When the imperial japanese navy swept into surigao strait, pt boats were the first to strike. Surigao strait in the philippine islands was the scene of a major battleship duel during the battle of leyte gulf. In october, she took part in the battle of surigao strait. The fuso under air attack just hours before the battle of surigao strait on oct. Some of these destroyers became components of oldendorfs force, and others had left the area with unloaded transports before the battle of surigao strait. Allied forces battle the japanese for the surigao strait in. This was the first battle in which japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks. The battle of the surigao straits 25 october 1944 was the last clash between battleships and saw a force of older american battleships crush a japanese squadron attempting to break into leyte gulf. Us navy and heres a view directly on top of either the fuso or yamashiro as its bombed by us aircraft. Oct 21, 2014 surigao strait in the philippine islands was the scene of a major battleship duel during the battle of leyte gulf. Fought in the largest naval battle in history, the battle of leyte gulf actually a campaign, the battle of surigao strait, on the night of 2425 october 1944, was the last engagement in which battleships fought one another. We recommend booking battle of surigao strait museum tours ahead of time to secure your spot. It was also the last time the tactic of crossing the t was used in battle. Dec 05, 2019 posts about battle of surigao strait written by padresteve.
The battle for leyte gulf seventh fleet battle line. Battle of surigao strait memorial surigao city history. Because the battle was fought at night and had few survivors on the japanese side, the events of that naval engagement have been passed down in garbled accounts. Admiral holloway and the battle of surigao strait youtube. See more ideas about battleship, leyte and naval history. See all 1 battle of surigao strait museum tours on tripadvisor. Yamashiro was the last battleship to engage another in combat, and one of very few to have been sunk by another battleship during world war ii. The battle of surigao strait was, to date, the final line battle in naval history. Destroyer history battle of surigao strait, 25 october 1944. Media in category battle of surigao strait the following 12 files are in this category, out of 12 total. Performance of us battleships at surigao strait navweaps. Many sighting reports were sent, but without verification of receipt.
They were met by a wellprepared force of american warships at the north end of the strait, including the destroyer uss melvin. In october 1944, a fleet of japanese warships attempted to make a run through the 47milelong surigao strait, in an effort to disrupt the allied landing at leyte gulf. The battle for leyte gulf 2326 october 1944 the battle of surigao strait 2300 october 24 0721 october 25 1944 the japanese threat the japanese operational plan the shogo plan envisaged a twopronged attack by surface forces on the allied invasion shipping in leyte gulf. Matugas and us navy commodore david wilcox, lead the commemoration of the 73rd anniversry of the battle of surigao strait at the lipata ferry terminal in surigao city on wednesday. Analysis of the battle of surigao strait walter zapotoczny. The three detachments or groups of the enemy fleet involved in these. At surigao strait, three battleships did the majority of the shooting. Battle of surigao strait encyclopedia article citizendium. Leyte gulf the battle of surigao strait d llewellyn james. During the pacific war, the japanese navy followed its prewar plans and pursued a decisive encounter with the american fleet. Pt boat numbers as involved in surigao strait surigao strait motor torpedo boats. Zapotoczny today, all great nations recognize basic principles of war and incorporate them in their doctrine. In this engagement, which was part of the major battle for leyte gulf, the steps are shown whereby the. This battle, which was part of the battle of leyte gulf, took place in phillipine waters during the night of 2425 october 1944.
Orders of battle battle of surigao strait battles of. Pacific via the shallow surigao strait and passes through dipolog strait downstream. On 24 october, while a weak northern force approached from the northeast, hoping to lure part of the american fleet away from the main action, a powerful center force approached san bernardino strait from the west and two elements of a weaker southern force approached surigao strait. At its widest, the 50milelong surigao strait separates the. She was refloated in february 1942 and after temporary repairs sailed to the west coast on her own power. Tully mines some hitherto little known japanese sources to create a more evenhanded account of the battle of surigao strait october 1944. The battle consisted of four main separate engagements. Orders of battle battle of surigao strait battles of the.
