| Oct. 1 | Left Kassal Passage for Ulithi - Japs attacked Peleliu. Strafed DD Bailey1 - Some casualties. | 1. U.S.S. Bailey DD-492 |
| Oct. 2 | Anchored at Ulithi. |  |
| Oct. 3 | Left Ulithi because of approaching typhoon. | |
| Oct. 4, 5 | Anchored in Ulithi. | * Berth 147, Ulithi Islands |
| Oct. 7 | Left Ulithi - Rough weather - the 6th and 7th. | |
| Oct. 8 | Refueled. | * 500 miles W of Maiannas - (13-43 N 138-23 E) |
| Oct. 9 | Enroute to Nampo Islands (Okinawa Jima) | |
| Oct. 10 | Launched strikes on Okinawa Jima. | * 125 miles SE of Okinawa. - (25-00 N 129-29 E) |
| Oct. 11 | Refueled - Two bogies1 shot down by C.A.P.2 | * 375 miles E of Formosa - (19-48 N 127-04 E) 1. bogies - Enemy Aircraft 2. CAP - Combat Air Patrol |
| Oct. 12 | Launched strikes on Formosa. B.H.1 are making strikes on Iwo chain. | * 75 miles E of Formosa - (22-44 N 122-54 E) 1. B.H. - U.S.S. Bunker Hill CV-17 |
| Oct. 12 (2nd entry) |
Launched strikes on Formosa. Went to general quarters at 7:00 PM. Had torpedo attacks lasting till 3:30 AM Oct. 13. Ship's AA1 got about 6 and Ind.21 VF(N)3 got 9. Flares were to dropped by Japs but they were unable make any hits on our ships. | 1. AA - Anti-aircraft gunnery 2. Ind. - U.S.S. Indiana BB-50 3. VF(N) - U.S. Navy Fighter |
| Oct. 13 | Launched strikes on Formosa. Not much air opposition over target. One of our planes made the 15,000th
landing on this ship today. Summary for last two days - 212 planes knocked down, 175 on ground, much damage to shipping and ground installations.
Attacked at dusk. Lasted about 11 hours. Eleven planes shot down. Canberra1 torpedoed. Being towed by Witchita2. U.S.S. Canberra in tow |
* 60 miles E of Formosa - (22-57 N 122-22 E) 1. U.S.S. Canberra CA-70 2. U.S.S. Witchita CL-45  Damaged U.S.S. Reno * 375 miles SE of Formosa - (23-15 N 123-26 E) 1. G.Q. - General Quarters 2. U.S.S. Reno CL-96 3. U.S.S. Houston CL-81 |
| Oct. 14 | Launched strikes on Formosa. Went to G.Q.1about 3:15 - attacked by dive bombers about 5:30. Attacked by torpedo planes. Three went down close to ship. One made a crash on Reno2 front hull. No damage. We had a few casualties, about 12 men, 1or 2 were fatal. Secured from G.Q. about 9:00. Cruiser Houston3 was torpedoed. | |
| Oct. 15 | Gunnery dept. stayed on alert last night and this morning. Bogies1 were all around till early this morning, but none close enough to cause excitement. Enroue to fueling rendezvous with cruiser. |
* 350 miles SE of Formosa - (18-08 N 128-58 E) 1. bogies - enemy aircraft |
| Oct. 16 | Planned to hit Formosa today, but have contacted unit of Jap fleet:2 CV1, 1CVE2, 2 CA3, 5 DD4. Are now going in that direction. | * 375 miles SE of Formosa - (22-21 N 128-02 E) 1. CV - Large Carriers 2. CVE - Small Escort Carriers 3. CA - Heavy Cruisers 4. DD - Destroyer |
| Oct. 17 | Still in search of Jap fleet. Learned that we are to invade Philippines Oct. 20th. CVEs1 will cover landings but we will be in vicinity if needed. CAP2 got a Judy3 this morning. Other task groups 58.1 and 58.4 are making out ok. Shooting down many planes. Canberra4, Houston5, Cabot6and Cowpens7 were attacked again. Shot down 59 out of 60 planes. 58.4 (Enterprise8 gunnery) is hitting Manila. 30 out of 40 in air, 15 of 20 on the ground shot down the 30 which attacked them. 58.1 operating in secret. Attacked by 190 planes. Shot down 95. | * 350 miles E of Formosa - (21-16 N 127-20 E) 1. CVE - Small Escort Carrier 2. CAP - Combat Air Patrol 3. Judy - Japanese Navy Dive Bomber 4. U.S.S. Canberra CA-70 5. U.S.S. Houston CL-81 6. U.S.S. Cabot CVL-28 7. U.S.S. Cowpens CVL-25 8. U.S.S. Enterprise CV-6 |
| Oct. 18 | Refueling | * 375 miles E of Luzon - (18-00 N 129-36 E) |
| Oct. 19 - 20 | Cruised around Philippine area. | * 250 miles E of Luzon - (17-11 N 126-52 E) |
| Oct. 21 | Launched VF2 sweep and strike on Mindanao. | * 200 miles NE of San Bernadino Straits. (13-58 N 125-14 E) 1. VF - U.S. Navy Fighter |
| Oct. 22 - 23 | Cruised around looking for units of Jap fleet and stood by for support of Philippines. | * 350 miles NE of San Bernadino Straits. (14-14 N 130-20 E] |
| Oct. 24 | We were at G.Q.1 all day. Attacked by many planes. Princeton2 received a bomb hit. There were 3 terrific explosions not long after. They finally abandoned and sunk her. Casualties not known yet. Our planes sighted and attacked a unit of Jap Fleet consisting of 4 BB3s, 3 Cruisers and about 13 DD4s. Damaged 1 BB and 2 CCs5. Our disposition planes shot down over 30 planes. We had a few near misses. CVE's6 assisting land operations in Philippines are under attack by 9 Jap battlewagons and are asking for help. Birmingham7 and Wisconsin8 and Irwin DD9 were damaged. Caused by Princeton explosion. AGC10 McCampbell11 now has 30 planes to his credit. | * Battle of Leyte Gulf - Oct 23-26 * 200 miles E of Luzon - (15-32 N 123-28 E) 1. G.Q. - General Quarters 2. U.S.S. Princeton CVL-23 3. BB - Battleship 4. DD - Destroyer 5. CC - Cruisers 6. CVE - Small Escort Carriers 7. U.S.S. Birmingham CL-62 8. U.S.S. Wisconsin BB- 64 9. U.S.S. Irwin DD-794 10. AGC -Air Group Commander 11. McCampbell, David - an Essex AGC, Navy's flying ace - shot down 34 enemy planes. |
