Activities during those days of training included duty in the tractor group "George" screen—TG 51.7—fire support drills, and ASW patrols around the transport area—all skills that would be very much needed. After replenishing fuel, ammunition, and provisions and receiving additional fighter-director equipment, Wickes—with a new fighter-director team embarked— sortied for Okinawa on 19 March with TG 51.7. Upon her arrival off Okinawa on the 26th, Wickes acted as a fire support vessel, supporting the landings by scheduled bombardments on Yakabi Shima, Kerama Retto; but there was no opposition on that island that required additional naval gunfire. Commencing on 26 March and continuing through 4 May, Wickes conducted regular radar-picket and fighter-director duties on the various stations off Okinawa. During that period, the CAP, vectored to the enemy by Lt. (jg.) James R. Baumgartner, USNR, the senior fighter-director officer embarked, engaged 42 enemy aircraft, destroyed eight, and damaged four. Late on the afternoon of 22 April, the Wickes-directed CAP scored their most signal success. On Radar Picket Station 14, about 70 miles northwest of Okinawa, Wickes vectored Marine fighters from Yontan Field to a large raid approaching from the northward. The flying Leathernecks knocked down 26 Japanese planes, probably splashed another pair, and damaged four. After later turning over her fighter-director team to Gainard (DD-706), on 4 May, Wickes alternated duty on the antiaircraft screen protecting the transports off Hagushi beach with antisubmarine patrols. She also supervised underway fueling operations for a day. She then underwent a period of needed upkeep to have her boilers cleaned. During the 51 days Wickes spent off Okinawa, she took enemy aircraft under fire no less than 14 times, and was four times, the object of attention from kamikazes. Her gunners claimed five "kills" from the suiciders' ranks, and one "probable". Two of the downed enemy aircraft managed to crash close enough to send pieces of themselves onto the ship's fantail—but doing no damage. On one occasion, one of the kamikazes attempted to torpedo the ship, but its "fish" also missed. In addition, Wickes may have saved the hospital ship Relief (AH-1) from serious damage when she deflected, with her gunfire, a suicider attempting to crash into the ship-of-mercy. Until 10 April, Wickes patrolled her picket stations alone, without support. After that time, a landing craft or another destroyer was always present. Other incidental occurrences that came up during the ship's time off the embattled