The 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, Australian and Filipino forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), as part of the invasion of Leyte, which aimed to isolate Japan from the colonies that it had occupied in Southeast Asia, a vital source of industrial and oil supplies.
The light aircraft carrier Princeton on fire, east of Luzon, on 24 October 1944
Musashi departing Brunei in October 1944 for the Battle of Leyte Gulf
Yamato hit by a bomb near her forward gun turret in the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944
Japanese cruiser Noshiro under attack.
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.
Image: Admiral William F. Halsey
Image: Vice Adm. Samuel L. Gravely, Jr
Image: William P Lawrence
Image: Donald S. Jones (4)
