 Despite the tremendous potential firepower of these three vessels, the largest in the Imperial Navy, only modest damage was inflicted on the American forces, and from the fall of 1944 to the summer of 1945 all three ships would be severely damaged by overwhelming strikes by U.S. carrier-based planes.Recalled to Japan in February 1945, Ugaki was appointed commander of IJN Fifth Air Fleet based in Kyūshū and overseeing all naval aircraft in the region from his headquarters in a cave bunker to protect him from the growing threat of B-29 Superfortress attacks.In March, he launched a long-range strike of "kamikaze" against the U.S. fleet anchored at Ulithi followed by the first waves of Operation Ten-Go in April, which involved hundreds of "kamikaze" attacks against U.S. Navy ships in the vicinity of Okinawa.