| Grumman TBM-1C Avenger bombers of squadron VT-18 led by Lieutenant Commander Lloyd W. VanAntwerp flying from USS Intrepid (CV-11) attack airfields in Okinawa. Air Group 18, led by Commander W. E. Ellis, has Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters and and Curtiss SB2C Helldivers nearby. This was part of a campaign to suppress Imperial Japanese Navy and Army Air Force aircraft from reinforcing Leyte once the invasion began on October 20, 1944 (A-Day). By arrangement with Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the Carrier Task Force from Admiral William Halsey‘sThird Fleet was to strike Coron Bay and other targets innorthern Luzon, Okinawa and Formosa, from A Day minus 10 to A minus 7. Heavy opposition during the attack on Kiirun Harbor in Formosa on October 12 led to the loss of several aircraft fromThird Fleet. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1126.jpg |
| Image Size | 106.16 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 509 x 400 |
| Photographer | Unknown |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | October 09, 1944 |
| Location | Okinawa |
| City | Okinawa |
| State or Province | Ryukyus |
| Country | Japan |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2007, ©2024 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission |
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