Existing comment:
Flag:
Princeton flew this flag during the Battle for Leyte Gulf, until the ship was abandoned and sunk.
Leyte Gulf:
October 1944 saw a merger of Nimitz's Central Pacific and MacArthur/Halsey's Southwest Pacific forces. The Allied landings on the Philippine island of Leyte precipitated a series of naval battles unprecedented for the number of combatants and the size of the area where battles were fought.
Lacking adequate carrier-based air cover, the Japanese organized land-based kamikaze squadrons to fly suicide missions in a final, desperate attempt to stop the Allies.
Plan SHO:
America's amphibious forces landed on Leyte two months ahead of schedule. The Japanese responded by activating plan SHO (Victory), a pincer movement to attack the landing force with four elements.
Vice Adm Takeo Kurita entered Leyte Gulf from the northwest. Read Adm Shoji Nishimura and Vice Adm Klyohide Shima came from the south. These three forces would brush aside American defenders and sink the vulnerable amphibious shipping.
The fourth element -- Vice Adm Jisaburo Ozawa's forces -- would function as a decoy, luring away Halsey's THIRD Fleet northeast of Leyte.
On 23 October, submarines Darter and Dace sighted the approaching Japanese fleet. They quickly sank two cruisers but ... Darter ran aground on Bombay Shoal. Dace rescued the crew, and Darter was destroyed. A submarine was lost, but Halsey now knew the attack was coming.
Battle of Sibuyan Sea -- 24 October 1944:
Having been alerted to Vice Admiral Kurita's incipient approach, Halsey dispatched his carrier-based bombers. The ensuing battle in the Sibuyan Sea, with the loss of the super battleship Musashi and the destroyer Wakaba, forced Kurita to reverse course. But he would return.
A bomb dropped on Princeton started fires that burned for hours. The cruiser Birmingham went alongside to help fight the fires and tow the stricken carrier to safety. Suddenly, the fires reached a torpedo storage area. The resulting explosion killed 233 and seriously wounded 211 men on the cruiser. Princeton had to be sunk.
Battle of Surigao Strait -- 24-25 October 1944:
United States and Australian ships guarded the western entrance of Surigao Strait in order to protect the Leyte landings from the approaching Japanese Southern Force.
On the night of 24-25 October, the Japanese Southern Force fought its way through the Strait, fending off attacks from PT boats and destroyers. At the end of the gauntlet, the Japanese encountered the American battle line of California, Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia, ships nearly destroyed during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Jesse B. Oldendorf (1887-1974) USNA 1909:
Oldendorf was a seasoned veteran, having served in World War I and commanded a naval station and convoy missions earlier in World War II. In 1944, he received command of a cruiser division in the Pacific. During the Battle of Surigao Strait, he deployed his ships in a classic battle line formation, defeating the southern Japanese forces commanded by Rear Admiral Nishimura and Vice Admiral Shima.
After Leyte, he was wounded on board his flagship Pennsylvania off Okinawa. He retired in 1948.
Battle off Samar -- 25 October 1944:
The morning after the Battle of Surigao Strait, Kurita, again advancing through San Bernardino Strait, detected American naval forces and launched a new attack. The Japanese had overwhelming superiority -- battleships with 14-, 16-, and 18-inch guns against destroyers with 5-inch guns and torpedoes. Nevertheless, after two-and-a-half hours of battle, the Japanese suddenly broke off the fight.
Apparently, Kurita believed he had encountered Halsey's fleet carriers. Had he pressed on, Kurita could have accomplished his mission: destruction of the Allied landings on Leyte.
To protect their ships, pilots with no training or experience in attacking ships, took off and made repeated attacked on Japanese battleships, cruisers, and destroyers. When the planes ran out of ammunition and bombs, the pilots dived on the ships just to try to divert attention away from the carriers.
Ernest E. Evans (1908-1944) USNA 1931:
Evans was awarded the Medal of Honor for his service as commander of the destroyer Johnston during the Battle off Samar. When the Japanese were sighted in the opening moments of the battle, Evans ordered all boilers lighted off, set general quarters, and announced, "prepare to attack major portion of Japanese Fleet."
With her main battery firing, Johnston raced toward the Japanese ships to launch torpedoes. Just after the torpedoes were released, Johnston was hit by large caliber rounds. Additional punishment sank the destroyer and killed many of the crew, including Commander Evans.
Clifton A. F. Sprague (1896-1955) USNA 1918:
The commander of "Taffy 3" in the Battle off Samar previously served in World War I. After that war, he qualified as a naval aviator and designed arresting gear for carrier flight decks.
At the time of Pearl Harbor, Sprague commanded the seaplane tender Tangier, the first naval vessel to return fire on the attackers. He commanded the carrier Wasp during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and was promoted to rear admiral in August 1944. After the war he commanded a carrier division and the Alaskan Sea Frontier.
Battle of Cape Engano -- 25 October 1944:
With their carrier-borne air forces virtually nonexistent, the Japanese sent their remaining carriers to the northeast of Luzon to draw Halsey's American carriers away from Leyte. The decoy effort worked.
Halsey raced north. He believed the Kurita was retreating from San Bernardino Strait, when Kurita was actually en route to Leyte. Halsey's focus on the enemy's carriers opened the way for Kurita and nearly spelled disaster for the Allies off the landing beaches.
Frederick C. Sherman (1888-1957) USNA 1910:
Sherman led a varied career. He commanded submarines during World War I, had duty in battleships and cruisers between the wars, qualified as a naval aviator then served as executive director of Saratoga in 1937.
In 1940, he became commanding officer of Lexington and was on board the carrier when she was sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea. After service [sic] as assistant chief of staff to Admiral King, Sherman assumed command of Task Group 38.3, which included carriers Essex, Lexington, Princeton, and Langley. He retired in 1947.
John S. McCain (1884-1945) USNA 1906:
Upon graduation, McCain was assigned to ships in the Asiatic Fleet. In the 1930s, McCain went to flight school and earned his wings at the age of 52. In the early part of the Pacific war, he commanded all land-based aircraft in the defense of Guadalcanal. After a stint in Washington, he returned to the Pacific as commander of Task Group 38.1, which included carriers Wasp, Hornet, Monterey, and Cowpens during the Battle for Leyte Gulf.
On 9 January 1945, American Southwest Pacific forces landed on Luzon at Lingayen Gulf, the same place the Japanese had begun their assault on the islands three years earlier. The Allied thrust marked the beginning of the liberation of Manila.
Death of the Imperial Navy:
Japanese naval aviation was destroyed in the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944. Four months later, in the Battles for Leyte Gulf, the Imperial Navy was effectively destroyed as a fighting force. In places like Iwo Jima and Okinawa, there still remained months of battles hard-fought by both sides. Without the offensive support of the Navy, Japan turned to a new, fearsome weapon: the kamikaze. |