Operation Kikusui I

Operation Kikusui I (菊水作戦, Kikusui Sakusen 1), literally Operation Chrysanthemum Water 1, best known as Operation Ten-Go (天号作戦, Ten-Go Sakusen), literally Operation Heaven, was the last major Japanese naval operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II. In April 1945, the Japanese battleship Yamato, the largest battleship in the world, and nine other Japanese warships, embarked from Japan for a suicide attack on Allied forces engaged in the Battle of Okinawa. The Japanese force was attacked by U.S. carrier-borne aircraft before it could reach Okinawa; Yamato and five other Japanese warships were sunk while 10 American aircraft were shot down. Several ships in the U.S. carrier task force suffered moderate damage from aerial kamikaze attacks while 100 Japanese planes were lost. Operation Kikusui I, best known as Operation Ten-Go, refers specifically to Yamato's sortie, while Operation Kikusui refers specifically to all Japanese kamikaze operations during the entire Okinawa campaign.

The sinking of Yamato demonstrated U.S. air supremacy in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and the vulnerability of surface ships without air cover to aerial attack. The battle also exhibited Japan's willingness to make extreme sacrifices in kamikaze attacks aimed at delaying the Allied advance upon the Japanese home islands.

Furthermore, the engagement was also paramount by enabling U.S. forces to prevent Japan from holding a significant advantage over the Allies at Okinawa. The designation of Yamato as a beached fortification against Allied aerial and naval bombardment of Okinawa would have become detrimental towards the invading armies, in that, alike to Operation Downfall, the anticipated losses would have substantially increased for maritime combatants at large, likewise with surrounding infantry support. It is generally accepted amongst historians that the prior removal of Yamato from the scene was a preliminary objective of the Allies before any further assaults.