At 08:26, Commander Thomas requested covering fire on the cruisers firing on the CVEs from the east. Hathaway responded but first had to pass through the formation of carriers and escorts. This task proved hazardous. Traveling at flank speed, Heermann again had two near misses, this time with Fanshaw Bay and Johnston. I believed that the Center Force had been so heavily damaged in the Sibuyan Sea that it could no longer be considered a serious menace to Seventh Fleet. [86] [87] Kitkun Bay prepares to launch her Wildcat fighters, while White Plains is straddled by 18.1-inch (46cm) shells. USS Fanshaw Bay [ edit ]

Battle of Surigao Strait museum opens". Mindanao Gold Star Daily. 27 October 2019 . Retrieved 1 November 2019.Field, James A. (1947). The Japanese at Leyte Gulf: The Sho Operation. Princeton University Press. OCLC 1261836. Tunningley, James (2 June 2017). "What China's Aircraft Carrier Means for its Naval Defence Capabilities". globalriskinsights.com. Holloway, James L. III (October 2010). "Second Salvo at Surigao Strait". Naval History Magazine. U.S. Naval Institute . Retrieved 21 July 2021. Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual [Rev. 1953]; Memo – Changes". Naval History and Heritage Command. U.S. Navy. 19 August 1954. Enclosure (2): Ships at San Bernardino Strait on 24 and 26 October 1944, p. 1 . Retrieved 29 November 2020.

Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague's Task Unit 77.4.3 ("Taffy3") consisted of Fanshaw Bay, St. Lo, White Plains, Kalinin Bay, Kitkun Bay and Gambier Bay. Screening for Taffy3 were the destroyers Hoel, Heermann and Johnston, and destroyer escorts Dennis, John C. Butler, Raymond, and Samuel B. Roberts. These six escort carriers carried about 165 aircraft, equivalent to two fleet carriers. Each carrier had a squadron composed of twelve to fourteen FM-2 Wildcat fighters and an equivalent number of Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers. Yet, the carriers had a top speed of only 18 knots, far less than the Japanese cruisers and destroyers capable of 30 knots. In addition, none of his ships had a gun larger than five inches, firing 54 pound shells, but unable to penetrate the Japanese cruiser or battleship armor, and had a limited range of seven miles. [12] Battle [ edit ] Movements during the battle Hornfischer, James D. (2004). The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour. New York: Bantam. ISBN 0-553-80257-7 . Retrieved 2 December 2020. While withdrawing from the battle area, Nowaki was herself sunk, with the loss of all but one of Chikuma 's surviving crewmen, it is unknown how the Nowaki was lost and is still a topic of research today.Battleship Yamato Battles". Battleshipyamato.info. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010 . Retrieved March 18, 2010. As it sortied from its base in Brunei, Kurita's powerful "Center Force" consisted of five battleships ( Yamato, Musashi, Nagato, Kongō, and Haruna) [d], ten heavy cruisers ( Atago, Maya, Takao, Chōkai, Myōkō, Haguro, Kumano, Suzuya, Tone and Chikuma), two light cruisers ( Noshiro and Yahagi) and 15 destroyers. [27]

Cox, Robert Jon (2010). The Battle Off Samar: Taffy III at Leyte Gulf (5thed.). Agogeebic Press. ISBN 978-0-9822390-4-9. Evans, Mark L. (28 June 2019). "Princeton IV (CV-23)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command . Retrieved 13 September 2021. USS PC 623 War Diary, 25-28 October 1944". U.S. Navy. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016 . Retrieved June 12, 2012– via bosamar.com.Takao retired to Singapore, being joined in January 1945 by Myōkō, as the Japanese deemed both crippled cruisers irreparable and left them moored in the harbor as floating anti-aircraft batteries. Woodward, C. Vann (2007) [1947]. The Battle for Leyte Gulf: The Incredible Story of World War II's Largest Naval Battle. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-194-9. Fuller, J. F. C. (1956b). A Military History of the Western World. Vol.III. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. LCCN 54-9733 . Retrieved 25 July 2021.