 The fleet set a northerly course on 8 July to approach the Japanese main island, Honshū.Raids took Tokyo by surprise on 10 July, followed by more devastation at the juncture of Honshū and Hokkaidō, the second-largest Japanese island, on 13–14 July.For the first time, naval gunfire destroyed a major installation within the home islands when "Missouri" joined in a shore bombardment on 15 July that severely damaged the Nihon Steel Co. and the Wanishi Ironworks at Muroran, Hokkaido.