The Battle of Leyte Gulf
23-26 October 1944

The Seventh Fleet

(Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid (in amphibious warfare command vessel Wasatch)

At the time of the Leyte landings Seventh Fleet contained 738 vessels. Most of these were amphibious warfare vessels not listed in detail here.

The landing vessels were divided into two forces, the Northern Attack Force (Task Force 78)  under Rear Admiral Daniel Barbey, and the Southern Attack Force (Task Force 79) under Vice  Admiral T.S. Wilkinson.

Task Forces 78 and 79 each included a Fire Support Unit containing battleships and cruisers,
and each unit of these forces had its destroyer screen.

In addition Seventh Fleet (Task Force 77) contained a Close Covering Group (TG77.3) of  cruisers and destroyers, most of them being vessels of the Royal Australian Navy,  and the  Escort Carrier Group (TG77.4) under Rear Admiral Thomas L. Sprague.  This last - the
Escort  Carrier Group - was to play an unexpected and decisive role in the battle.

Key

CVE = Escort Aircraft-carrier / VF = Fighter /  VT = Torpedo-bomber
BB = Battleship / CA = Heavy Cruiser / CL = Light Cruiser / DD = Destroyer
(S) = Sunk in the Battle for Leyte Gulf
Seventh Fleet
Bombardment and Fire Support Group
 (as of sunset October 24 1944)

(Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf in heavy cruiser Louisville)

This group is as constituted in order to counter the Japanese Southern Force in Surigao Strait.
6 Battleships, 4 Heavy Cruisers, 4 Light Cruisers, 29 Destroyers, as follows:

Battleships

BB41 Mississippi                             BB46 Maryland                        BB48 West Virginia
BB43 Tennessee                              BB44 California                        BB38 Pennsylvania

Crusiers

CA28 Louisville                                      CA36 Minneapolis                     CA33 Portland
CA Shropshire (Royal Australian Navy)  CL58 Denver                             CL56 Columbia
CL46 Phoenix                                        CL47 Boise

Destroyers

DD586 Newcomb                                DD664 Richard P. Leary            DD649 Albert W.Grant
DD562 Robinson                                  DD480 Halford                          DD665 Bryant
DD663 Heywood L. Edwards              DD662 Bennion                          DD481 Leutze
DD571 Claxton                                    DD508 Cony                              DD505 Thorn
DD569 Aulick                                      DD643 Sigourney                       DD628 Welles
DD476 Hutchins                                   DD519 Daly                               DD470 Bache
DD Arunta  (Royal Australian Navy)     DD593 Killen                             DD471 Beale
DD688 Remey                                     DD678 McGowan                      DD680 Melvin
DD691 Mertz                                       DD677 McDermut                     DD798 Monsenn
DD679 McNair

Task Group 77.4
Escort Carrier Group

(Rear Admiral Thomas L. Sprague in escort carrier Sangamon)

Task Unit 77.4.1 - "Taffy One"
(Rear Admiral Thomas L. Sprague)


Escort Carriers

CVE26 Sangamon(Captain M.E. Browder) Air Group 37 (Lt. Commander S.E. Hindman)
CVE27 Suwannee(Captain W.D. Johnson) Air Group 60 (Lt. Commander H.O. Feilbach USNR)
CVE28 Chenango(Captain George Van Deurs)  Air Group 35 (Lt. Commander F.T. Moore)
CVE29 Santee(Captain R.E. Blick)  Air Group 26 (Lt. Commander H.N Funk)
CVE82 Saginaw Bay(Captain F.C. Sutton) Composite Squadron 78(Lt. Commander J.L. Hyde)
CVE80 Petrof Bay(Captain J.L. Kane ) Composite Squadron 76(Commander J.W. McCauley)

Destroyers

DD534 McCord           DD531 Hazelwood                   DD530 Trathen           DE402 Richard S. Bull
DE404 Eversole            DE403 Richard M. Rowell        DE217 Coolbaugh

Task Unit 77.4.2 - "Taffy Two"
(Rear Admiral Felix B. Stump in Natoma Bay)


Escort Carriers

CVE62 Natoma Bay (Captain A.K. Morehouse) Composite Squadron 81 (Lt. Commander R.C. Barnes)
CVE61 Manila Bay (Captain Fitzhugh Lee) Composite Squadron 80  (Lt. Commander H.K. Stubbs USNR)
CVE77 Marcus Island (Captain C.F. Greber) Composite Squadron 21 (Lt. Commander T.O. Murray USNR)
CVE78 Savo Island (Captain C.E. Ekstrom) Composite Squadron 27 (Lt. Commander P.W. Jackson)
CVE79 Ommaney Bay (Captain H.L. Young) Composite Squadron 75 (Lt. A.W. Smith USNR)
CVE76 Kadashan Bay(Captain R.N. Hunter)Composite Squadron 20 (Lt. Commander J.R. Dale USNR)

