In May 1945, the US destroyer Headley, which was cruising near Okinawa, suddenly sounded the alarm. Radar shows that more than 100 fighters of the Japanese kamikaze are approaching it!
Kamikazes were suicide attacks on U.S. troops by the desperate Japanese forces in the late Pacific War. The young and fanatical kamikaze special attack team loaded a large amount of high explosives on the plane, and once they found the US ship, they even crashed down with the plane, trying to exchange one person, one plane, one bullet for one US warship!
At that time, the mission of the US "Headley" was to use the ship's modified radar to direct the US fighters to intercept all the Japanese kamikazes trying to get close to Okinawa, and it was accompanied by the US destroyer Ivan.
Soon, a Japanese kamikaze suddenly swooped down from the clouds and pounced on the Headley. The ship's main guns fired in unison, and the enemy planes were instantly torn apart. However, the American soldiers were not happy at this time, because more Japanese kamikaze fighters were rushing towards them like swarms of bees.
The Headley immediately commanded nearby U.S. warplanes to intercept it. Through the microphones, the ship's crew constantly heard the excited voices of the pilots: shooting down 5, 6, 7...
However, the victory of the air fighters did not bring comfort to the people on the ship, because the number of Japanese fighters was too large. At this moment, all the gunners on the Headley and Ivan were staring at the sky, and they did not dare to relax in the slightest!
Soon, the first 3 Japanese torpedo bombers entered range, and Captain Marani of the Headley ordered the main guns to start firing.
The wing of the first Japanese bomber was hit, and one of the heels was planted in the sea. The second nose was shot and reduced to pieces. The third one that followed was also hit, spinning and falling into the sea.
After figuring out how the American fleet was firing, the kamikaze began to attack both destroyers simultaneously from 4 directions. In the face of enemy aircraft constantly pouring in from all directions, the American gunners had no chance to breathe. The guns roared incessantly, the deck was full of empty ammunition boxes, and the warships were completely shrouded in smoke.
After 15 minutes of fierce fighting, the two destroyers had shot down 22 Japanese fighters, but many more waves of kamikaze bombers fearlessly rushed into the air defense net. The US warplanes, on the other hand, were afraid of being mistakenly hit by the dense rain of shells fired from their own ships, and at this time they could only sigh with joy...
Under the continuous attack of more than 50 enemy aircraft in succession, the two destroyers of the US army were getting farther and farther apart, which gave the Japanese fighters the opportunity to divide and attack.
Soon, a low-flying Japanese fighter hit the Headley, and the hull was blown up with a large hole. A few minutes later the situation got worse, and the Headley was simultaneously attacked by 10 Japanese fighters from different directions, which had just been shot down and 4 waves of 25 enemy aircraft pounced on it. There was less and less ammunition on board, and the gunners did their best to make every round of strikes pay off.
Suddenly, a Japanese fighter crossed the U.S. firepower network and hit the Headley at the waterline, causing heavy damage between the ship's boilers! A few seconds later, another bomber also broke through the defense net, but it failed to hit the bridge, only slightly scratching the cable on the ship, and then flipped into the sea with one heel.
At this point, both engine compartments of the Headley were blown out of large holes, a boiler room was flooded, and the warship quickly lost power, and the situation of the Ivan was even worse.
Ivan was hit by four Kamikaze bombers in a very short period of time. The first plane tore a hole in the starboard side of the ship; The second hit the part below the waterline of the hull, and the 450 kg bomb on board exploded violently in the engine room of the Ivan; Two minutes later, a third bomber crashed into the kitchen, killing 8 people; The fourth plane crashed into the ship's cabin, and the bomb exploded through two decks by the boiler, destroying the engine room and killing most of the people inside.
In just a few minutes, ivan suffered heavy damage, killing 32 and seriously injuring 29, almost incapacitated. After a distress signal, a support ship quickly approached to hold ivan to avoid sinking, but the kamikaze did not let it go easily.
A Japanese fighter tried to completely sink ivan, and the guns on board fired wildly at the rescue ship ivan. The Ivan fired into the air with the few remaining guns, only to see the enemy plane torn to pieces and plunged into the sea 180 meters away from the Ivan. Ivan was then towed to a temporary U.S. military maintenance base on Ie Island in Okinawa.
Due to the withdrawal of ivan, the Headley had to fight alone. In fact, the Headley was no less damaged than ivan. The ship's soldiers went to great lengths to throw away all unnecessary items on board, including torpedoes and depth charges, in order to reduce the weight of the hull. The soldiers also poured water on the ammunition to prevent more explosions.
Fearing the capsizing of the Headley, Captain Marani gave the order to abandon the ship. Life rafts and lifeboats were put into the sea, and the seriously injured were transported away. At this time, 28 people were killed and 67 seriously wounded, while the survivors continued to fight.
In the end, after more than 90 minutes of fighting, the Japanese army gradually declined, and soon the sea surface was completely calm.
According to statistics, in addition to more than 100 aircraft shot down by US fighters, the "Headley" shot down a total of 23 Japanese fighters, and the "Ivan" shot down a total of 22. The two destroyers were too badly injured to repair and were eventually sold and demolished...
