"The Battle of Siragao Strait" Topic

"In late 1944, the Second World War in the Pacific was going badly for Japan. The American military was determined to retake the Philippines. The U.S. Pacific fleet had moved to the Mariana Islands in support of General MacArthur's army, which had landed on the south-west coast of Leyte in October. The U.S. 7th Fleet, commanded by Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, was near the Surigao Strait off Leyte. The U.S. Third Fleet, under Vice Admiral Halsey had been divided into four task groups, each under Vice Admiral McCaine, Rear Admirals Sherman, Bogan and Davison. These task groups were stationed to operate off Luzon. Sherman's group in the north, Davison's group in the south and Bogan's in the middle. McCain's group, which had five carriers, was ordered to Ulithi for re-supply.

The Japanese strategy in the defense of Leyte was to entrap the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet by its naval forces from the north in the Sibuyan Sea, and with assault from the south from Surigao Strait. Admiral Halsey and the U.S. Navy's 3rd Fleet was to be lured northwards, away from the Leyte Strait by a decoy carrier force. The Japanese plan, named Sho-Go, called for the convergence of their two battleship forces from north and south on MacArthur's landing beach, catching the U.S. troops and invasion ships in a pincers movement. To execute this strategy, the Imperial Japanese Navy formed four task forces under the overall command of Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa, who himself was to lead the decoy carrier force with two battleships, three light cruisers and nine destroyers. The southern and weaker of these battleship forces, commanded by Rear Admiral Nishimura, would penetrate through Surigao Strait just south of Leyte, tying up the American battleships while the more powerful of the two battleship forces, the Central Force under the command of Vice Admiral Kurita, would penetrate through San Bernardino Strait, sail down the coast of Samar, and fall on the American invasion fleet from the north-east. Admiral Shima with cruisers and destroyers acting as a second striking force would follow Nishimura into the Surigao Strait.[1] The Battle of the Surigao Strait was one of the four engagements that made up the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which was the biggest naval battle fought in the Pacific Theatre during WWII. It was also the last time the tactic of "crossing the T" was used in battle…."
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Armand

I heard that there's an expedition looking for the Japanese ships that fought in the battle does anyone now of this?

Too late, I am sure the scrap merchants beat any research project to the Japanese wrecks.

The ones in Leyte Gulf are still there, way to deep for current technology, but the approach was all through relatively shallow waters.

I heard yesterday that someone is checking out the wrecks and has found Battleship Yamashiro and some of the Destroyers,so it would appear that the wrecks are still there.

I've heard there are plans to convert the wreck of the Yamato into a space battleship for planetary defense.