An American Chance Vought F4U Corsair attacks Japanese ground targets on Okinawa using eight 127 mm HVAR (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket) rockets during the final months of the Pacific War.
Rocket attack over Okinawa:
This dramatic photograph captures an F4U Corsair at the moment it launches a salvo of eight 5-inch HVAR rockets against Japanese positions on Okinawa.
Below the aircraft, thick clouds of smoke mark areas where fierce fighting continues between U.S. Marines and entrenched Japanese defenders. Air strikes played a vital role in supporting the slow and costly advance across the island.
The HVAR – America's most effective air-to-ground rocket:
The 5-inch HVAR (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket) became one of the most successful unguided aircraft rockets used by the United States during World War II.
Powered by a high-velocity rocket motor, it carried a powerful warhead capable of destroying bunkers, artillery positions, vehicles and small fortifications. Compared with earlier American rockets, the HVAR was faster, more accurate and significantly more effective, making it a standard weapon on late-war carrier and land-based aircraft.
The Corsair as a ground-attack aircraft:
Although the F4U Corsair gained fame as one of the Pacific War's finest naval fighters, it also proved to be an outstanding fighter-bomber.
During the Battle of Okinawa, Corsairs routinely carried bombs and HVAR rockets while providing close air support for American ground forces. Their speed, rugged construction and heavy payload made them highly effective against Japanese defensive positions that were often concealed in caves, hillsides and reinforced bunkers.
The Battle of Okinawa became the largest amphibious operation of the Pacific War, and air power was one of the decisive factors in overcoming Japan's deeply layered defenses.
📍 Location: Okinawa, Japan
📅 Date: June 1945
📷 Photographer: Unknown
🔗 Photo source: U.S. National Archives
Recommended reading:
- Chance Vought F4U Corsair
- HVAR 5-inch Aircraft Rocket
- Battle of Okinawa
- U.S. Marine Corps Aviation
- Close Air Support in the Pacific War