U.S. Navy Department (April 17, 1945)
CINCPOA Communiqué No. 335
About two-thirds of the area of Ie Shima was brought under the control of the Tenth Army on April 17 (East Longitude Date) as our attacking forces wheeled eastward to occupy a line running from the northeast corner of the airfield along the base of the island’s central pinnacle and through the town of Iegusugu to the southern coast. Resistance was moderate throughout the day.
Small pockets of the enemy continued to resist attacks of Marines of the III Amphibious Corps on Motobu Peninsula and in northern Okinawa.
In the south, there was no change in the lines of the XXIV Army Corps.
Our troops in both the northern and southern sectors were supported throughout the day by heavy naval gunfire, carrier aircraft and Army and Marine artillery. A few enemy reconnaissance planes were in the Okinawa area during the day.
Search aircraft of Fleet Air Wing One destroyed two small cargo ships at anchor near Tanega Island in the northern Ryukyus and demolished a warehouse on the island with a direct bomb hit on April 17. In waters east of the Ryukyus, FlAirWing One planes sank three small cargo ships and damaged three others on the same date.
United States forces attacking the home islands of Japan and the island groups of the Ryukyus since initiation of the Ryukyus campaign on March 18 to April 17, inclusive, have, destroyed more than 2,200 Japanese aircraft in the air and on the ground. Aircraft from the fast carriers of the Pacific Fleet have destroyed more than 1,600 of this total. In addition, units of the British Pacific Fleet operating in waters off the Sakishimas and Formosa have destroyed more than 80 enemy planes.
Search aircraft of FlAirWing Four made rocket and machine gun attacks on buildings on Tomari Cape on Paramushiru in the northern Kurils and strafed a trawler off the island on April 16.
Liberators of the VII Bomber Command bombed concrete structures and runways on Marcus Island on April 16. On the same date, Marine Mitchells strafed ground installations at Kushira Airfield on Kyushu.
Army Mustangs of the VII Fighter Command strafed and bombed shipping in and around Chichi Jima in the Bonins on April 17.
Corsairs and Hellcats of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing bombed and strafed targets in the Palaus on April 17.
Planes of FlAirWing One attacked installations on Yap and Puluwat in the Carolines on April 17.
FlAirWing Two planes continued neutralizing attacks on enemy‑held bases in the Marshalls on April 16.
Mopping-up operations on Iwo Island continued during the month of April as our forces developed that island as an air base. A total of 22,731 of the enemy were killed on Iwo from February 19 to April 14, inclusive, and 624 were captured.