The Battle for Leyte Gulf
23-26 October 1944
Fletcher Class destroyer - starboard profile

 Four major actions which together make up the greatest naval battle of World War Two -

The Battle of the Sibuyan Sea

The struggle between the Japanese main force and the aircraft of Task Force 38.

The Battle of Surigao Strait

The greatest surface action since 1916 at Jutland, and the last battle-line action in history.

The Battle off Cape Engano

The last sea fight of the Japanese aircraft carriers, and their destruction by the US Third Fleet

The Battle off Samar

The struggle of a American escort carrier unit, and its destroyers 
against the enemy main force

The Battle for Leyte Gulf  -  a Brief Account

The ActionsThe ForcesThe US WarshipsThe Aircraft

Third Fleet in Typhoon Cobra, December 1944

Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey

Charts of the Battle

 Links

Sources

USS Enterprise CV-6

Siege at Sea  -  the Fast Carriers, 1944-5

The Destruction of Force Z - 10 December 1941

The Battle of the Philippine Sea  -  19-20 June 1944

Dave James' Naval & Maritime Pages



e-mail :

odyssey@dircon.co.uk



Acknowledgments

Main source of data for this site is :
"History of US Naval Operations in World War II" by Samuel E Morison - Volume XII "Leyte"
(Published by Little Brown,Boston 1962)

The impression of a Fletcher Class destroyer at the head of this page
is based on a photograph of the destroyer 'La Vallette' in :
 P.H. Silverstone "US Warships of World War II" (published by Ian Allan, Shepperton, Surrey)


THE FORCES

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The Japanese Order of Battle

The United States Order of Battle

The US Third FleetThe US Seventh Fleet

The Fast Carrier Task Force

 Aircraft of the Pacific War

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  THE SHIPS

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Illustrations  - Allied Ships of the Pacific War

USS Enterprise CV-6 - fast carrier

  Essex Class fast carriers

Independence Class light carriers

Casablanca Class escort carriers

Fletcher Class destroyers

The Seventh Fleet's battleships

The Strange Story of the Phoenix

Cleveland Class light cruisers

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 THE JAPANESE AIRCRAFT

Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen - Japanese fighter-bomber

Nakajima B5N and B6N torpedo-bombers - the 'Kate' and 'Jill'

Japanese dive-bombers - D4Y 'Judy' and the D3A 'Val'

  THE US AIRCRAFT

The Grumman F6F Hellcat - shipboard fighter of the fast carriers

F4F/FM Wildcat - shipboard fighter of the escort carriers

TBF/TBM Avenger - the US shipboard torpedo-bomber

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver - the US shipboard dive-bomber

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THE ACTIONS

The Battle of Surigao Strait

The Battle off Samar - the Main Action - by Robert Jon Cox

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CHARTS

 The Opening Phase - Approach and Contact

(Please note - this chart is 198k and will take correspondingly long to download)

   The Decisive Phase - 25 October 1944

(Please note - this chart is 209k and will take correspondingly long to download)

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