Battle of Leyte Gulf

battle_name=Battle of Leyte Gulf

Battle off Cape Engaño

Ozawa's "Northern Force" had four aircraft carriers

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(Zuikaku — the last surviving carrier of the Attack on Pearl Harbor —

Related Topics:
''Zuikaku'' - Attack on Pearl Harbor

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Zuiho,

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Chitose, and

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Chiyoda),

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two World War I battleships partially converted to carriers

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(Hyuga and

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Ise — the aft turrets had been replaced by hangar, deck and catapult, but neither carried any planes in this battle),

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three cruisers

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(Oyodo,

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Tama, and

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Isuzu),

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and nine destroyers. He had only 108 planes.

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On October 24, Ozawa's force was not spotted until 16:40. The Americans were too busy attacking Kurita and dealing with the air strikes from Luzon. On the evening of October 24, Ozawa intercepted a (mistaken) American communication of Kurita's withdrawal, and began to withdraw as well. But at 20:00 Toyoda Soemu ordered all forces to attack.

Related Topics:
October 24 - Toyoda Soemu

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Halsey saw that he had an opportunity to destroy the last Japanese carrier forces in the Pacific, a blow that would completely destroy Japanese sea power and allow the U.S. Navy to attack the Japanese homelands. Believing that Kurita had been defeated by the airstrikes in the Sibuyan Sea, and was retiring to Brunei, Halsey set out in pursuit of Ozawa just after midnight with all three carrier groups and Admiral Willis A. Lee's "Task Force 34" of battleships. Although Kurita's movement toward the San Bernardino Strait had been tracked by scout planes, it seems Halsey was not informed.

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The U.S. Third Fleet was formidable and completely outgunned the Japanese Northern Force. Halsey had nine fleet carriers

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(Intrepid,

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Hornet,

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Franklin,

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Lexington,

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Bunker Hill,

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Wasp,

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Hancock,

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Enterprise, and

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Essex),

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eight light carriers

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(Independence,

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Princeton,

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Belleau Wood,

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Cowpens,

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Monterey,

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Langley,

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Cabot, and

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San Jacinto),

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six battleships

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(Alabama,

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Iowa,

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Massachusetts,

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New Jersey,

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South Dakota, and

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Washington),

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seventeen cruisers and sixty-three destroyers. He could put more than 1,000 planes in the air. But it left the landings on Leyte covered only by a handful of escort carriers and destroyers.

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Halsey had taken the bait so temptingly dangled in front of him by Ozawa; fittingly, the engagement was to take place off a cape whose name means "deceit" in Spanish.

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On the morning of October 25, Ozawa launched 75 planes to attack the Americans, doing little damage. Most of the planes were shot down by the American covering patrols. A handful of survivors made it to Luzon.

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The American carriers launched their first attack group of 180 aircraft at dawn, before the Northern Force had been located, and the search aircraft made contact at 7:10 a.m. At 8:00. the American fighters destroyed the screen of 30 defensive aircraft, and the air strikes began and continued until the evening, by which time the American aircraft had flown 527 sorties against the Northern Force, and sunk three of Ozawa's carriers (Zuikaku, Zuiho and Chiyoda) and the destroyer Akitsuki. The fourth carrier, Chitose, was disabled, as was the cruiser Tama. Ozawa transferred his flag to Oyodo.

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With all the Japanese carriers sunk or disabled, the main targets remaining were the converted battleships Ise and Hyuga. Their massive construction proved resistant to the air strikes, and Halsey sent Task Force 34 forward to engage them directly. But then news reached Halsey of the engagement off Samar and that disaster was facing Sprague's Task Group 77.4. He abandoned the pursuit and turned south, detaching only a small force of cruisers and destroyers under Laurence T. DuBose to sink the disabled Japanese ships. Ise and Hyuga returned to Japan, where they were sunk at their moorings in 1945.

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