"Kitkun Bay" and Steamer Bay shared launching daily CAP and antisubmarine patrols, and rendezvoused with other ships of TF 38 on 8 July. That night the reinforced task force fueled and turned toward the first battles of the voyage, when, on 10 July, they hurled strikes against Japanese airfields in the Tōkyō plains area. The enemy camouflaged and dispersed most of their planes, reducing the aerial opposition encountered but also diminishing the results obtained. Lt. Herbert Tonry, USNR, of VC-63 went down in an FM-2 Wildcat (BuNo 74923) he flew from "Kitkun Bay" on the 12th, but a destroyer rescued the pilot. Harsh weather compelled the Americans to shift their attacks to airfields, vessels, and railroads in northern Honshū and Hokkaido (14–15 July), and these two days of raids wrought havoc with the vital shipment of Japanese coal across the Tsugaru Strait.