| Oct. 25 | Another unit of the Jap fleet is 55 miles from us. It consists of 4 CVs1, 4 BBs2, 4CAs3, 4 CLs4and DDs5. We've sent out strikes to take care many of them. Battlewagons are on their way to assist CVEs6. Honolulu7, Sangamon8 and Australia9 were damaged during landings in the Philippines. Report 9 of 17 ships sunk in strikes on Japs. Cruisers and DDs going north to finish them off. |
* Battle of Cape Engano * 350 miles NE of Luzon - (17-39 N 126-27 E) 1. CV - Large Carriers 2. BB - Battleship 3. CA - Large Cruisers 4. CL - Light Cruisers 5. DD - Destroyer 6. CVE - Small Escort Carrier 7. U.S.S. Honolulu CL-48 8. U.S.S. Sangamon CVE-26 9. H.M.A.S. Australia II - Australian heavy cruiser |
| The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval battle in history. As the forces under General McArthur | |
| and the fast carrier task force of Admiral Nimitz met in the waters east of the Philippines, the enemy planned to attack. The Japanese navy formed in the waters west of the Philippines and initiated a three part naval attack against the allied landings in the gulf. Battle of the Sibuyan Sea - On Oceyte but were attacked by TG 38.2. Japanese losses were heavy and the surviving enemy ships escaped north towards the San Bernardino Strait. Land based enemy aircraft attacked TG 38.4 sinking the U.S.S. Princeton CVL 23. The crew of the Essex while also under attack had a clear view of the Princeton's fate. |
 U.S.S. Princeton CVL 23 |
| Battle of Surigao Strait - The southern Japanese naval force attempted to navigate through the Surigao Strait into the waters
just southeast of Leyte. Anticipating the move, the battleships of the American 7th Fleet waited in ambush. Early in the morning of October 25, the Japanese sailed into the trap and suffered massive losses. The few enemy survivors retreated back trough the strait. Battle off Cape Engaņo- A Japanese naval force including the remaining enemy aircraft carriers formed in the waters just off the northeast tip of the Philippines. This northern force had basically no air cover and was a decoy to divert Halsey's attention from the Leyte and draw him north into battle. The deception worked. On October 25, TG 38 took the bait, sailed north and engaged the virtually defenseless Japanese warships. The protection for the landings at Leyte was left to a group of small escort carriers (Taffy). Halsey's forces sunk all of the enemy aircraft carriers and many of the supporting vessels before returning to its earlier position east of Leyte. Halsey would later be criticized for leaving the Leyte landings and Task Unit 77.4 (Taffy) unprotected. Battle off Samar - In the early morning of October 25, the Japanese force, still east of the San Bernardino Strait, once again moved south. Without Admiral Halsey's TG 38 to protect the northern flank, the Japanese saw an opening. The enemy sailed south and encountered a group of small American carriers known as Taffy 3. The CVE's were no match for the large Japanese battleships. Taff 3 immediately tried to outrun the enemy. But as the Japanese force was overtaking their prey, the enemy battleships reversed their course. Probably fear that Halsey's TG 38 might be able to flank them, the enemy battleship returned to the north then west through the San Bernardino Strait almost untouched. |
 Battle of Leyte Gulf  IJN Nagato - Battle of the Sibuyan Sea |
| As the naval battles raged off shore, the American 6th Army secured the beaches at Leyte. The island was under Allied control by the end of December. The battles resulted in the final destruction of Japanese navy, only a few individual warships remained. | |
| Oct. 27 | Launched 2 strikes on shipping on Manilla Harbor. Believe we are on way to Ulithi. CAP1 shot down Fran2. | * 100 miles NE of San Bernadino Straits. (12-20 N 126-24 E) 1. CAP - Combat Air Patrol 2. Fran - Frances - Japanese Navy Bomber |
| Oct. 28 | Enroute to join 38.1 and then proceed to Ulithi. | * 300 miles NE of San Bernadino Straits. (13-22 N 129-42 E) |
| Oct. 29 | Enroute to Ulithi. Sad for our loses. 1 CVC1, 2 CVEs2, 2 DDs3 and 1 DE4. |
1. CVC - Small Carrier 2. CVE - Small Escort Carrier 3. DD - Destroyer 4. DE - Destroyer Escort |
| Oct. 30 | Anchored Ulithi. | * Berth 26, Ulithi Islands. |
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