The World War II destroyer escort that fought like a battleship

The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval engagement in history, a sprawling affair that lasted from Oct. 23 to 26, 1944, involving four major engagements. In spite of hopeless odds, Japanese Adm. Soemu Toyoda’s complex plan for the much-depleted Imperial Japanese Navy to strike a blow against the U.S. forces landing on the Philippine island of Leyte came tantalizingly close to achieving at least some of its sacrificial goal.

In the Sibuyan Sea on Oct. 23, the Japanese First Strike Force lost heavy cruisers Atago and Maya to U.S. submarines Darter and Dace. The following day, Japanese forces lost one of the world’s two biggest battleships, Musashi, to carrier planes of the U.S. Third Fleet, which in turn lost its light carrier Princeton. That night, Japanese forces ran into the U.S. 7th Fleet in Surigao Strait, losing two battleships, a heavy cruiser and several destroyers.

Adm. William Halsey, learning of four Japanese carriers approaching from the northeast, then set out with his entire 3rd Fleet to intercept them off Cape Engano — unaware that they had few aircraft and were serving solely to decoy his fleet away from the beachhead — a success that cost Japan all four flattops.