Battle Off Samar - The Forces

The Forces

The Japanese Center Force now consisted of the battleships Yamato, Nagato, Kongō, and Haruna; heavy cruisers Chōkai, Haguro, Kumano, Suzuya, Chikuma, Tone; light cruisers Yahagi, and Noshiro; and 11 Kagerō- and Asashio-class destroyers. The battleships and cruisers were fully armored against 5 in (130 mm) projectiles. They together had dozens of large caliber guns, including the Yamato's 18.1 in (460 mm) guns, which could reach out to 25 mi (22 nmi; 40 km). Surface gunnery was controlled by optical sighting which fed computer-assisted fire control systems, though they were less sophisticated than the radar-controlled systems on U.S. destroyers.

Each of the three task units of the 7th Fleet's Task Group 77.4 had six small Casablanca-class or larger Sangamon-class escort carriers. The destroyers had five 5-inch guns, the destroyer escorts had two, and the carriers only a single 5-inch gun. Lacking any ships with any larger guns that could reach beyond 10 mi (8.7 nmi; 16 km), it appeared to be a hopeless mismatch against Japanese gunnery which emphasized long range and large guns. This battle did reveal that their partly automated fire control was largely ineffective against maneuvering ships at long range (though some ships such as the Kongō did hit their targets when they got closer). The Japanese warships did not actually record shell hits on the carriers until they had closed to within firing range of the carriers themselves. By contrast, even the American destroyers all had the Mark 37fire-control system that aimed automatic, accurate fire against surface and air targets while maneuvering throughout the battle. The lack of a comparable system in Japanese ships also contributed to comments from American pilots of the ineffectiveness of the Japanese antiaircraft fire.

Rear Admiral Thomas L. Sprague's Task Unit 77.4.1 ("Taffy 1") consisted of the Carrier Division 22 escort carriers Sangamon, Suwannee, Santee, and Petrof Bay. (The remaining two escort carriers from Taffy 1, Rear Admiral George R. Henderson's COMCARDIV 28 Chenango and Saginaw Bay, had departed for Morotai, Indonesia on 24 October, carrying "dud" aircraft from other carriers for transfer ashore. They returned with replacement aircraft after the battle.)

Rear Admiral Felix Stump's Task Unit 77.4.2 ("Taffy 2") Carrier Division 24 consisted of Natoma Bay and Manila Bay, and Rear Admiral William D. Sample's COMCARDIV 27 Marcus Island, Kadashan Bay, Savo Island, and Ommaney Bay.

Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague's Task Unit 77.4.3 ("Taffy 3") consisted of Carrier Division 25 Fanshaw Bay, St. Lo, White Plains, Kalinin Bay, and Rear Admiral Ralph A. Ofstie's COMCARDIV 26 Kitkun Bay and Gambier Bay. Screening for Taffy 3 were the destroyers Hoel, Heermann and Johnston, and destroyer escorts Dennis, John C. Butler, Raymond, and Samuel B. Roberts.

Though each escort carrier was small, and carried an average of about 28 planes, this gave the three "Taffies" a combined total of approximately 450 aircraft, equivalent to several large fleet carriers. However, while their top speed of 17.5 kn (20.1 mph; 32.4 km/h) was adequate for cargo convoys or ground support, they were too slow to keep up with or escape a fast task force. Since these aircraft were intended for ground-attack aircraft, for air defense fighter planes, and for antisubmarine warfare, the first flights from Taffy 3 were armed only with machine guns, depth charges, and high explosive and antipersonnel aerial bombs, that were effective against enemy troops, submarines, and destroyers, but not very effective against I.J.N. battleships and cruisers. Later sorties from the carriers of Taffy 2 had enough time to be rearmed with more deadly weapons against the enemy warships: some torpedoes and armor-piercing bombs.