page_title: Okinawa naval order of battle
section_title: Amphibious Support Forces (Task Force 52)
hierarchical_section_title: Okinawa naval order of battle / Allied combat ships / Amphibious Support Forces (Task Force 52)
caption_attribution_description: F6F Hellcat
context_page_description: For the April 1945 invasion of Okinawa, the Allies assembled the most powerful naval force in history. Since the few remaining capital ships of the Imperial Japanese Combined Fleet had been sunk or otherwise put out of action at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Allies were effectively unopposed in terms of surface vessels; a single mission consisting of the superbattleship Yamato and a few escorts was undertaken, but the task force did not get within 200 nautical miles of the invasion area.
  Since the Japanese air arm had been equally decimated by this point in the war, the lack of trained and experienced pilots led them to deploy the kamikaze extensively in the waters off Okinawa.
  US Navy combat ships:
  11 fleet carriers, 6 light carriers, 22 escort carriers, 8 fast battleships, 10 old battleships, 2 large cruisers, 12 heavy cruisers, 13 light cruisers, 4 anti-aircraft light cruisers, 132 destroyers, 45 destroyer escorts
  Amphibious assault vessels:
  84 attack transports, 29 attack cargo ships, LCIs, LSMs, LSTs, LSVs, etc.
  Auxiliaries:
  52 submarine chasers, 23 fast minesweepers, 69 minesweepers, 11 minelayers, 49 oilers, etc.
  Royal Navy combat ships:
context_section_description: Rear Admiral William H.P. Blandy in amphibious command ship Estes
  Support Carrier Group (Task Group 52.1)
  Rear Admiral Calvin T. Durgin
  Unit One
  Rear Admiral Clifton A.F. Sprague
  7 escort carriers
  Makin Island (Capts. W.B. Whaley and I.E. Hobbs)
  VC-84 (Lt. D.K. English, USNR), 27 aircraft
  16 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
  11 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Fanshaw Bay (Capt. M.E. Arnold)
  VOC-2 (Lt. Cmdr. R.M. Allison), 30 aircraft
  24 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
    6 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Lunga Point (Capt. G.A.T. Washburn)
  VC-85 (Lt. Cmdr. F.C. Herriman), 30 aircraft
  18 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
  12 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Sangamon (Capts. M.E. Browder and A.I. Malstrom)
  Air Group 33 (Cmdr. F.B. Gilkeson), 30 aircraft
  24 F6F Hellcat fighters
    6 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Natoma Bay (Capts. Albert K. Morehouse and B.B. Nichol)
  VC-81 (Lt. Cmdr. W.B. Morton, USNR), 32 aircraft
  20 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
  12 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Savo Island (Capt. W.D. Anderson)
  VC-91 (Lt. F.M. Blanchard, USNR), 35 aircraft
  20 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
  15 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Anzio (Capt. G.C. Montgomery)
  VC-13 (Lt. Cmdr. R.P. Williams, USNR), 24 aircraft
  12 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
  12 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Screen (Commander J.C. Zahm)
  6 destroyers
  1 Allen M. Sumner-class (6 x 5-in. main battery): Ingraham
  3 Fletcher-class (5 x 5-in. main battery): Boyd, Bradford, Hart
  2 Bagley-class (4 x 5-in. main battery): Bagley, Patterson
  11 destroyer escorts
  9 John C. Butler-class (2 x 5-in. main battery): Lawrence C. Taylor, Melvin R. Nawman, Oliver Mitchell, Robert F. Keller, Tabberer, Richard M. Rowell, Richard S. Bull, Dennis, O'Flaherty
  2 Evarts-class (3 x 3-in. main battery):  Sederstrom, Fleming
  Unit Two
  Rear Admiral Felix B. Stump
  7 escort carriers
  Saginaw Bay (Capts. F.C. Sutton and Robert Goldwaite)
  VC-88 (Lt. E.L. Kemp, USNR), 32 aircraft
  20 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
  12 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Sargent Bay (Capt. R.M. Oliver)
  VC-83 (Lt. Cmdr. B.V. Gates (KIA) and Lt. M.S. Worley, USNR), 28 aircraft
  16 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
  12 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Rudyerd Bay (Capts. C.S. Smiley and J.G. Foster)
  VC-96 (Lt. Cmdr. W.S. Woollen, USNR), 31 aircraft
  20 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
  11 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Marcus Island (Capt. H.V. Hopkins)
  VC-87 (Lt. H.N. Heisel), 32 aircraft
  20 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
  12 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Petrof Bay (Capt. R.S. Clarke)
  VC-93 (Lt. Cmdr. C.P. Smith), 28 aircraft
  16 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
  12 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Tulagi (Capts. J.C. Cronin & W.V. Davis)
  VC-92 (Lt. Cmdr. J.B. Wallace), 31 aircraft
  19 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
  12 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Wake Island (Capt. A.V. Magly)
  VOC-1 (Lt. Cmdr. W.F. Bringie), 32 aircraft
  26 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
    6 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Screen (Captain G.P. Hunter)
  4 destroyers
  1 Allen M. Sumner-class (6 x 5-in. main battery): Lowry
  3 Fletcher-class (5 x 5-in. main battery): Capps, Evans, John D. Henley
  6 destroyer escorts
  4 John C. Butler-class (2 x 5-in. main battery): William Seiverling, Ulvert M. Moore (Lt. Cmdr. Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., USNR), Kendall C. Campbell, Goss
  2 Evarts-class (3 x 3-in. main battery): Tisdale, Eisele
  Unit Three
  Rear Admiral William D. Sample
  4 escort carriers
  Suwannee (Capt. D.S. Cornwell)
  Air Group 40 (Lt. Cmdr. R.D. Sampson (KIA) and Lt. Cmdr. J.C. Longino), 27 aircraft
  17 F6F Hellcat fighters
  10 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Chenango (Capts. George van Deurs and Harry D. Felt)
  Air Group 25 (Lt. Cmdr. R.W. Robinson (KIA), Lt. B. Phillips and Lt. Cmdr. P.M. Paul), 30 aircraft
  18 F6F Hellcat fighters
  12 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Santee (Capt. J.V. Peterson)
  Air Group 24 (Lt. Cmdr. R.J. Ostrom (KIA) and Lt. P.N. Charbonnet), 30 aircraft
  18 F6F Hellcat fighters
  12 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Steamer Bay (Capt. J.B. Paschal)
  VC-90 (Lt. Cmdr. R.A. O'Neill), 31 aircraft
  19 FM-2 Wildcat fighters
  12 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Screen (Captain Alvin Duke Chandler)
  5 destroyers
  1 Allen M. Sumner-class (6 x 5-in. main battery): Drexler
  3 Fletcher-class (5 x 5-in. main battery): Metcalf, Fullam, Guest
  1 Bagley-class (4 x 5-in. main batt
caption: Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters
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