F4U Corsair akan Okinawa Part 2

Corsair Navy-312 "Chess" tare da halayyar darasi ga wannan tawagar a kan murfin engine da rudder; Kaduna, Afrilu 1945

Aikin saukar da Amurka a Okinawa ya fara ne a ranar 1 ga Afrilu, 1945, a ƙarƙashin murfin ma'aikatan jirgin sama na Task Force 58. Duk da cewa jirgin sama mai ɗaukar kaya ya shiga cikin yaƙin tsibirin a cikin watanni biyu masu zuwa, aikin tallafawa sojojin ƙasa da kuma rufe rundunar sojojin mamayewa sannu a hankali suka wuce zuwa majiyoyin ruwa na corsair da ke cikin filayen jirgin saman da aka kama.

Shirin gudanar da aikin ya zaci cewa za a saki jigilar jiragen Task Force 58 da wuri-wuri ta hanyar jirgin sama na dabara na 10. Wannan tsari na wucin gadi ya ƙunshi 12 Corsair squadrons da squadrons uku na F6F-5N Hellcat mayakan dare a matsayin wani ɓangare na ƙungiyoyin Marine Air Groups (MAGs) na 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW, Marine Aircraft Wing) da USAAF 301st Fighter Wing, wanda ya ƙunshi. na uku P-47N Thunderbolt squadrons.

Afrilu na farko

Corsairs na farko (jimillar jirage 94) sun isa Okinawa a ranar 7 ga Afrilu. Sun kasance na squadrons uku - Navy-224, -311 da -411 - waɗanda aka haɗa su zuwa MAG-31, waɗanda a baya suka shiga yaƙin neman zaɓe na Marshall Islands. VMF-224 an sanye shi da nau'in F4U-1D, yayin da VMF-311 da -441 suka zo da su F4U-1C, bambance-bambancen dauke da bindigogin 20mm guda hudu maimakon manyan bindigogin 12,7mm guda shida. Tawagar MAG-31 da aka kora daga jirgin dakon kaya USS Breton da Sitkoh Bay sun sauka a filin jirgin Yontan da ke yammacin gabar tekun tsibirin da aka kama a ranar farko ta saukar jiragen.

Zuwan Corsair ya zo daidai da babban harin kamikaze na farko (Kikusui 1) a kan rundunar sojojin Amurka. Matukin jirgin VMF-311 da yawa sun tare wani bam na Frances P1Y yayin da yake kokarin fadowa cikin Sitko Bay. Harba a wurin kide-kiden kyaftin. Ralph McCormick da Lt. Kamikaze John Doherty ya fada cikin ruwa a cikin 'yan mitoci daga gefen jirgin. Washegari da safe, MAG-31 Corsairs sun fara sintiri a sansanin jiragen ruwa da masu lalata sa ido na radar.

Da sanyin safiyar ranar 9 ga Afrilu, Corsairy MAG-33s - VMF-312, -322 da -323 - an kora daga masu jigilar kaya USS Hollandia da White Plains kuma suka isa Filin jirgin saman Cadena da ke kusa. Ga dukkan rundunonin MAG-33 guda uku, Yaƙin Okinawa shine karo na farko na fafatawa, kodayake an kafa su kusan shekaru biyu a baya kuma tun daga lokacin suke jira don samun damar shiga aiki. VMF-322 ya zo daga F4U-1D kuma sauran ƙungiyoyi biyu an sanye su da FG-1D (sifin lasisin da Goodyear Aviation Works ya yi).

VMF-322 ta sha asara ta farko kwanaki shida da suka wuce lokacin da jirgin LST-599 mai saukar ungulu, dauke da jami'an rundunar da kayan aiki, da dama Ki-61 Tonys daga Sentai na 105 da ke aiki daga Formosa suka kaiwa hari. Daya daga cikin mayakan bama-baman ya fada kan jirgin ruwan, inda ya yi masa mummunar barna; An yi asarar duk kayan aikin VMF-322, mambobi tara na tawagar sun jikkata.

Filin tashi da saukar jiragen sama na Yontan da Kadena na kusa da rairayin bakin teku, inda aka samar da sassan yaƙi. Wannan ya haifar da matsala mai tsanani, yayin da jiragen ruwa, da ke kare kansu daga hare-haren iska, sukan haifar da allon hayaki wanda iska ke kadawa a kan titin jiragen sama. Don haka, a ranar 9 ga Afrilu a Yeontan, Korsei uku sun yi hatsari a lokacin da suke kokarin sauka (matukin jirgi daya ya mutu), wani kuma ya sauka a gabar teku. Wani abin da ya fi muni shi ne, lokacin da makamin kakkabo jiragen suka bude wuta, sai ga wani gutsutsutsun gutsutsutsun ya afkawa dukkan filayen jiragen sama, wanda a sakamakon haka daga cikin jami’an rundunar sojojin ruwa suka samu raunuka, har ma suka mutu. Bugu da kari, filin jirgin sama na Kadena yana fuskantar wuta daga bindigogi masu girman milimita 150 na Japan da aka boye a cikin tsaunuka na kimanin makonni biyu.

A ranar 12 ga Afrilu, lokacin da yanayi ya inganta, jirgin saman sojan ruwa na Imperial da sojoji sun kaddamar da wani babban hari na kamikaze na biyu (Kikusui 2). Da gari ya waye, mayakan Japan sun yi ruwan bama-bamai a filin jirgin sama na Kadena, suna kokarin "kasa" abokan gaba. Laftanar Albert Wells ya tuna nasarar farko da VMF-323 Rattlesnakes ya samu, waɗanda aka ƙaddara su zama mafi girman ƙwararrun ƙwararrun Marine a Yaƙin Okinawa (wanda kawai ya sami nasara sama da 100): Mun zauna a cikin taksi muna jiran wani ya yanke shawarar abin da muke yi. Ina magana da shugaban ma’aikata na kasa, wanda ke tsaye a kan reshen jirgin, kwatsam sai muka ga jerin ma’aikatan da suka bugi titin jirgin. Muka tada injina, amma kafin nan ana ruwan sama sosai wanda kusan kowa ya makale a cikin laka. Wasu daga cikinmu sun bugi kasa tare da farfasa suna kokarin tserewa. Na tsaya a kan hanya mafi wahala, don haka na harbi a gaban kowa, kodayake a kashi na biyu ya kamata in fara na shida kawai. Yanzu ban san abin da zan yi ba. Ni kadai ne a kan titin jirgi daga gabas zuwa yamma. Sama kawai ya yi launin toka. Na ga jirgin ya tashi daga arewa ya bugi hasumiya mai kula da filin jirgin. Na yi fushi don na san cewa ya kashe wasu daga cikinmu da ke ciki.