On April 1, 1945, the Battle of Okinawa began. The Japanese navy and army organized a large-scale kamikaze attack, which was a great test for the Allied warships and aviation fleet.

On April 1, 1945, the Battle of Okinawa began. The Japanese navy and army organized a large-scale kamikaze attack, which was a great test for the Allied warships and air fleet.

In addition to aircraft carriers, the targets of special attack aircraft are also popular targets: radar pickets that guard the periphery of the fleet. The destroyer USS Hugh W. Hadley (DD-774) performed very well in the battle against special attack aircraft.

On May 11, 1945, the "Hadley" had been fighting in the waters of Okinawa for more than a month. At this time, the ship's task was to provide early warning at the No. 15 radar post on the periphery of the fleet, located on the west side of Okinawa.

Operating with the Hadley were the destroyers USS Evans (DD-552), LCS-82, LCS(L)-83, LCS(L)-84, and LSM(r)- 193 landing ship.

▲The USS Hugh W. Hadley (DD-774) is an Allen Sumner-class destroyer.

Early that morning, the Japanese army organized the 6th Kikusui Special Attack, dispatching 217 aircraft, including 104 special attack aircraft. The "Hadley"'s radar found that a large number of Japanese aircraft were approaching and issued an early warning to the aircraft carrier fleet behind it.

html At 16:36, 12 F4Us took the lead in fighting these Japanese aircraft. Lieutenant Doug Aitken, an officer on the "Hadley", recalled: "At 7:45, I was having breakfast when the familiar combat alarm sounded, and everyone ran to their posts."

"I saw The first enemy aircraft arrived, which was a seaplane , approaching from the starboard side of the warship. It flew very low and escaped air interception and radar detection. "

" We called the F4U at high altitude. But it was obviously too late for the fighter . Fortunately, the anti-aircraft gunners shot it down at close range, but everyone was alert,

Captain Baron Joseph Mullaney later reported. It was written that the target of this seaplane was originally the "Evans". After being intercepted by the anti-aircraft guns of several US ships, it turned and hit the "Hadley" two kilometers away. At 1000 Shot down meters away.

▲Position No. 1 is where the "Hadley" was located on May 11. It was withdrawn for repairs after the battle.

This seaplane is a prelude, and more special attack aircraft are behind. At 7:55 in the morning, the "Hadley" detected another group of enemy planes heading towards the waters of Okinawa, about 90 kilometers away.

The Combat Information Center estimated that the total number of enemy aircraft was about 150, attacking the US aircraft carrier fleet from different altitudes. More than a dozen F4Us tried their best to intercept and soon shot down 12 Japanese planes.

However, there were so many enemy planes that the pilots did not bother to report the battle situation to the "Hadley". The combat information center told Baron Mullaney that there were no friendly aircraft within 15 kilometers of the "Hadley".

▲F4U intercepted Japanese special attack aircraft. During the Battle of Okinawa, F4U performed a large number of patrol and warning tasks.

At 8:30 in the morning, some Japanese aircraft broke through the F4U interception and tried to pass through the No. 15 radar sentry fleet and fly towards the US aircraft carrier. Six warships, including the "Hadley", got as close as possible and concentrated their firepower.

Some special attack pilots decided to give up attacking the aircraft carrier and instead attack the two destroyers and four landing ships of the No. 15 Radar Sentinel Fleet. They work alone or in groups of four, hovering outside the range of the anti-aircraft guns, waiting for opportunities to organize special attacks.

The "Hadley" and the "Evans" were attacked from all directions. The two destroyers were about two kilometers apart and circled at a high speed of 27 knots to ensure that every gun on the ship could target the enemy. The machine fires.

▲The "Evans" (DD-552) belongs to the Fletcher class and fights side by side with the "Hadley".

html At 18:35, a special attack aircraft dived towards the "Hadley". When the altitude was only 300 meters, the "Hadley" desperately turned to avoid it, and the Japanese aircraft crashed less than 7 meters from the stern of the ship.

Shortly after the battle began, the "Hadley" shot down 4 special attack aircraft. The most troublesome thing is a "Nine-Nine Ship Explosion". It swoops down from high altitude at an angle of 45 degrees or steeper, making it extremely difficult to intercept.

At a distance of 4,500 meters, the ship's 127mm high-level dual-purpose main gun opened fire. After getting closer, the 40mm Bofors gun fired. When the distance was less than 1,800 meters, the 20mm Oerlikon gun formed the final line of defense.

