The Last Battleship Battle : The Battle of Surigao Strait, 25 October 1944 With warning from the U.S. airstrikes in the Sulu Sea, the commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, Vice Admiral Thomas Kinkaid, had ample time to set up a blocking force at the northern exit from Surigao Strait to keep Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura’s “Southern” force from forcing its way into Leyte Gulf.

Kinkaid assigned the task to Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf, commander of Fire Support Unit South. Oldendorf then consolidated the battleships and most of the cruisers and destroyers of the Southern and Northern Fire Support Groups. (The light cruiser Nashville—CL-43—was held back from the battle because General Douglas MacArthur was still embarked. Although MacArthur was eager to ride her into battle, Kinkaid and Oldendorf thought better of it, and assigned her to cover the beachhead area).

Six pre-war battleships (West Virginia, Maryland, Mississippi, Tennessee, California, and Pennsylvania), four heavy cruisers (Oldendorf’s flagship Louisville—CA-28, Portland—CA-33, Minneapolis—CA-36, and HMAS Shropshire), and four light cruisers (Denver—CL-58, Columbia—CL-56, Phoenix—CL-46, and Boise—CL-47), plus 28 destroyers and 39 PT-boats were arrayed to meet the Japanese force.

They were deployed in such a manner that Nishimura’s force would have to run a 50-mile gauntlet of PT boats, destroyers, and cruisers before it even reached the U.S. battle line.

Two of Oldendorf’s battleships, West Virginia and California, had been sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor, then raised and modernized.

Maryland, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania had been damaged at Pearl Harbor, repaired and modernized. The cruisers Portland, Minneapolis, and Boise had all been severely damaged early in the war, but had survived and been repaired due to America’s enormous industrial might.

Many accounts inaccurately describe Nishimura as blundering in to an American trap, and he has been often characterized as inept or foolhardy, or deceived into thinking that no U.S. force was waiting for him. Actually, Nishimura knew full well what he was facing—his catapult-launched scout planes had actually served him well. He knew he was on a sacrificial mission (described in Japanese sources as “special attack,” the same terminology used for kamikaze aircraft).

His mission was to draw the American forces to the southern side of Leyte Gulf, to clear a path for Kurita’s force to enter from the north. According to the original plan, Nishimura was to enter Leyte Gulf from the south, via Surigao Strait, at the same time as Kurita came in from the north (which might give him some chance of survival), but once he learned that Kurita had been delayed by U.S. Navy airstrikes in the Sibuyan Sea on 24 October 1944, he knew there was no hope.

However, he knew his duty was to proceed. In an irony of fate, Surigao Strait was where Nishimura’s only son had been killed in a plane crash early in the war.

As Nishimura approached the southern end of Surigao Strait after darkness fell, fully expecting to be ambushed by the Americans, he sent the heavy cruiser Mogami and three of his four destroyers ahead to scout a bay that was a likely place for U.S. ships to be waiting, while the battleships Yamashiro and Fuso trailed some distance behind.

As it turned out, no U.S. ships were there, and waiting U.S. PT boats missed Mogami and destroyers as they went by in the darkness before then detecting trailing Yamashiro and Fuso at 2236. PT-131 commenced the first attack, but Japanese night tactics against PT boats and defensive fire were very effective, driving the initial attacks off.

At roughly the same time, Mogami and the battleships linked back up, but in the darkness and confusion, one of Fuso’s secondary battery guns opened fire and hit Mogami with the first round.

For the next three hours, the Japanese force fought off one wave of U.S. PT boats after another.

• 
  NH 83138-KN (Color): Action in Surigao Strait, artwork by Dwight Shepler The Last Battleship Battle
•  NH 43091: Japanese destroyer Asagumo burning, October 25, 1944 The Last Battleship Battle NH 43092: Japanese destroyer Asagumo burning, October 25, 1944 The Last Battleship Battle

Damaging ten (one of which was run aground to prevent sinking, but later sank), but receiving no significant damage in return. Nishimura’s force entered the southern end of Surigao Strait at about 0200.

At 0300, Nishimura’s luck ran out. Captain Jesse B. Coward, commander of Destroyer Squadron 54, had deployed each of his two destroyer divisions on opposite sides of the strait, with flagship Remey (DD-688), McGowan (DD-678), and Melvin (DD-680) on the east side. McDermut (DD-677) and Monssen (DD-798) hugged the shoreline on the west side, both on a reciprocal course to the Japanese, which had first been detected by McGowan’s SG radar at 0238 at a range of 39,700 yards.

