#taffy 3

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Yamato in action off Samar, 25 Oct 1944

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"The Finest Hour" by Mark Karvon link

"In the lore of the US Navy, the saga of Fletcher Class destroyer, USS JOHNSTON is legendary for its part in the Battle off Samar during the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf On October 25, 1944.

During the operation to liberate the Philippines, the small naval task force, Taffy 3, was left to provide cover for the invading US Army. The force was made up of 5 light escort carriers and 6 destroyers and destroyer escorts screening for them.

Unbeknownst to the men of Taffy 3, a large Japanese force consisting of 23 ships was headed their way in a surprise attack. The force consisted of 4 battleships (including the largest battleship ever built - Yamato), 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 11 destroyers.

Taffy 3 was badly outnumbered and very much outgunned. It was up to the destroyers and destroyer escorts to protect the carriers at all costs otherwise the marines on the beach would be vulnerable. The ships began laying down a heavy smoke screen. Lieutenant Commander Ernest E. Evans captained JOHNSTON. Being of Native American ancestry, Lt Commander Evans had the warrior's spirit. He led his ship alone straight into the teeth of the much superior enemy. As JOHNSTON turned into the oncoming enemy some say he spoke these words over the ship's intercom, "A large Japanese fleet has been contacted. They are fifteen miles away and headed in our direction. They are believed to have four battleships, eight cruisers, and a number of destroyers. This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can." (Some sources credit the latter part of this dramatic announcement tot LCDR Robert Copeland of SAMUEL B ROBERTS).

JOHNSTON dodged shell from the enemy battle cruisers until she could get close enough to hit back. as soon as the range closed to ten miles, JOHNSTON scored damaging hits on the heavy cruiser Kumano. During her five-minute sprint into torpedo range, JOHNSTON fired over 200 rounds at the enemy. She launched all ten of her torpedoes and retired behind a heavy smoke screen. At least one of the torpedoes found the Kumano and blew the bow off the cruiser forcing it to withdraw from the battle.

JOHNSTON did not get away unscathed however and she took three hits from 14 inch shells as well as three from 6 inch shells which destroyed the bridge causing many casualties and Lt Commander Evans to lose 2 fingers and covering him in shrapnel which shredded his shirt. The ship was mangled badly, with dead and dying sailors strewn across her bloody decks. The bridge was rendered useless so Lt Commander Evans went to the aft steering column to conn the ship.

About this time, three of the other ships from Tafffy 3, Destroyers Hoel and Heermen and the destroyer escort SAMUEL B ROBERTS, made their charges towards the Japanese fleet. As they went by JOHNSTON they could see shirtless Lt Commander Evans salute them from the aft steering column as they went by.

After making repairs, JOHNSTON rejoined the fight. The ship fought several duels with much larger ships giving all she could but taking severe damage. Eventually she was surrounded by 7 enemy destroyers and pounded mercilessly. Lt Commander Evans gave the order to abandon ship. He was never heard from again.

Along with JOHNSTON, HOEL, HEERMEN and SAMUEL B ROBERTS were equally fierce during the battle. The Japanese were under the impression they were up against much larger ships in the cruiser class. Aircraft from the carriers also enjoined the fight. Some of the aircraft were not properly armed to attack ships but the heroic pilots still feigned attack to force the unknowing enemy to fire upon them thereby diverting attention from the surface ships. The ferocity of the attack from Taffy 3 sunk or crippled the heavy cruisers Chōkai, Kumano, and Chikuma. This seemingly convinced to the Japanese that they were engaging major fleet units rather than escort carriers and destroyers and the fleet withdrew.

Lt Commander Evans was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions that day. My depiction of the legendary USS JOHNSTON depicts the ship as she charges towards the enemy during her first attack that fateful day.

Prints are available through my website www.markkarvon.com."

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It was announced on Friday that they located the wreck of the USS Samuel B Roberts (DE-413) which was part of Taffy 3 at the Battle of Samar, part of the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf. She is now the deepest ever located wreck at 6,896 meter (22,621 feet) below the waves.

The picture above is Mount 52 from the ship. This was the gun commanded by GM3c Paul Henry Carr. Carr’s crew had fired off almost all of the 325 rounds available to them during the 35 minute fight. When they found Carr, he was dying but had the last round in his hand. He was helped to load and fire the last round before the ship was evacuated. Carr died after firing the last round.

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USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70) is straddled by shells during the Battle off Samar, 25 October 1944.

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USS HOEL (DD 533) Destroyer HOEL was sunk during the Battle Off Samar by the Imperial Japanese Navy Centre Force, the first ship of Taffy III to be lost. She was credited with torpedoing the heavy cruiser IJN HAGURO, all the while being shot at by battleships and several heavy cruisers. Two-hundred fifty-two men were killed during the action, fifteen more perished after spending two days on rafts awaiting their rescue.

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Battle off Samar, October 25, 1944.  Allied fleet is attacked by the Japanese off Leyte, Philippines.   Black smoke rising from funnels of the CVEs, naval escorts lay smoke while being shelled.

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Kitkun Bay looking at White Plains under fire, Samar

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Battle off Samar

On October 25,1944 during the battle of Leyte Gulf, three groups of escort carriers were providing air support of troops on the landing beaches. At least, that was the plan.

The Japanese Navy, knowing they were no longer a match for the USN, designed a complicated last ditch battle plan involving multiple independent task units in the waters off the Philippines. The key to this plan was to lure the bulk of the US Navy away from the Philippine islands. So, they sacrificed their last aircraft carrier (which was an airplane-less hulk at this point) as a decoy.

Admiral Halsey took the bait and was lured into taking almost all of his powerful Third Fleet well out to sea. This provided the opening the Japanese were hoping for.

A Japanese surface force of four battleships, eight cruisers and eleven destroyers, led by the super battleship Yamato, steamed towards the invasion beaches with the intent to destroy the invasion forces. Standing in their way were the three slow escort carrier groups left behind by Halsey as he raced out to sea.

The northernmost of the three groups was a unit known as “Taffy 3”. It was composed of three destroyers and four destroyer escorts protecting 6 escort carriers. They were certainly not a match for the Japanese force barreling down on them. To put it in perspective, the all of the vessels in Taffy 3 combined did not displace as much as the Yamato.

But they had no choice. They had to engage in order to cover retreat of their slow jeep carriers. For the next three hours, the small destroyers attacked the larger force off the coast of the Island of Samar.

Aircraft from the escort carriers, including FM-2 Wildcats, strafed and bombed the battleships with little damage being done. Once they ran out of ammunition they made “dry” runs at the Japanese force in an attempt to distract and get the ships to stop firing at the jeep carriers.

Despite sinking two escort carriers and damaging four others (for the cost of only 3 cruisers) the Japanese force withdrew. The destroyers of Taffy 3 and the aircraft off the escort carriers turned back the most powerful surface fleet Japan had sent to sea since the Battle of Midway.