Okinawa 1945

This fully illustrated study explains the British Pacific Fleet's campaign against the Japanese in the Sakishima Islands, its overlooked role in the battle for Okinawa.

The invasion of Okinawa was, famously, the culmination of the United States' island-hopping campaign. Less well known is the fact that it was also the greatest campaign of the British Pacific Fleet's war against Japan, fought by five fleet carriers over two months, with a distinct task. The Fleet Air Arm's job at Okinawa was to suppress and destroy the Japanese airfields on the Sakashima Islands, which were used as bases for kamikazes as well as to route aircraft from Japan to Okinawa.

In this book, naval expert Angus Konstam offers a newly researched account of the Fleet Air Arm's air campaign in the Sakashimas. By 1945, the carriers and their aircrews were well worked up, and ready to tackle challenging and important targets. He explains the capabilities of the late-war Fleet Air Arm at Okinawa, and analyses their effectiveness against Japan's still-dangerous airpower. Famously, at Okinawa the Royal Navy's armoured carriers proved much more resilient to kamikaze strikes than the wooden-topped carriers of the Americans.

Packed with spectacular original artwork, photographs, diagrams and maps, this book is a superbly illustrated history of the Royal Navy's most extensive carrier campaign.

About the Author

Angus Konstam is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and has written widely on naval history, with well over a hundred books in print. He is a former Royal Navy officer, maritime archaeologist and museum curator, who has worked in the Royal Armouries, Tower of London, and Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. Now a full-time author and historian, he lives in Orkney.

Gareth Hector is a digital artist of international standing and has also enjoyed a successful career in computer animation. He is an aviation history enthusiast and has contributed to numerous Osprey titles such as B-52 Stratofortress Units in Combat 1992–2025 and RAF Lightning Units of the Cold War. He lives in Perthshire, Scotland.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Chronology
• Attacker's Capabilities
• Defender's Capabilities
  • Sakishima Military defences
  • Miyako Jima garrison
  • Ishigaki Jima garrison
  • Anti-aircraft defences
  • Aircraft
  • The Kamikaze threat
• Campaign Objectives
  • The strategic picture
  • Operation Iceberg
  • The British Mission
• The Campaign
  • Joining the US Fifth Fleet
  • The first attacks
  • Operation Iceberg Oolong
  • Return to the Sakishimas
  • Air Strike on Hirara airfield, Miyako Jama, 17 April, 1945
  • From Leyte to Miyako
  • The Return of the Kamikazes
  • The final phase
• Aftermath and Analysis
• Bibliography
• Index