Two torpedoes from Melvin struck Fuso, inflicting serious damage to the old ship, and she fell out of line (in the ensuing confusion, Nishimura never knew Fuso was no longer following behind). At 0320, the torpedoes from McDermut and MONSSEN arrived. One torpedo from Monssen hit Yamashiro, with less damage than on Fuso, and Yamashiro plowed on with Mogami closing up behind her.

At the same time, two torpedoes from McDermut hit the destroyer Yamagumo, which then blew up with all hands.

Another McDermut torpedo hit the destroyer Asagumo, blowing off her bow and inflicting severe damage that would subsequently prove fatal, and knocking her out of action. At least one more McDermut torpedo hit the destroyer Michishio, which began to sink.

Several torpedoes appeared to pass under Shigure (the luckiest ship in the Imperial Japanese Navy) without exploding. With his torpedo salvos, Captain Coward had hit both battleships and taken Fuso and three of the four Japanese destroyers out of the battle. (Coward would be awarded a Navy Cross—his second—and criticized by the Naval War College for taking a bad angle shot).

Then, Destroyer Squadron 24, under the command of Captain Kenmore M. McManes, commenced a torpedo attack at 0330 from the western flank in two sections. The first section was flagship Hutchins (DD-476), Daly (DD-519), and Bache (DD-470), and the second was led by HMAS Arunta, followed by Killen (DD-593) and Beale (DD-471). The explosion of Yamagumo from McDermut’s torpedo lit the scene. Shigure dodged four torpedoes from Arunta.

One torpedo from Killen hit battleship Yamashiro (her second torpedo hit), causing Nishimura to issue a “general attack” order—i.e., all ships attack independently. More torpedoes hit the sinking Michishio, hastening her demise. Daly dodged torpedoes fired from either Mogami or one of the Japanese destroyers, and other destroyers in the group experienced near misses from Japanese return fire. McManes would also be awarded a Navy Cross.

Subsequently, Destroyer Squadron 56, commanded by Captain Roland M. Smoot, attacked in three sections. Section 1 was Albert W. Grant (DD-649), Richard P. Leary (DD-664), and flagship Newcomb (DD-586). Section 2 was Bryant (DD-665), Halford (DD-480), and Robinson (DD-562). Future CNO Lieutenant Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., was the evaluator in the combat information center on Robinson and would be awarded a Bronze Star with Combat V. Section 3 was Bennion (DD-662), Leutze (DD-481), and Heywood L. Edwards (DD-663). Future CNO Lieutenant (j.g.) James L. Holloway III was the gunnery officer on Bennion (in his second week on board) and would also be awarded a Bronze Star with Combat V.

A huge underwater explosion ignited a large pool of the highly volatile Borneo (Tarakan) fuel in which Fuso’s survivors were swimming. Only about 10 of her crew of 1,600 survived, many lost in the conflagration.

Early accounts, including by Morison, indicated that Fuso blew up and for a time the two floating halves drew fire from U.S. ships. However, the research ship Petrel in 2017 confirmed more recent analysis that Fuso went down in one piece and that subsequent U.S. shellfire was directed a flaming pools of oil. Captain Smoot would be awarded his first of two Navy Crosses.

As Smoot’s destroyers launched their torpedoes, the U.S. cruisers opened fire at 0351, followed shortly after by the battleships. Two torpedoes from Bennion hit Mogami (other accounts indicate fire detonated four of Mogami’s own torpedoes), but either way she kept on coming. (By this point in the battle, it is very difficult to reconstruct exactly who shot who). As Smoot’s destroyers were withdrawing, they were mistaken for attacking Japanese.

At about 0407, Albert W. Grant was hit 22 times by both Japanese and U.S. cruiser fire (more from the U.S ships) and suffered severe damage, with 39 killed and 104 wounded, but her crew was able to get her engines back on line and she retired from the battle area. The U.S. “machine-gun cruisers,” the light cruisers, pumped out prodigious amounts of 6-inch shellfire (Columbia fired 1,147 rounds in 18 minutes), several of which hit Albert W. Grant.

The U.S. battleships, having crossed the Japanese “T” (although there wasn’t much left of the Japanese “T”) opened fire at 0352. West Virginia hit Yamashiro with her first salvo. In the deluge of shellfire from the cruisers and battleships, some of the battleships could not find targets, particularly those with older radar.

