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Battle Off Samar
The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on October 25, 1944. It was the only major action in the larger battle in which the Americans were largely unprepared. The Battle off Samar has been cited by historians as one of the greatest last stands in naval history. Ultimately, the Americans prevailed over a massive armada, the Imperial Japanese Navy's Center Force under command of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita, despite their very heavy casualties and overwhelming odds. Admiral William Halsey Jr. was lured into taking his powerful Third Fleet after a decoy fleet of what was left of the Imperial Navy's carrier force, including the last member of the Pearl Harbor attack, the aircraft carrier ''Zuikaku'', and took with him every ship in the area that he had the power to command. The remaining American forces in the area were three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte, Samar, and Luzon from 23 to 26 October 1944 between combined American and Australian forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), as part of the invasion of Leyte, which aimed to isolate Japan from the countries that it had occupied in Southeast Asia, a vital source of industrial and oil supplies. By the time of the battle, Japan had fewer capital ships (aircraft carriers and battleships) left than the Allied forces had total aircraft carriers in the Pacific, which underscored the disparity in force strength at that point in the war. Regardless, the IJN mobilized nearly all of its remaining major naval vessels in an attempt to defeat the Allied invasion, but it was repulsed by the US Navy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to destroy warships more effectively than with conventional air attacks. About 3,800 ''kamikaze'' pilots died during the war, and more than 7,000 naval personnel were killed by ''kamikaze'' attacks. ''Kamikaze'' aircraft were essentially pilot-guided explosive missiles, purpose-built or converted from conventional aircraft. Pilots would attempt to crash their aircraft into enemy ships in what was called a "body attack" (''tai-atari'') in aircraft loaded with bombs, torpedoes and or other explosives. About 19% of ''kamikaze'' attacks were successful. The Japanese considered the goal of damaging or sinking large numbers of Allied ships to be a just reason for suicide attacks; ''kamikaze'' was more accurate than conventional attacks and often cau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
5-inch/38-caliber Gun
The Mark 12 5"/38 caliber gun was a United States dual-purpose naval gun, but also installed in single-purpose mounts on a handful of ships. The 38 caliber barrel was a mid-length compromise between the previous United States standard 5"/51 low-angle gun and 5"/25 anti-aircraft gun. United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile in diameter, and the barrel was 38 calibers long. The increased barrel length provided greatly improved performance in both anti-aircraft and anti-surface roles compared to the 5"/25 gun. However, except for the barrel length and the use of semi-fixed ammunition, the 5"/38 gun was derived from the 5"/25 gun. Both weapons had power ramming, which enabled rapid fire at high angles against aircraft. The 5"/38 entered service on , commissioned in 1934, the first new destroyer design since the last ''Clemson'' was built in 1922. The base ring mount, which improved the effective rate of fire, entered service on , commissioned i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
46 Cm/45 Type 94 Naval Gun
The Japanese was a naval gun, the largest ever mounted on a warship. Only two ships carried them, the Imperial Japanese Navy's World War II battleships ''Yamato'' and '' Musashi''. They were designated as a much smaller 40 cm (15.75 in) gun in an effort to hide their true size. The gun was designed in accordance with the prevailing Japanese naval strategy of Kantai Kessen, the Decisive Battle Doctrine, which presupposed Japan would win a war by fighting and winning a single, decisive naval action. Essential to that victory was being able to out-gun and out-fight its adversary. No other ship built could match the firepower and broadside weight of a ''Yamato''-class battleship. In spite of this, there were no battleship-to-battleship engagements involving either completed vessel of the ''Yamato''-class and an enemy warship. Both were sunk by aerial attack. Description The 46 cm/45 Type 94 naval rifle was a wire-wound gun. Mounted in three 3-gun turrets (nin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Battleship Yamato
was the lead ship of her class of battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) shortly before World War II. She and her sister ship, , were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing nearly at full load and armed with nine Type 94 main guns, which were the largest guns ever mounted on a warship. They remained the largest warships constructed in Asia until the launch of the Chinese aircraft carrier Fujian in 2022. Named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, ''Yamato'' was designed to counter the numerically superior battleship fleet of the United States, Japan's main rival in the Pacific. She was laid down in 1937 and formally commissioned a week after the Pearl Harbor attack in late 1941. Throughout 1942, she served as the flagship of the Combined Fleet, and in June 1942 Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto directed the fleet from her bridge during the Battle of Midway, a disastrous defeat for Japan. ''Musashi'' took over as the C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yamato Class Battleship
