#YAMATO BATTLE GROUP PLUS#

The battle-ships then turned their attention to the escort carriers but, of hundreds of rounds expended, only a few hits were obtained. Yamato fired on a charging US destroyer, which disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and Kongo dealt like-wise with another destroyer.

The IJN heavy cruiser Haguro led Chokai, Chikuma and Tone south in an attempt to catch the American escort carriers, while Yamato, Nagato, Kongo and Haruna battled the escorting destroyers. The rain squalls came to an end about 8:00am and the Japanese assault on the USN carriers and escorts recommenced. Meanwhile, the American escort carriers were able to hide in rain squalls in their area. At 7:30am the IJN heavy cruiser Suzuya was hit and disabled by near misses from bombs. Kongo and Haruna remained, but were kept busy dodging torpedo wakes and attacking aircraft. However, torpedo wakes were spotted by the battleships, causing them to scatter, with Yamato and Nagato turning north in an attempt to outrun them, putting them out of the battle area. The US torpedo attack was partially successful, even though the only hit obtained was on the heavy cruiser Kumano, putting her out of action and forcing her to retire towards the San Bernardino Strait. The Japanese battleships concentrated their fire on the threat posed by the American destroyers, while the Japanese cruisers continued to fire at the carriers. Yamato launched some of her observation aircraft to help spot her fire upon the US carriers, and about the same time aircraft from the US escort carriers, armed with whatever weapons were to hand, made diversionary attacks on Force A.ДЄbout 6:55am American destroyers charged out of the smoke screen towards the Japanese force, launching a torpedo attack. The actual task force under attack by Force A was six escort carriers, three destroyers and four destroyer escorts, and as Yamato and Force A fired at the American carriers, the US Navy destroyers and DEs put up a smoke screen to help defend their carriers. This was the beginning of what was to be called the Battle off Samar. Yamato immediately opened fire on these ships, but the remainder of Force A was not able to open fire until they were within range (which was at 5:58am). By 5:45am Force A sighted ships on the horizon, identified them as six small aircraft carriers, with cruisers and destroyers. KuritaвЂ™s intention was to attack the American amphibious shipping with his battleships and cruisers.ДЄt 5:23am YamatoвЂ™s radar picked up ships further to the south, in the path of Force AвЂ™s advance, near the south-eastern end of the island of Samar. Force A changed course to the south, along the eastern coast of the island of Samar, towards Leyte Gulf and the American invasion force landing there. Yamato, Vice Admiral KuritaвЂ™s flagship, then entered the Philippine Sea in the early hours, of 25 October 1944, steaming in a easterly direction. Force A passed through that strait in single file at about midnight. At the time of the sinking of Musashi, Force A was midway down the west coast of the island of Burias, and by 9:00pm they were rounding the northern tip of the island of Ticao and headed south towards the entrance of the San Bernardino Strait. Yamato had sustained three bomb hits, but they caused minimal damage. The remains of Force A, with battleships Yamato, Nagato, Kongo and Haruna, cruisers and destroyers proceeded out of the Sibuyan Sea that night, towards the open ocean and the Philippine Sea. Approximately 260 US Navy aircraft attacked the IJN surface fleet in this 6-hour running battle across the Sibuyan Sea, during which the Japanese were only able to shoot down 18 American aircraft. In either case, this was a massive amount of punishment that no warship could survive.

#YAMATO BATTLE GROUP PLUS#

Japanese sources indicate that Musashi was hit by eleven torpedoes and ten bombs, while American records stated that they hit her with twenty torpedoes and seventeen bombs, plus fifteen near misses.

Yamato battle group