West Virginia, California, and Tennessee had new Mark-8 radar and got off 60–90 main battery rounds each. Of the ships with older radar, Pennsylvania never fired her main battery and Maryland used her older radar to fire at the splashes raised by West Virginia’s shells. Mississippi finally fired one salvo, which turned out to be the last U.S. battleship shells ever fired at another enemy ship.

In only a matter of a few minutes, Yamashiro and Mogami were hit repeatedly by battleship and cruiser shellfire, yet both continued returning fire and advancing despite receiving unbelievable punishment.

At 0405, Mogami launched a spread of deadly “Long Lance” torpedoes, but because of the greatly reduced visibility in the smoke of the battle, her aim was off, and none of the U.S. battleships were hit. At some point, Yamashiro was hit by more torpedoes from U.S. destroyers, probably Newcomb and possibly Bennion (she probably absorbed at least four torpedoes, possibly five or six total).

U.S. shellfire devastated the bridge of Mogami, killing all the senior officers.

And at one point the ship was under the command of a chief petty officer signalman, who kept fighting. Finally, after an incredibly gallant but ineffective fight against overwhelming odds, Yamashiro turned away at 0410 and then suddenly rolled over and sank at about 0419—and, like Fuso, only about 10 of her crew of 1,600 would survive. Nishimura was lost with his flagship. Only when the flagship turned away did the battered Mogami follow and finally begin to retreat down Surigao Strait. On the U.S. side, the only casualties were on Albert W. Grant, most from “friendly fire.”

As the battle at the northern end of Surigao Strait reached its crescendo, Vice Admiral Shima’s force of two heavy cruisers (flagship Nachi and Ashigara) and four destroyers was steaming at high speed northerly into the battle area, the flashes of the battle plainly visible ahead. Shima’s force had entered the southern end of Surigao Strait at about 0245 and, due to rain and navigation error, had nearly run aground on an island, the force saved by a last-minute course change.

This time, the U.S. PT boats had better luck.

PT-137 fired a torpedo at a ship that was probably the severely damaged destroyer Asagumo limping back down the strait. The torpedo missed, but then hit Shima’s light cruiser, Abukuma, under the bridge, killing 30 sailors and severely reducing her speed (yet she continued toward the battle). Abukuma and the rest of Shima’s force were passing unseen on the far side of Asagumo when the torpedo came out of nowhere and hit. The Japanese destroyers had to take evasive action to avoid colliding with Abukuma.

Shima’s force passed burning and sinking Japanese ships, plowing into the battle area at very high speed in severely reduced visibility due to the smoke. The on-rushing Nachi, intent on conducting a torpedo attack on U.S. ships detected on radar, collided with the limping Mogami heading the opposite way at 0420. Last-minute evasive action by Nachi’s skipper kept the collision from being worse, but the damage to Nachi was bad enough to reduce her speed.

The chief petty officer on the bridge of Mogami apologized via signal lamp for colliding with the reasonable excuse that all of Mogami’s senior officers were dead. At this point, the Japanese fired a swarm of Long Lance torpedoes in the direction of gun flashes of the U.S. ships, otherwise unseen in the heavy smoke, which luckily hit nothing. Disappointed in the lack of effect of his torpedoes and realizing that Nishimura’s force had been essentially wiped out, and the same was in store for him, Shima opted to live to fight another day, and his force reversed course.

Of Nishimura’s force, Asagumo finally sank, and the severely damaged Mogami would be hit ten more times by shells from U.S. cruisers that briefly pursued her down Surigao Strait.

At 0902 the next morning, Mogami was hit by three bombs from TBM Avengers from Ommaney Bay (CVE-79) of Taffy 2 and she finally had to be scuttled; 192 of her crew were lost. Only the destroyer Shigure survived (the second time she was the sole survivor of a major battle). Her luck would run out on 24 January 1945, when she was sunk by submarine Blackfin (SS-322).

Of Shima’s force, the badly damaged Abukuma would be hit on 26 October by U.S. Army B-24 bombers (a rare case of high-altitude heavy bombers actually hitting a ship), detonating her torpedo bank, and causing her to sink with the loss of 250 of her crew. Nachi would be sunk by a U.S. carrier aircraft off Manila on 5 November 1944, with a loss of 807 crewmen; Vice Admiral Shima was ashore and survived.

Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf’s flag, flown on his flagship, USS Louisville (CA-28), during the Battle of Surigao Strait (NHHC 2002-58-16).