The Battle
of Leyte Gulf

"The Jap cruisers were not the only ships retreating. One by one, their battleships turned and laid a course for the strait, accompanied by the other cruisers and destroyers. Aboard the baby flat-tops, an unnatural silence settled down. Nobody could understand what happened. Then the tension broke and men laughed until they cried. By some incredible miracle they were still alive. The fight had lasted two and half hours, but, during [the struggle], some of them seemed to have aged twenty years - nor was their ordeal ended."

Click here to read the first half of this article.

Click here to read about the rise of naval aviation.

Click here to read about Admiral Halsey's task force at Leyte.

Click here to read about Admiral Mitscher and Task Force 58.