The Last Stand if the Tin Can Sailors

        The US Navy was created on October 13, 1775. The Navy has won numerous battles in its storied history. None was more improbable than a portion of the Leyte Gulf Battle in 1944 which is referred to as The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors or officially as The Battle Off Samar.

          US forces under the command of General MacArthur landed on the Philippine Island of Leyte in October of 1944. The battle went well. MacArthur famously waded ashore announcing to the people of the island, “I have returned!” The landing was supported by a powerful naval force under Admiral “Bull” Halsey.

          The Philippines were important to the overall war strategy of the Japanese. They guarded the shipping lanes for vital resources like oil, tin and rubber from the East Indies and Southeast Asia. The Imperial Navy came up with a bold three prong strategy to eject the US forces. They would send a powerful force, including the two biggest battleships in the world, through the San Bernadino Straits toward the landing beaches. Another force would attack from the South. A third force, consisting of Japan’s remaining aircraft carriers, would approach from the North. At this point in the war Japanese naval aviation was no longer the threat it had posed earlier. It had lost many of its aircraft and experienced pilot in battles like The Marianas Turkey Shoot. The goal of the carrier force was simply to decoy Halsey’s Third Fleet away from the landing beaches. Then the Center and Southern Forces could have their way with the un-protected Americans on the beaches.       

          Halsey’s search planes first discovered the Center Force under Admiral Kurita steaming toward the San Bernadino Strait.  On October 24 carrier-based aircraft sunk the super-battleship Musashi and drove the rest of the Center Force into retreat. On the night of October 24-25, the US virtually destroyed the Southern Force in the last ever battleship versus battleship confrontation in history. Only the Japanese carrier force remained as a threat, or so Halsey thought.

          Halsey took all of his fast Fleet Carriers and headed out to pursue the Northern “Decoy” Force. Because of confusing orders, the Leyte beaches were left almost undefended. The only thing protecting the landing was a light force called Taffy 3. They were no match for Kurita when he turned his Center Force around to resume the attack.

          Taffy 3 consisted of 3 Destroyers, 4 Destroyer Escorts and 6 light Escort, or Jeep, Carriers. The biggest guns mounted by Taffy 3 were short-range 5.38 inchers. They were facing the 18-inch guns of Japan’s other super battleship, the Yamato, and a host of other warships. The aircraft on the Escort Carriers were armed for ground attack. Taffy 3 and MacArthur’s troops were sitting ducks.

          About 7AM on October 25, the astonished sailors of Taffy 3 spotted the Kurita’s fleet heading straight for them. The range was too far, making their 5 inchers useless. The light carriers began to retreat. The situation looked hopeless.

          The only weapons Taffy 3 had that could possibly work against their heavily armored adversaries were their torpedoes. They would have to get in close to use them. The Destroyer Johnston led the way, followed by the other 2 Destroyers and the 4 diminutive Destroyer Escorts. Against the big guns, it was a suicide mission. They laid smoke to screen the retreating carriers as they attacked.

          The speeding American vessels got lucky. Kurita’s gunners thought they were shooting at heavily armored Cruisers and Fleet Carriers. They initially fired armor-piecing shells that went right through the thin skins of the American ships without exploding. By the time they realized their error, the tiny vessels of Taffy 3 were within torpedo range. Intermittent rain squalls also helped to conceal the attacking Tin Cans.

          Kurita’s ships fired everything they had at the approaching Americans. They inflicted heavy damage on the Johnston, the Hoel and the Samuel B. Roberts, but they kept coming. Holes were patched, systems were repaired and water was pumped out. Shells from the Johnston set the Heavy Cruiser Kumano on fire. Then two of the Johnston’s torpedoes blew the its bow off. The Americans got so close to the Japanese ships, that some of them couldn’t lower their guns far enough to shoot at the little ships. Meanwhile, aircraft from the Escort Carriers began attacking the Japanese fleet. Their land attack ordinance didn’t pose much of a threat, but they scared hell out of the Japanese seamen anyway. Some unarmed aircraft even made dummy attacks.

          The aggressive American attacks caused great confusion within Kurita’s force. His flagship Yamato swerved to avoid torpedoes, causing him to lose control of the battle. At one point, the badly damaged Johnston drove off 7 Japanese destroyers that were threatening the Escort Carriers. The tiny Roberts got close enough to score a torpedo hit on the Chōka. Then it was joined by the Heermann in a gun attack on the Heavy Cruiser Chikuma. The bigger ship was heavily damaged. The Hoel, the Roberts and the Johnston were eventually sunk, each firing until the last possible moment. In spite of the heroic efforts of the Taffy 3 Destroyers and Destroyer Escorts, the Escort Carrier Gambier Bay was sunk by naval gunfire. The Carrier St Lo became one of the first American ships to be sunk by an organized Kamikaze attack. Many of the survivors of the sunken ships endured 2 days in the water before rescue due to fear of enemy submarines in the area.

          Damage to Kurita’s fleet was far greater than Taffy Three’s. He lost 3 Heavy Cruisers and much of the rest of his fleet had varying degrees of damage. After being beaten by a force far smaller than what he thought he was facing, Kurita retreated. The day was saved. The troops on the beaches continued to carry the battle across Leyte. The Japanese fleet would never again be a threat in the Pacific War.

          Commander Evans, Captain of the Johnston, received a posthumous Medal of Honor for his courage and leadership. His body was never found. Taffy 3 received the Presidential Unit Citation along with numerous individual awards.

LDT Oct 13, ‘21

For more read “The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors” by James D. Hornfischer.