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NOTES TO TABLE 50

The gradual increase in the use of rockets, as their combat use spread to more squadrons and more types of planes, is clearly indicated above. The first substantial use of rockets by fast carriers, CVEs, and land-based aircraft, came in each case with the appearance of rocket-equipped fighter squadrons, on CVs and CVLs during the Guam and Palau campaigns of July and September 1944, on CVEs during the Lingayen operation. Rocket-equipped land-based Marine fighters did not appear until the beginning of the Okinawa campaign. Fighters accounted for 65% of the aircraft rockets fired at the enemy; CVE TBMs fired 60% of those expended by bombers.

Noteworthy are the expenditures for April 1945, when carriers alone fired nearly 41,000 HE rockets at enemy targets, largely on Okinawa. 116,000, or 55% of all rocket expenditures for the war, were against targets in the Ryukyus area; all but 5,600 of these were fired at land targets. Other areas heavily attacked with rockets were Japan (31,000), the Philippines (19,000), and the Bonins, principally Iwo Jima (15,000).

TABLE 50. NUMBER OF ROCKETS EXPENDED ON TARGETS, MONTHLY. By Model of Aircraft, For Land-Based and Carrier-Based Aircraft, and By Type of Carrier
A. CARRIER-BASED
MONTH	CV-BASED				CVL BASED		FAST CARRIER TOTAL	CVE-BASED
MONTH	F6F	F4U, FG	SB2C	TBM	F6F	TBM	FAST CARRIER TOTAL	FM	F6F	F4U, FG	TBM	TOTAL
January 1944				0			0				228	228
February 1944				0			0				142	142
March 1944				144			144				14	14
April 1944				491			491				0	0
May 1944				134			134				0	0
June 1944				525			525				642	642
July 1944	1,331			1,176	0		2,507	56	0		1,373	1,429
August 1944	156			169	0		325	0	713		0	713
September	1,927			607	1,238		3,772	4	0		3,906	3,910
October 1944	3,586			417	781		4,784	0	0		1,304	1,304
November 1944	2,137			0	354		2,491	0	0		0	0
December 1944	2,739		43	150	335		3,267	0	0		4	4
January 1945	5,587	0	0	233	1,601	0	7,421	2,475	0	0	2,319	4,794
February 1945	3,574	1,542	384	624	693	330	7,147	2,871	0	0	2,327	5,198
March 1945	3,887	7,210	492	826	2,955	693	16,063	5,965	92	0	4,737	10,794
April 1945	3,461	3,147	2,058	982	4,018	502	14,168	9,038	4,828	0	12,836	26,702
May 1945	2,991	1,860	850	341	1,936	190	8,168	1,603	3,331	268	8,827	14,029
June 1945	505	252	170	343	538	41	1,849	6,230	2,097	1,121	7,736	17,184
July 1945	6,043	4,737	315	46	2,210	113	13,464	0	48	130	96	274
August 1945	3,088	3,359	266	0	1,631	0	8,344	95	6	43	0	144
TOTALS	41,012	22,107	4,578	7,208	18,290	1,869	95,064	28,337	11,115	1,562	46,491	87,505
B. LAND-BASED
MONTH	F4U, FG	F6F	FM	SBD	SB2C	TBM	PBJ	PV	TOTAL
February 1944						154	0	0	154
March 1944						94	0	0	94
April 1944						28	0	0	28
May 1944				232		0	0	6	238
November 1944						0	283	59	342
December 1944						0	129	164	293
January 1945	0	0			0	295	194	39	528
February 1945	25	0			0	261	40	175	501
March 1945	0	122			12	195	0	261	590
April 1945	3,277	0			89	346	382	219	4,313
May 1945	3,334	227			92	2,127	716	1,022	7,518
June 1945	4,523	518			234	924	425	477	7,101
July 1945	3,099	53			473	120	537	47	4,329
August 1945	941	0	144		64	64	245	0	1,458
TOTALS	15,199	920	144	232	964	4,608	2,951	2,469	27,487
No rockets were expended during months not listed above.

NOTES TO TABLE 51

1945 aircraft rocket expenditures accounted for over 85% of the Naval total for the war. Thus the above table, for 1945 only, gives a nearly complete picture of the use of rockets by Naval planes. 45% of all rocket expenditures were against military land targets, such as guns, defenses, personnel, stores, etc. Another 38% were expended against parked aircraft, hangars, and other airfield targets. About 7% were expended against shipping, 10% against miscellaneous land targets.

Fast carrier fighters made the bulk of the rocket attacks on airfields and shipping; CVE FMs and TBMs made most of the attacks on other military land targets, though CVE planes also heavily attacked airfields (particularly in June 1945) and fast carrier F6Fs were quite active against military targets. SB2Cs made few rocket attacks, in comparison with other plane models. Bombers in general made relatively few rocket attacks on shipping, reserving their primary effort for bomb-carrying.

Land-based planes used rockets primarily against military installations in the Okinawa area, though fighters in the later stages of that campaign made rocket attacks on airfields in Kyushu and the Southern Ryukyus.

TABLE 51. ROCKET EXPENDITURES ON TARGETS, 1945 By Plane Model, Carrier-Based and Land-Based, and by Target Type
TARGET TYPE	CARRIER-BASED					LAND-BASED				TOTAL
TARGET TYPE	F6F	F4U	FM	SB2C	TBM	F4U, F6F	TBM, SB2C	PBJ	PV	TOTAL
Airfields	29,550	11,944	7,594	1,210	14,914	3,539	123	141	4	69,019
Other Military Targets	13,462	6,472	16,871	2,743	24,525	10,803	3,973	1,128	1,788	81,765
Harbor and Waterfront	1,746	738	688	217	827	1,004	768	154	77	6,219
Land Transportation	1,128	595	1,186	96	1,678	410	265	66	48	5,472
Industrial	1,167	1,227	108	74	227	0	24	88	78	2,993
Other and unknown land	698	296	780	0	1,056	89	24	21	8	2,972
Armored Warships	295	154	0	32	0	0	0	0	0	481
Unarmored Warships	1,340	368	114	100	83	0	0	114	92	2,211
Merchant, over 500 tons	3,759	1,178	195	31	217	96	0	563	30	6,069
Merchant, under 500 tons	1,818	681	741	32	591	322	119	204	115	4,623
Ships, Type unknown	157	16	0	0	24	0	0	60	0	257
TOTAL	55,120	23,669	28,277	4,535	44,142	16,263	5,296	2,539	2,240	182,081
* – Includes 144 by FM

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TABLE 50. NUMBER OF ROCKETS EXPENDED ON TARGETS, MONTHLY.By Model of Aircraft, For Land-Based and Carrier-Based Aircraft, and By Type of Carrier

TABLE 51. ROCKET EXPENDITURES ON TARGETS, 1945By Plane Model, Carrier-Based and Land-Based, and by Target Type

TABLE 50. NUMBER OF ROCKETS EXPENDED ON TARGETS, MONTHLY.
By Model of Aircraft, For Land-Based and Carrier-Based Aircraft, and By Type of Carrier

TABLE 51. ROCKET EXPENDITURES ON TARGETS, 1945
By Plane Model, Carrier-Based and Land-Based, and by Target Type