Sakishima demanded 82 days of sustained operations

Six-inch cruisers closed the Sakishima Islands for bombardment while carriers repeated air strikes and destroyers continued night operations. Their purpose was to keep the airfields from supporting attacks on Allied forces around Okinawa. The campaign continued for 82 days, turning what might look like a sequence of tactical strikes into a test of sustained fleet endurance. Ammunition, fuel, maintenance, replacement aircraft, and crews all had to keep moving through the support system. British logistics officers preparing for the Falklands later studied the British Pacific Fleet's experience for precisely this reason.