The battle of leyte gulf is an extremely important part of australian. Zoom of the 2008 sea surface height anomaly from figure 3c. This game is a stylized rendition of the battle of surigao strait. The philippine sea was not, however, the last major naval battle of world war two, nor despite the number of ships and planes involved, was it the biggest. Friends of padre steves world, i am still taking some time off from writing about politics and so today i am posting the third article of a series on the battle of leyte gulf. Japanese battleships fuso and yamashiro confront us navy pt boats. In battle of surigao strait anthony tully has managed to trace the complicated flow of and reason for events on the nights of 2425 october with a skill and. Battle of surigao strait international journal of naval history.
Seventh fleet battle line the central component of oldendorfs force in surigao strait was weylers battle line, consisting of six older battleships. In the spring of 1943, she served in the aleutians during the recapture of attu and kiska. Intense photos wwii battle leyte gulf, biggest naval. Animation shows allied naval battle for the surigao strait in the philippine island during the battle. This was also the last battle in which one force the americans, in. Pt boat world history and modeling pts at surigao strait. Mar 23, 2009 surigao strait in the philippine islands was the scene of a major battleship duel during the battle of leyte gulf. Battle of surigao strait anniversary manila bulletin news. Battle of leyte gulf battle of surigao strait 25 october 1944 vice adm. It is considered to be the last great naval battle of history. During the opening of the threeday 75th year commemoration of the historic 1944 naval battle that paved the way for the liberation of the philippines, david mattiske, 95, and retired rear admiral guy griffiths, 97, said it was an odd feeling to return to surigao strait after 75 years in a different circumstance.
The battle of surigao strait by bernstein, lewis military. Battle of surigao strait twentieth century battles caraga antigua, 15211910. Naval combat in the surigao strait during the battle for leyte gulf in the philippines. Analysis of the battle of surigao strait by walter s. May 30, 2010 a new look at the last battleship battle of world war ii and perhaps of all time. Jul 14, 2014 animated map shows allied naval battle for the surigao strait in the philippine island during the battle for leyte gulf against the japanese navalair forces during october 1944. The battle of surigao strait was one of four major actions that comprise the larger grand naval battle known collectively as the battle of leyte gulf in late october 1944.
The battle of samar 25 october 1944 was the nearest the japanese came to success during the battle of leyte gulf and saw a powerful japanese battleship force come close to destroying a force of american escort carriers. The battle of surigao strait was one of only two battleshipversusbattleship naval battles in the entire pacific campaign of world war ii the other being the naval battle during the guadalcanal campaign, where the uss south dakota and. It is located between the regions of visayas and mindanao. Surigao strait, the battle off samar, and the battle off ca. Army command and general staff college on opening anthony tullys new book battle of surigao strait one might be forgiven for asking oneself, why should i read yet another book about the series of naval battles around leyte. Surigao strait actually consisted of two engagements between one u. Battle of surigao strait remembered today manila bulletin news. Apr 14, 2009 surigao strait in the philippine islands was the scene of a major battleship duel during the battle of leyte gulf.
This video was created by the naval historical foundation for a. All three ships had received total reconstructions during the war and installation of mark 8 fire control radar. Surigao strait was the scene of a major battleship duel during the second world war between united states us and japanese naval forces. There was another larger one fought later in 1944 which took the form of four related actions, sibuyan sea, surigao strait, samar and cape engaflo, whi. Elfie iris sedero baguio added a new photo at battle of surigao strait memorial. Hi everyone hope that your having a good day enjoy the new video stay awesome epiic out. The battle of the surigao strait was one of the four engagements that made up the battle of leyte gulf, which was the biggest naval battle fought in the pacific theatre during wwii. The battle of surigao strait is significant as the last battleshiptobattleship action in history. Reviews following his collaboration on shattered sword, anthony tully establishes himself as a solo author with this exhaustive study of the october 1944 battle of surigao strait. After being overhauled, louisville provided gunfire support for numerous amphibious landings during 1944.
Although we are now sixty years removed from events, there has not yet appeared a full study of the battle of surigao strait. Naval combat in the surigao strait during the battle for. Battle of surigao strait by aviation artist ron cole for sale at coles aircraft the earliest phase of the battle of surigao strait. Battle of surigao strait the latest book from naval historian anthony p. If you book with tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. Surigao city government officials will commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the battle of surigao strait here today. Destroyer shigure, sole survivor of nishimuras force.
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