Fierce artillery fire hit the "Nine-Nine Ship Explosion", and a thick smoke came out of the fuselage, but it still insisted on aiming at the "Hadley". After a few seconds, it could no longer hold on, one wing broke off, a line of flames appeared, and the wreckage fell less than 100 meters away from the "Hadley".

▲The "Hadley" shot down a large number of Japanese aircraft during the battle, and used its coquettish positioning to avoid many special attack aircraft.

Groups of Japanese planes filled the sky, and the F4U came to the sky above the No. 15 radar sentry fleet and continued to intercept. After a long battle, many F4Us ran out of ammunition, but the pilots persisted in chasing the Japanese planes and pretended to attack.

Many inexperienced Japanese pilots operated too violently when evading, resulting in stalls and crashes. Some Japanese pilots seemed to have discovered that the F4U ammunition was exhausted, so they boldly circled over the two destroyers.

Between 8:30 and 9:00 in the morning, the "Hadley" claimed to have shot down more than ten Japanese aircraft, and the "Evans" next to it also shot down many.

▲ Under the desperate interception of US ships, a large number of Japanese special attack aircraft were shot down.

By 9 a.m., the distance between the two destroyers had widened to 5 kilometers, making it impossible to effectively concentrate firepower, and disaster befell the "Evans".

The "Evans" was overwhelmed by the special attack aircraft attacking from all directions. A Japanese aircraft passed through the barrage and hit the port waterline, tearing a hole and letting in a large amount of sea water.

Soon, the second and third special attack aircraft hit one after another, causing serious damage to the "Evans". A Ki-43 "Falcon" hit the waterline on the port side. The bomb exploded underwater and the hull was seriously damaged. The burning wreckage was thrown onto the deck, causing some casualties among the sailors.

The "Evans" lost power and was paralyzed on the water. Due to the excellent damage control of the US military, the ship avoided sinking, but 32 people were killed and 27 injured. That afternoon, the "Evans" was towed away and entered a temporary dry dock for emergency repairs.

After the "Evans" lost its combat effectiveness, only the "Hadley" was left struggling to support itself. Although there were four landing ships in the fleet, there was only one 127mm naval gun on it, and the firepower density was insufficient.

▲The "Evans" was in a fierce battle with special attack aircraft. The ship was hit by several special attack aircraft and lost its combat effectiveness.

html At 19:20, 10 special attack aircraft surrounded the "Hadley", 4 assaulted from the starboard side, 4 assaulted from the port side, and two assaulted from the stern. Under the gunner's desperate interception, all 10 special attack aircraft were shot down.

The Japanese army quickly organized the next wave of attacks. A special attack aircraft approached from the stern of the ship. The anti-aircraft gun crew failed to stop it and crashed into it. The exposed gun crew was killed on the spot. The 250 kilogram bomb carried by the

aircraft passed through the deck and exploded near the keel . The "Hadley" was almost thrown out of the water. Soon after, a "Sakura" suicide plane hit the waterline in the middle of the starboard side. The fuselage penetrated the hull and caused heavy casualties in the cabin.

Then the third special attack aircraft hit the "Hadley", but it passed by the mast, pulled off some antennas, and fell into the sea without causing much damage. Finally, a special attack plane approached the "Hadley". Intercepted by the remaining naval guns , the Japanese plane crashed into the sea.

▲The 40mm naval gun position at the stern of the ship was destroyed, and the gun crew was killed on the spot.

▲ Schematic diagram of the location where the "Hadley" was hit by three special attack aircraft.

html On the 1st, after a 90-minute siege, the Japanese aircraft still failed to sink the US ship and had to leave in frustration. During the successive attacks, the "Hadley" emitted billowing smoke and flames, causing a large number of sailor casualties.

The crew worked hard to keep the "Hadley" afloat on the sea. Except for about 50 necessary damage control personnel, the remaining crew and wounded were transferred to other ships. A total of 30 people on the ship were killed and 68 injured.

Thanks to the efforts of the damage control team, the fire on the "Hadley" was brought under control and she was finally saved. Later, the "Hadley" was towed to a temporary dry dock for repairs and withdrew from the Battle of Okinawa.

In this battle on the morning of May 11, the "Hadley" fired 801 127mm shells, 8950 40mm shells, and 5990 20mm shells, shooting down 23 Japanese aircraft and surviving multiple impacts. . In recognition of the outstanding performance of the Hadley crew, they were awarded the Presidential Collective Citation.