U.S. Navy Department (April 6, 1945)
CINCPOA Communiqué No. 323
By late afternoon on April 6 (East Longitude Date), Hellcat and Corsair fighters from two fast carrier task groups of the U.S. Pacific Fleet commanded by RADMs Frederick C. Sherman and J. J. Clark, USN, had shot down about 150 enemy aircraft which were attempting to attack fleet surface units in the area of the Ryukyus. This tally of damage is preliminary and incomplete. Some ships of our forces received minor damage but all remain fully operational.
United States troops on Okinawa continued to attack in both the northern and southern sectors. At midday, the Marine III Amphibious Corps had advanced 3,000 to 5,000 yards against small scattered groups of the enemy on Ishikawa Isthmus. In the south, the XXIV Army Corps was encountering stiffened enemy resistance in areas organized by the enemy for defense and supported by enemy artillery. Our forces were being supported continuously by ships’ gunfire and by carrier aircraft. During the night of April 5‑6, nine enemy planes were shot down near our forces around Okinawa.
In capturing the Kerama group of islands preliminary to the attack on Okinawa, U.S. forces killed 539 of the enemy and captured 166 prisoners of war.
Search aircraft of Fleet Wing One shot down two enemy aircraft in the Ryukyus area on April 6.