Their target was the American invasion fleet off the Philippines. Awaiting them at Leyte Gulf, off Samar Island, was USN Task Force "Taffy 3" - 6 escort carriers accompanied by a like number of destroyers.
These carriers, only able to carry about 20 planes each instead of the 80 carried by fleet carriers, were supporting the invasion force by flying sorties against Japanese targets on the Philippine Islands - they had no clue that they would ever find themselves facing the big guns of the Japanese Navy.
In the morning, the US Admiral in charge of the task force received reports of unidentified ships approaching, which he shrugged off thinking that they must be US battleships which were also patrolling the seas to support the invasion. Only when one of his fliers radioed "They have pagoda masts!" did he get a cold chill of realization that they were in big, big trouble.
Superbattleship Yamato opened fire first, followed by the rest of the Japanese forces. Their targets were the carriers. The US destroyers made smoke to cloud the horizon and charged the Japanese armada firing their guns and launching torpedoes.
In the confusion the Japanese thought they were under attack by enemy cruisers. As the battle unfolded, Japanese ships scored multiple hits on several escort carriers, sinking one (Gambier Bay), and also sinking three destroyers. The price was high, however; between the destroyers of Taffy 3 and the USN planes, 3 Japanese cruisers went to the bottom as well.
The battle was a tactical victory for the Japanese, but of little note - because in all the other engagements of this operation - stretching over 4-5 days - the Japanese Navy lost its 4 remaining operational carriers, 4 battleships, and scores of cruisers and destroyers.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf is notable for several things, among them the foremost being the suicidal runs of the USN destroyers against the battleships and cruisers of Center Force, which certainly saved the carriers from total annihilation; and secondly, it was the only opportunity during the war for Superbattleship Yamato to show what she was made of.
She did not disappoint - this reconstruction of the battle is accurate to every last detail and faithful to the battle reports of both sides. Yamato scored multiple hits on carriers and destroyers during the battle, showing that, although eclipsed by the aircraft carrier, this Superbattleship was indeed a deadly weapon when arrayed against enemy warships.
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