Destroyers

DD555 Haggard            DD556 Hailey                          DD554 Franks                     DE344 Oberrender
DE343 Abercrombie      DE342 Richard W. Suesens     DE412 Walter C. Wann       DE414 Le Ray Wilson

Task Unit 77.4.3 - "Taffy Three"
(Rear Admiral Clifton A.F. Sprague in Fanshaw Bay)


Escort Carriers

CVE70 Fanshaw Bay (Captain D.P. Johnson) Composite Squadron 68 (Lt. Commander R.S. Rogers)
CVE68 Kalinin Bay (Captain T.B. Williamson) Composite Squadron 3 (Lt. Commander W.H. Keighley USNR)
CVE66 White Plains (Captain D.J. Sullivan) Composite Squadron 4  (Lt. E.R. Fickenscher)
CVE63 St. Lo (S) (Captain F.J. McKenna) Composite Squadron 65 (Lt. Commander R.M. Jones USNR)
CVE71 Kitkun Bay (Captain J.P. Whitney) Composite Squadron 5 (Commander R.L. Fowler)
CVE73 Gambier Bay (S) (Captain W.V.R. Vieweg) Composite Squadron 10 (Lt. Commander E.J. Huxtable)

Destroyers

DD533 Hoel (S) (Commander L.S. Kintberger)
DD532 Heermann (Commander A.T. Hathaway)
DD557 Johnston (S) (Commander E.E. Evans)
DE405 Dennis (Lt. Commander S. Hansen USNR)
DE413 Samuel B. Roberts (S) (Lt. Commander R.W. Copeland USNR)
DE339 John C. Butler (Lt. Commander J.E. Pace)
DE341 Raymond (Lt. Commander A.F. Beyer USNR)


The Battle for Leyte Gulf

The Action in Surigao Strait
24-25 October 1944

Oldendorf's Force

Oldendorf's force comprised six elderly battleships,
four heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, and twenty-eight destroyers.
These ships were disposed in three groups, as follows



Battle Line
(Rear Admiral Weyler in Mississippi)

Battleships 

Mississippi                    California                Tennessee
Pennsylvania                 Maryland                West Virginia


Destroyer Division "X-Ray"
(Commander Hubbard)
consisting of the following six destroyers
Destroyers

Claxton                       Cony                       Thorn
Aulick                         Sigourney                Welles



Left Flank
(Rear Admiral Oldendorf in Louisville)

Heavy Cruisers

Louisville                  Portland                    Minneapolis

Light Cruisers

Denver                    Columbia

Nine destroyers organised in three sections,  as follows

Section 1 (Destroyer Division 111 Captain Smoot)
Destroyers

Newcomb                              Richard P. Leary                    Albert W. Grant

Section 2 (Destroyer Division 112 Captain Conley)
Destroyers

Robinson                               Halford                                   Bryant

Section 3 (Commander Boulware)
Destroyers
Heywood L. Edwards          Bennion                                    Leutze

(Destroyer Divisions 111 and 112 were the two divisions of Destroyer Squadron 56 commanded by Captain Smoot)
 

Right Flank
(Rear Admiral Berkey in Phoenix)


Cruiser Heavy
Shropshire (Australian Navy)

Light Cruisers
Phoenix                                        Boise
Thirteen destroyers organised as follows
Destroyer Squadron 24 (Captain McManes)

Destroyers
Hutchins                                     Daly                      Bache               
Arunta (Australian Navy)            Killen                    Beale


Picket Patrol Destroyer Squadron 54 (Captain Coward)
Destroyer Division 107(Captain Coward)

Destroyers
Remey                       McGowan                    Melvin                      Mertz
Destroyer Division 108 (Commander Phillips)

Destroyers
Mcdermut                Monssen                        McNair


Acknowledgments
Mainsource for the above -
Samuel Eliot Morison "United States Naval Operations in World War II" Volume XII "Leyte"
Thephotograph of USS Tennessee is reproduced, with thanks, from
P.H. Silverstone "Warships of World War II" (Ian Allan, Shepperton, Surrey)




This web page was created by and
is maintained by Paul D. Henriott
Last updated 31 March 2005