Battle Off Samar - Battle Summary

Battle Summary

In a battle that James D. Hornfischer would call "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors", the very powerful force of Japanese battleships, cruisers, and destroyers commanded by Admiral Kurita engaged a U.S. task unit of six escort carriers, three destroyers, and four destroyer escorts. The Americans were taken entirely by surprise because the 7th Fleet had firmly believed that its northern flank was being protected by Admiral Halsey's immensely powerful 3rd Fleet, which consisted of eight fleet carriers and six fast battleships.

The brunt of the Japanese attack fell on the northernmost of the escort carrier units, Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague's Task Unit 77.4.3 (usually referred to by its radio call-sign "Taffy 3"). Ill-equipped to fight large-gunned warships, Taffy 3's escort carriers attempted to escape from the Japanese force, while its destroyers, destroyer escorts, and aircraft made sustained attacks on Kurita's ships. The destroyers and destroyer escorts only had torpedoes and guns of up to 5 in (130 mm) caliber; nonetheless, they had radar-assisted gun directors; the Japanese had heavy caliber weapons up to 18.1 in (460 mm), but they had less accurate optical rangefinders. The Americans also had large numbers of aircraft available which the Japanese lacked. The ordnance for the escort carriers' aircraft consisted mostly of high-explosive bombs used in ground support missions, and depth charges used in antisubmarine warfare, rather than the armor-piercing bombs and torpedoes which would have been more effective against heavily armored warships. Nevertheless, even when they were out of ammunition, the American aircraft continued to harass the enemy ships, making repeated mock attacks, which distracted their gunners and disrupted their formations.

In all, two U.S. destroyers, a destroyer escort, and an escort carrier were sunk by Japanese gunfire, and another U.S. escort carrier was hit and sunk by a kamikaze aircraft during the battle. Kurita's battleships were driven away from the engagement by torpedo attacks from American destroyers; they were unable to regroup in the chaos, while three cruisers were lost after attacks from U.S. destroyers and aircraft, with several other cruisers damaged. Due to the ferocity of the defense, Kurita was convinced that he was facing a far superior force and withdrew from the battle, ending the threat to the troop transports and supply ships.

The battle was one of the last major naval engagements between U.S. and Japanese surface forces in World War II. After this, the Philippines were recaptured by the U.S., which cut the Japanese off from their oil-producing colonies in Southeast Asia, while her major shipyards and repair facilities were in Japan. The Imperial Japanese Navy never again sailed to battle in such force; most ships returned to bases in Japan to remain largely inactive for the rest of the war.

This battle is often depicted as one of the major "what-ifs" in World War II. If Kurita had continued the attack instead of withdrawing, it is possible that the U.S. could have suffered heavy losses in troops and supplies, which would have delayed their capture of the Philippines. If Kurita's and Halsey's forces met, that would have been the long awaited "decisive battle" where both sides would have finally been able to pit their largest battleships against each other. However, Halsey's 3rd Fleet outnumbered Kurita's in ships of all types, particularly in the six American battleships versus four for the Japanese. Only Yamato had heavier armor and larger guns than the U.S. battleships; the other three Japanese battleships were of World War I design and were generally inferior in firepower and protection, whereas their 3rd Fleet counterparts were all recently built battleships, mounted 16 in (410 mm) main guns and were equipped with radar-guided fire control systems.