On 1 April 1945, an armada of 1,321 ships gathered in the far western Pacific off Okinawa. Most had come from Leyte and Ulithi, others from Pearl Har-bor, the Solomons, Sydney, and even the U.S. West Coast. They were there to land the U.S. Tenth Army—a joint Marine Corps-Army force—on this large island, part of the Ryukyus chain between For-mosa and Japan. The 19 fast carriers of Task Force 58 and the British Pacific Fleet, escorted by 10 battleships, 17 cruisers, and 60 destroyers, supported the amphibious armada of escort carriers and older battle-ships, attack transports, and landing ships. Hundreds of mine craft, store ships, and repair vessels were present, as were netlay-ers, tugs, and salvage vessels.
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