I’ve read about The Battle of Leyte Gulf. Historical books about WWII are a favorite of mine.
Halsey had been lured away chasing Ozawa’s carrier force. A small escort force was left behind to guard ships in Leyte Gulf. The Destroyer Johnston had a light hull, 5 in guns and torpedoes.The Johnston fought Japanese Battleships and did a lot of damage with their small guns.
The wreckage is preserved really well. The video reported so far is amazing.
The Yamato, by itself, outweighed the combined total weight of the entireTaffy-3 task force. Evans and the men of the Johnston were heroes among heroes that day.
I’m sure you’ve read it, but in case anybody else is interested, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors (about the battle) is absolutely superb, amazingly clear in its account. But also riveting and inspiring.
That’s the book I read several years ago. I couldn’t remember the title.
Some planes stationed on the islands participated in the battle against the Japanese ships.
We had just put soldiers and planes on the Islands. There was a concern the Japanese would invade again. Admiral Halsey returned with the main fleet barely in time.
I’m surprised there aren’t more Taffy 3 What If’s, like What If Halsey’s Battleship line hadn’t been pulled away and Halsey’s Battleships engaged Center Force (who still had Musashi). You could make an entire book about the potential What If’s of that battle. What If Center Force took the Southern Route? What If Southern Force had been given better battleships? Stuff like that.
Drachinifel’s vids on the Johnston herself and on the Battle Off Samar. The latter with the excellent comment about a Japanese unit maneuvering “to seek a more Johnston-free fighting position”.
Not to take a poke at the Daily Mail’s account but didn’t an editor question why the first expedition reported wreckage and virtually no remaining hull seen, while the latest probe found the hull “remarkably intact”?*
And how does anyone know the guns are still pointing “in the right direction”? Outward yes…