The were two battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), and , laid down leading up to World War II and completed as designed. A third hull laid down in 1940 was converted to an aircraft carrier, , during construction. Displacing nearly at full load, the completed battleships were the heaviest ever constructed. The class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine 460-mm (18.1 in) naval guns, each capable of firing shells over . Due to the threat of U.S. submarines and aircraft carriers, both ''Yamato'' and ''Musashi'' spent the majority of their careers in naval bases at Brunei, Truk, and Kure—deploying on several occasions in response to U.S. raids on Japanese bases. All three ships were sunk by the U.S. Navy; ''Musashi'' while participating in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, the ''Shinano'' while under way from Yokosuka to Kure for fitting out in November 1944, and the ''Yamato'' while en route from Japan to Okinawa as part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Aircraft Carrier Zuikaku
''Zuikaku'' (Japanese: 瑞鶴 "Auspicious Crane") was the second and last built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) shortly before the beginning of the Pacific War. Her aircraft took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor that formally brought the United States into the war, and she fought in several of the most important naval battles of the war, before being sunk during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.Zuikaku @ www.history.navy.mil ''Zuikaku'' was one of six carriers to participate in the Pearl Harbor attack and was the last of the six to be sunk in the war ( Akagi, Kaga, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Third Fleet
The United States Third Fleet is one of the numbered fleets in the United States Navy. Third Fleet's area of responsibility includes approximately fifty million square miles of the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean areas including the Bering Sea, Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and a sector of the Arctic. Major oil and trade sea lines of communication within this area are critically important to the economic health of the United States and friendly nations throughout the Pacific Rim region. First established in 1943, the Third Fleet conducted extensive operations against Japanese forces in the Central Pacific during World War II. Deactivated in 1945, the fleet remained inactive until 1973, when it was reactivated and assumed its current responsibilities. Mission The Third Fleet plans and executes naval operations in the Pacific Ocean. The fleet provides maritime homeland defense, regional security, and humanitarian operations support through integrated naval and coastguard for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Halsey Jr
William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star fleet admiral of the United States Navy, the others being William Leahy, Ernest King, and Chester W. Nimitz. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Halsey graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1904. He served in the Great White Fleet and, during World War I, commanded the destroyer . He took command of the aircraft carrier in 1935 after completing a course in naval aviation, and was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in 1938. At the start of the War in the Pacific (1941–1945), Halsey commanded the task force centered on the carrier in a series of raids against Japanese-held targets. Halsey was made commander of the South Pacific Area, and led the Allied forces over the course of the Battle for Guadalcanal (1942–1943) and the fighting up the Solomon chain (1942–1945). I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leyte Gulf Order Of Battle
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, generally considered to be the largest naval combat in history, was fought 24–25 October 1944 in the waters of the Philippine Islands by elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet (bringing together the IJN's 2nd Fleet, 3rd Fleet and 5th Fleet) and the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet (bringing together the USN's 3rd Fleet and 7th Fleet). Of the five separate engagements that made up the battle as a whole, the forces involved in the three principal ones are listed here. Since the Japanese assumed the tactical initiative in all three actions, their forces are listed first in each section. ''Losses in these three actions'' IJN: 1 fleet carrier, 3 light carriers, 2 old battleships, 3 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 9 destroyers, 1 oiler USN: 2 escort carriers, 2 destroyers, 1 destroyer escort * The light aircraft carrier was heavily damaged and scuttled with great loss of life on 24 October while engaging in battle against lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender in World War II. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) was formed between 1952–1954 after the dissolution of the IJN. The Imperial Japanese Navy was the third largest navy in the world by 1920, behind the Royal Navy and the United States Navy (USN). It was supported by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service for aircraft and airstrike operation from the fleet. It was the primary opponent of the Western Allies in the Pacific War. The origins of the Imperial Japanese Navy go back to early interactions with nations on the Asian continent, beginning in the early medieval period and reaching a peak of activity during the 16th and 17th centuries at a time of cultural exchange with European powers during the Age of Discovery. After t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Last Stand
A last stand is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are defending a tactically crucial point; to buy time to enable a trapped army, person, or group of people to escape; due to fear of execution if captured; or to protect their ruler or leader. Last stands loom large in history, as the heroism and sacrifice of the defenders exert a large pull on the public's imagination. Some last stands have become a celebrated part of a fighting force's or a country's history, especially if the defenders accomplished their goals (or in rare cases, defeated their attackers). Tactical significance A "last stand" is a last resort tactic, and is chosen because the defending force realizes or believes the benefits of fighting outweigh the benefits of retreat or surrender. This usually arises from strategic or moral considerations, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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