aliyense, ngakhale kuti gawo lachiwiri ndimayenera kuyamba lachisanu ndi chimodzi. Tsopano sindinkadziwa choti ndichite. Ndinali ndekha panjira yochokera kummawa kupita kumadzulo. Kumwamba kokha kunachita imvi. Ndinawona ndege ikukwera kuchokera kumpoto ndikugunda nsanja yoyang'anira bwalo la ndege. Ndinakwiya kwambiri chifukwa ndinadziwa kuti wangopha ena mwa ife amene tinali m’katimo.
