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The Battle for Leyte Gulf
October 23-26 1944

The Japanese Surface Forces

SHIP TYPES - KEY
CV = Fleet Aircraft-Carrier / CVL = Light Fleet Aircraft-Carrier / BB = Battleship
CA = Heavy Cruiser / CL = Light Cruiser / DD = Destroyer
(S) = Sunk in this battle

At Leyte Gulf the Japanese fleet was organised into three forces, referred to in
Allied accounts as the Northern, Centre and Southern Forces.
These were composed as follows -


Northern Force ('Main Body')
(Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa)
Ozawa's Northern Force was intended to decoy the US covering forces away from the Leyte invasion fleet.
Ozawa was to prove remarkably successful in his mission.

1 CV (Zuikaku (S))

3 CVL (Zuiho (S), Chitose (S), Chiyoda (S))

2 BB (Ise*, Hyuga*)

3 CL (Isuzu, Tama (S), Oyoda)

8 DD (Hatsuzuki (S), Akitsuki (S), Wakatsuki, Shimotsuki, Maki, Sugi, Kuwa, Kiri)

* Ise and Hyuga were battleships converted to 'battleship-carriers'.
They were able to operate a large number of seaplanes, but carried none at Leyte Gulf.


Centre Force
(Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita)

The main Japanese force in the battle, although the Northern (decoy) force 
was referred to by the Japanese as the  'Main Body'.

5 BB (Yamato, Musashi (S), Nagato, Kongo, Haruna)

10 CA  (Atago (S), Takao, Chokai (S), Maya (S), Myoko, Haguro, Kumano, 
Suzuya (S), Chikuma (S), Tone)

2 CL (Noshiro (S), Yahagi)

15 DD (Shimakaze, Hayashimo (S), Akashimo, Kishinami, Okinami, Naganami, Asashimo,
Fujinami (S), Hamanami, Kiyoshimo, Nowaki (S), Urakaze, Isokaze, Hamakaze, Yukikaze)

The battleship 'Yamato' of Admiral Kurita's 'Center Force'


Southern Force
(Vice-Admirals Nishimura and Shima)

The Southern Force was intended to penetrate through Surigao Strait into Leyte Gulf and join with
Kurita's Centre Force in attacking the invasion shipping.

It consisted of two groups, the larger (Force "C") commanded by Vice-Admiral Nishimura,
and the smaller ("Second Striking Force") by Vice-Admiral Shima.

These two groups were meant to coordinate their attacks, but failed to do so.

Force "C "(Van of the Southern Force)
(V. Adm. Shoji Nishimura)

2 BB (Fuso (S), Yamashiro (S))

1 CA (Mogami (S))

4 DD (Michisio (S), Yamagumo (S), Asagumo(S), Shigure)

Second Striking Force (Rearguard of the Southern force)
(V. Adm. Kiyohide Shima)

2 CA (Nachi, Ashigara)

1 CL (Abukuma (S))

7 DD (Kasumi, Shiranuhi (S), Wakaba (S), Hatsuharu, Hatsushimo, Akebono, Ushio)

The US Order of Battle

US Third Fleet

The US Seventh Fleet

Leyte Gulf - a brief account of the battle

The Battle of Surigao Strait

Leyte Gulf Index



Acknowledgments
Main source for above data - "History of United States Naval Operations in World War II" by S.E. Morison,  Volume XII "Leyte" (Boston 1963)