Photo: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command

Photo: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command

HISTORY

USS Gambier Bay photographed from the deck of USS Kalinin Bay during the Battle of Samar.

American Admiral William Halsey sent his main

forces north against Ozawa, leaving the strait

unguarded. Another mistake made by Halsey

was his delayed reaction to reports of the

Japanese battleships' penetration; he was too

eager to destroy the enemy’s aircraft carriers.

Unfortunately, this exposed the entire Philippine

landing to a deadly risk.

Against four Japanese battleships, six

heavy cruisers, and eleven destroyers, there

were only three groups of small and slow

escort aircraft carriers providing support to

the landing forces – Taffy 1, Taffy 2, and Taffy

3. When the Japanese ships appeared on the

horizon, Taffy 3, commanded by Admiral Clifton

Sprague, was the closest to them. The group

consisted of six escort carriers (Fanshaw Bay,

Gambier Bay, Kalinin Bay, Kitkun Bay, St. Lo,

and White Plains), three destroyers (Heermann,

Hoel, and Johnston), and four escort destroyers

(Dennis, John C. Butler, Raymond, and Samuel B.

Roberts). The destroyers of the Fletcher class,

armed with five 127mm guns and ten torpedo

Gambier Bay lagged behind the rest of the group. In the

picture we can see as the Japanese grenades exploding

aorund her.

Photo: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command

Saving the survivors of the Battle of Samar.

tubes, were the most heavily armed ships in

Taffy 3. The escort destroyers were smaller and

slower, carrying only two 127mm guns and three

torpedo launchers. To put it in perspective, the

battleship Yamato had a larger displacement

than the entire American force combined!

In the ensuing battle of David against Goliath,

the Japanese cruisers Chōkai, Chikuma, and

Suzuya were sunk, while on the American side,

the destroyers USS Johnston, USS Hoel, and USS

Samuel B. Roberts were lost. The escort carrier

USS Gambier Bay was destroyed by gunfire

from the cruisers Tone and Chikuma. It was the

only American aircraft carrier sunk by surface

gunfire. After the battle with Kurita's forces, the

heavily tested Taffy 3 group had to face the first

organized kamikaze attack. Several ships were

damaged, and the escort carrier USS St. Lo was

sunk when a Zero carrying a bomb crashed into

its flight deck and exploded in the hangar among

refueling aircraft.

The total American losses in the Battle of

Samar Island were nearly 1,200 sailors and

aviators, which is more than the casualties

in the Battles of Midway and the Coral Sea

combined. It is no wonder that Clifton Sprague

harshly criticized Halsey's actions.

The Battle of Samar Island is renowned as

the “finest hour of the U.S. Navy,” and more

detailed information about it can be found in

Tom Cleaver’s article on page 12 of this issue.

Now, let’s focus on the wrecks of the ships left

behind after the battle...

In the Philippine Trench

The Battle of Samar Island took place on the

edge of the Philippine Trench, and as a result, all

the sunken ships rest in great depths. The wreck

of USS St. Lo was discovered by the research

vessel RV Petrel in May 2019, lying at a depth of

4,736 meters. In the same month, researchers

also located the cruiser Chōkai at a depth of

5,173 meters.

However, in October 2019, RV Petrel found

parts of a ship believed to be from USS Johnston.

They were located at a depth of 6,218 meters,