The attack on Kure was an air raid conducted during the Pacific War by the United States Navy on 19 March 1945.

Japanese forces struck the American fleet on the morning of 19 March, and crippled one aircraft carrier and badly damaged another.

[2] As part of these operations, the Task Force was also to attack Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) warships sheltering in ports.

The first had been a series of raids on airfields which took place on 16 and 17 February 1945, in which the American aviators claimed to have destroyed 341 Japanese aircraft in the air and 190 on the ground for the loss of 80 of their own to all causes.

The second raid had been made against airfields in the Tokyo region on 25 February, in which the Americans claimed 46 Japanese aircraft while losing 16.

Most of the Combined Fleet, the IJN's main combat force, was stationed at the major naval base at Kure on the Seto Inland Sea.

[6] Task Force 58 departed Ulithi on 14 March to commence the pre-invasion attacks on the Japanese home islands.

[9] American photo reconnaissance aircraft also operated over Japan on 18 March, and located concentrations of IJN warships at Kure and Kobe.

Due to efficient damage control, the fires were extinguished within 15 minutes, and the carrier resumed flying operations at 8:00 AM.

While she was launching her second strike of the day at 7:08 AM, the ship was struck by two bombs dropped from a Japanese aircraft which had also avoided detection.

As they approached Kure, the 20 Grumman F6F Hellcats of VBF-17 encountered 40 fighters from the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service's elite 343rd Kōkūtai.

This was almost as many aircraft as the IJN had employed in the attack on Pearl Harbor which brought the United States into the Pacific War on 7 December 1941.

After sighting multiple warships, he ordered that half of the bombers target ships instead of the planned attacks on shore installations.

After further consideration, he directed all of the bombers to attack the three Japanese battleships, four aircraft carriers and ten other warships which were at anchor in the Kure area.

This was the most intense anti-aircraft fire experienced by Task Force 58's aviators up to that time, and eleven Helldivers and two Avengers were shot down.

Task Group 58.2 was attacked again by Japanese aircraft on the afternoon of 20 March, with destroyer USS Halsey Powell being hit by a kamikaze and Enterprise's flight deck being rendered unusable after she was accidentally struck by anti-aircraft fire from other American warships.

[23] On the afternoon of 21 March, 48 Japanese aircraft attempted to attack Task Force 58, but the raid was driven off with heavy casualties after it was intercepted by 150 American fighters.

[25] The Task Force and the British Pacific Fleet attacked Kure and the Inland Sea area again on 24 and 28 July.