Battle Continues

TUE 24 OCT 1944
Pacific
Battle for Leyte Gulf continues as planes from TG 38.2, TG 38.3, and TG 38.4 attack the Japanese "Center Force" (Vice Admiral Kurita Takeo) in the Sibuyan Sea. Planes from carriers Enterprise (CV-6), Intrepid (CV-11), and Franklin (CV-13), and small carrier Cabot (CVL-29) sink battleship Musashi south of Luzon, 12°50'N, 122°35'E. Aircraft from the three task groups also damage battleships Yamato and Nagato, heavy cruiser Tone, and destroyers Kiyoshimo, Fujinami and Uranami. TG 38.4 planes attack Japanese "Southern Force" (Vice Admiral Nishimura Shoji and Vice Admiral Shima Kiyohide) as it proceeds through the Sulu Sea; planes from Franklin sink destroyer Wakaba off the west coast of Panay, 11°50'N, 121°25'E; aircraft from Enterprise and Franklin damage battleships Fuso and Yamashiro. Japanese planes, however, attack TG 38.3; combat air patrol and effective use of rain squalls as cover limits the damage to small carrier Princeton (CVL-23), hit by bomb from dive bomber, 15°21'N, 123°31'E. In trying to save Princeton, however, light cruiser Birmingham (CL-62) and destroyers Morrison (DD-560), Gatling (DD-671), and Irwin (DD-794) are damaged by rolling against the stricken carrier or by fragments from the explosion of Princeton's magazines when fires gain the upper hand; in addition, Morrison's bridge is damaged by a jeep (used to tow aircraft) falling from Princeton's flight deck. Birmingham suffers the greatest destruction because she is alongside the carrier when the latter's magazines explode. The cruiser's decks literally run red with blood: 229 men killed, four missing, 211 seriously wounded and 215 with minor wounds. Ultimately, light cruiser Reno and Irwin scuttle Princeton.

During the aerial action that day, Commander David McCampbell, Commander Air Group 15, flying from carrier Essex (CV-9), again distinguishes himself in combat. With only one wingman, McCampbell attacks what is estimated as being over 60 hostile aircraft and downs nine, breaking up the attacking formation before it even reaches the fleet. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life" on this occasion and on 19 June, McCampbell is awarded the Medal of Honor.

Elsewhere off Leyte, Japanese planes damage destroyer Leutze (DD-481), 10°50'N, 125°25'E; tank landing ship LST-552, 11°11'N, 125°05'E; and infantry landing craft LCI-1065. Oiler Ashtabula (AO-51) is damaged by aerial torpedo, 11°03'N, 125°22'E.

U.S. freighter Augustus Thomas, anchored in San Pedro Bay, Leyte, is attacked by a Japanese plane. The ship's Armed Guard gunfire sets the aircraft ablaze but the kamikaze presses home his attack, a wing striking the stack of the nearby tug Sonoma (ATO-12) before it crashes the freighter's starboard side. The bombs detonate in the water between the two ships, and the exploding suicider sets Sonoma afire. There are no casualties on board Augustus Thomas (41-man merchant complement, 27-man Armed Guard and 480 troop passengers), which is subsequently beached by tugs Chowanoc (ATF-100) and Whippoorwill (ATO-169). Sonoma subsequently sinks off Dio Island, 10°57'N, 125°02'E.

U.S. freighter David Dudley Field is damaged by kamikaze off Tacloban, Leyte; there are no fatalities among the 40-man merchant complement, 30-man Armed Guard, 50 stevedores embarked to work cargo and 10 Army passengers. After repairs, the freighter will resume active service.

Late on 24 October, Commander Third Fleet (Admiral William F. Halsey Jr.) orders TF 38 (Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) to proceed north to be in position to strike the "Northern Force" (Vice Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo) on the morning of 25 October, but does not inform Commander Seventh Fleet (Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid) of his action. Unbeknown to the Americans, remnants of the "Center Force" transit San Bernadino Strait and head for Leyte Gulf. Commander Seventh Fleet meanwhile makes his dispositions to meet the expected enemy onslaught: bombardment and support group TG 77.2 (Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf) is augmented by close covering group TG 77.3 (Rear Admiral Russell S. Berkey).

Local airfields, however, are not yet ready to base night reconnaissance aircraft, and the only carrier equipped to operate such planes, small carrier Independence (CVL-22), is proceeding north with TF 38.

Coordinated submarine attack group TG 17.15 (CommanderAlan B. Banister), meanwhile, operates against Japanese shipping in South China Sea west of Luzon Strait: Drum (SS-228) sinks merchant cargo ship Shikisan Maru, 20°27'N, 118°31'E; Icefish (SS-367) sinks army cargo ship Tenshin Maru, 19°31'N, 118°10'E; Seadragon (SS-194) sinks transport Eiko Maru and cargo ship Daiten Maru, 20°31'N, 118°33'E, and merchant passenger/cargo ship Kokuryu Maru, 20°27'N, 118°31'E.

Hospital ship Comfort (AH-6), fully illuminated in accordance with the dictates of the Geneva Convention, is bombed 22 miles southeast of Leyte.

Tank landing ship LST-695 is damaged by Japanese submarine I-56 in Philippine Sea, west of Mindanao, 08°31'N, 128°34'E.

Destroyer escort Richard M. Rowell (DE-403) sinks Japanese submarine I-54, 70 miles east of Surigao, 09°45'N, 126°45'E.

Submarine Besugo (SS-321) damages Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.132 south of Ashizuri Saki, Japan, 30°19'N, 132°49'E.

Submarine Croaker (SS-246) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Mikage Maru and passenger/cargo ship Gassan Maru southwest of Quelpart Island, 33°00'N, 125°49'E.

Submarine Darter (SS-227), damaged by grounding on Bombay Shoal, Palawan Passage, P.I. is scuttled by submarines Nautilus (SS-168) and Dace (SS-247) to avoid the boat's falling into enemy hands.

Submarine Kingfish (SS-234) sinks Japanese cargo ship Ikutagawa Maru east of Chichi Jima, 27°08'N, 143°13'E.

Submarine Shark (SS-314) is sunk, probably by Japanese destroyer Harukaze, in Luzon Strait, 20°41'N, 118°27'E.*

Submarine Snook (SS-279) sinks army cargo ships Arisan Maru, 20°54'N, 118°19'E, and No.1 Shinsei Maru, 20°10'N, 118°17'E. Merchant tanker Kikusui Marusinks as the result of damage inflicted by Snook the day before, 19°46'N, 118°30'E.

Submarine Tang (SS-306) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Ebara Maru in Formosa Strait, 25°03'N, 119°35'E, and damages tanker Matsumoto Maru, 25°04'N, 119°35'E, but is herself sunk by the circular run of one of her own torpedoes, 25°06'N, 119°31'E.

TF 38 planes damage Japanese light cruiser Kinu and destroyer Uranami at Manila, and sink Japanese army ore carrier Fuyukawa Maru off Luzon, 16°30'N, 120°15'E.

USAAF aircraft sink army cargo ship Taimei Maru off Sandakan, Borneo, 05°50'N, 118°07'E.

Mediterranean
Motor torpedo boats patrolling off Monte Grosso attack five south-bound targets, firing six torpedoes. No definite claims are made.

Destroyer Woolsey (DD-437) and British destroyer HMS Fortune sink two abandoned German explosive boats 16 miles off Cap Ferrat; Woolsey and minesweeper Sway (AM-120) recover prisoners.

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*She is listed as overdue, presumed lost, on 27 November.

From Farley.