Battle of Leyte Gulf: Four Days That Crippled Japan's Navy
Period
World War II, Pacific theater, 1944
Place
Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf, Philippines
The Battle of Leyte Gulf opened on October 23, 1944, with American submarine attacks on Japanese warships. Four days of fighting followed across the Philippine seas.
The first blows of the Battle of Leyte Gulf came before the great battleship duels and carrier strikes. On October 23, 1944, the U.S. submarines Darter and Dace intercepted a Japanese force near Palawan. The heavy cruiser Atago, flagship of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita, was sunk; Maya also went down and Takao was badly damaged. Kurita survived and transferred his flag.
That ambush began a sprawling battle fought from October 23 to 26 in the waters around the Philippines. Japan was trying to disrupt the American landings on Leyte and cut the invasion force off from supporting warships. Instead, Japanese ships were hammered in a sequence of encounters at the Sibuyan Sea, Surigao Strait, off Samar and Cape Engaño. American escort carriers and destroyers made a desperate stand against a much stronger force off Samar.
The battle is widely regarded as one of the largest naval engagements in history. Its outcome severely weakened Japan's remaining surface fleet, even though the war in the Pacific continued for many months. The images here span the four-day campaign, not just its opening day. Captions distinguish pre-battle ship portraits from photographs taken during the fighting on October 24 and 25.
Topic: Battle of Leyte Gulf; Imperial Japanese Navy; Pacific War
01 / 04
Japanese warships under attack in the Sibuyan Sea
A U.S. Navy aircraft photographed Japanese warships under air attack on October 24, one day after the Battle of Leyte Gulf opened. The battleship Nagato and another Japanese warship are visible in the attack area. Carrier aircraft damaged and sank ships as Kurita's force tried to reach the American invasion fleet. This frame belongs to the second day of the battle, not the initial submarine ambush.
Photo details
Date
October 24, 1944
Location
Sibuyan Sea, Philippines
Photographer
U.S. Navy aircraft photographer (unidentified)
Archive / collection
U.S. Navy / Naval History and Heritage Command, 80-G-46988
Rights / license
Official U.S. Navy photograph; public domain in the United States. Resized for web presentation.
The heavy cruiser Atago, photographed before the Battle of Leyte Gulf. On October 23, 1944, the U.S. submarine Darter torpedoed and sank the ship in the Palawan Passage. Japanese commander Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita survived, but his force entered the coming battles without its flagship. This is a pre-battle portrait, not a photograph of Atago sinking.
Photo details
Date
Before October 23, 1944; exact photograph date uncertain
Location
At sea; exact location unverified
Photographer
Unidentified Japanese naval photographer
Archive / collection
U.S. Naval Institute collection / Wikimedia Commons
Rights / license
Historic Japanese naval photograph represented as public domain on Wikimedia Commons; original source and copyright status documented on the linked file page.
Historical Imperial Japanese Navy photograph / U.S. Naval Institute; public-domain archive image
03 / 04
Fusō under attack as the battle widens
The Japanese battleship Fusō is seen from an American aircraft during the campaign of October 1944. The source places this image on October 24, when U.S. carrier aircraft struck Japanese forces. Fusō would be lost in the fighting at Surigao Strait the following night. Identifications of other vessels in versions of this photograph vary, so the caption does not assert a disputed background ship name.
Photo details
Date
October 24, 1944
Location
Philippine waters, Battle of Leyte Gulf
Photographer
U.S. Navy aircraft photographer (unidentified)
Archive / collection
U.S. Navy, 80-G-281762
Rights / license
Official U.S. Navy photograph; public domain in the United States.
The light aircraft carrier Zuihō is pictured during its final moments off Cape Engaño on October 25, 1944. The cruiser Ōyodo appears nearby in this U.S. Navy archive view. Japan's northern carrier force had been sent as bait to draw the American carriers away from Leyte; it suffered heavy losses when the Americans attacked. The image was taken two days after the battle began.
Photo details
Date
October 25, 1944
Location
Off Cape Engaño, northern Philippines
Photographer
U.S. Navy aircraft photographer (unidentified)
Archive / collection
U.S. Navy / NHHC, 80-G-288099
Rights / license
Official U.S. Navy photograph; public domain in the United States. Resized for web presentation.
