The task group was ordered to strike Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima in an effort to catch the airfields full of Japanese aircraft staging to the Marianas, fighter and bomber raids hit the islands on 15 June. Meanwhile, "Bataan"s aircraft, flying CAP and ASP as usual, bombed and heavily damaged the "Tatsutagawa Maru". On 16 June, after a morning fighter sweep over Iwo Jima, the task group received reports of a large Japanese force closing the Marianas from the Philippines. The planned afternoon strikes on Iwo Jima were canceled and "Bataan"s task group hurried south to rejoin TF 58.