Why were U.S. Navy casualties especially high in the Okinawa campaign?

U.S. Navy casualties were exceptionally high during the Okinawa campaign primarily due to the intense and widespread use of kamikaze suicide attacks by Japanese forces.12

These suicide missions, which included the use of conventional aircraft and the rocket-powered Baka piloted missile, were directed at Allied warships and transport vessels to cripple the fleet. The effectiveness of these tactics was significant: of the 34 U.S. ships sunk during the battle, 26 were destroyed by suicide attacks.312

The human cost of these assaults was profound, resulting in nearly 5,000 deaths among U.S. Navy personnel. This figure exceeded the battle deaths suffered by both the U.S. Army and the Marines during the ground offensive, underscoring the extreme danger faced by sailors stationed on picket destroyers and other vessels surrounding the fleet. While U.S. naval officials initially underestimated the severity of these attacks, the campaign ultimately forced a reassessment of ship design and defensive tactics against such unconventional warfare.12