Battleships in World War II - Operations - The Pacific Battles - Leyte Gulf

Leyte Gulf

At the Battle of the Philippine Sea, heavy aircraft losses made the carriers ineffectual and forced the Japanese to finally commit their dreadnoughts, both old and new, to the upcoming Leyte Campaign. The objective in this "decisive battle" was to stop the Allies from capturing the Philippines, which would cut off the Japanese oil supply and render their navy useless.

In the Battle of Leyte Gulf, two Japanese battleship forces converged on the American landing forces at Leyte Gulf. The Center Force of five fast battleships attacked from the north; the Southern Force of two slower old battleships attacked from the south. In the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea on 24 October 1944, the Center Force came under attack by American aircraft and Musashi, sister ship to Yamato, was sunk long before she could come within striking range of the American fleet. At the Battle of Surigao Strait early on 25 October, the Japanese Southern Force of two battleships encountered six American battleships (five of them raised and repaired from Pearl Harbor), led by Admiral Jesse Oldendorf of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, which sank Admiral Shoji Nishimura's flagship Yamashiro and would have sunk Fusō if it had not already been broken in two by destroyer torpedoes moments earlier. This engagement marked the last time in history when battleship faced battleship. In the Battle off Samar later on 25 October 1944, the remaining four powerful battleships of the Center Force, including Yamato, Kongō, Haruna and Nagato and their cruiser escort, were defeated by the seemingly much weaker American task force of "Taffy 3" consisting of destroyers and escort carriers. American destroyers and aircraft attacked the battleships, enabling Taffy 3 to disengage and forcing the Center Force to withdraw.