Miyako bombardment: gunfire, spotting and the return to the carriers

Vice Admiral Rawlings approved the 4 May bombardment despite the fleet having been sighted, judging that shore fire would help suppress anti-aircraft positions and give young, untried crews combat experience. King George V and Howe joined the cruiser force while carriers supplied additional combat air patrol and spotting aircraft. Euryalus and Black Prince opened with an airburst shoot, with Euryalus using VT fuzes. Expenditure totalled 195 rounds of 14-inch high explosive at a mean range of 25,000 yards, 598 rounds of 6-inch at 18,000 yards, and 378 rounds of 5.25-inch at 17,000 yards. There was no opposition from the shore, and control and spotting were generally good despite some communications problems. Photographs showed heavily hit runways and all of Howe's rounds falling in the target area, but none established King George V's results. The carriers came under air attack during the heavy ships' absence, prompting Rawlings to finish the bombardment early and close them at 25 knots. The passage comes from Okinawa: The Last Naval Battle of World War II, described as a compilation drawing on several sources.