Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors

[BJT]

I am about half way through. All the reviews I can find make the book seem credible and if so, wow.

 

Some Jeep Carriers and Destroyers/Destroyer Escorts are caught unsupported by Japanese Battleships and Cruisers near the Phillipines in 1944.

 

Some of the accounts are hard to believe. Many planes that were unloaded, repeatedly making torpedo and bomb runs to throw off the ships.

 

A pilot lands at an unfinished land base, holds an uncooperative Army Major and gunpoint while he makes it a resupply base for carrier planes.

 

A pilot makes a torpedo run with no torpedo at a Japanese cruiser and as he flys over the ship, rolls inverted and empties his revolver at the ship.

 

If these are real actions and not some collection of sea stories, wow.

 

Has anyone here heard of this book?

 

Very Best Regards,

 

BJT

[Cypress Sun]

I can't speak for the book, but the description you provide was in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Tin Cans of Taffy 2 and 3 made herotic efforts

to repel the Japanese heavy cruisers and battleships against long odds. At least 2 Medal of Honor were issued along with many other citations. In my opinion, it was one of the key turning points in the defeat of the Japanese Navy.

 

Sun

[Deadeye Doug Dalton SASS#65449L]

I am about half way through. All the reviews I can find make the book seem credible and if so, wow.

 

Some Jeep Carriers and Destroyers/Destroyer Escorts are caught unsupported by Japanese Battleships and Cruisers near the Phillipines in 1944.

 

Some of the accounts are hard to believe. Many planes that were unloaded, repeatedly making torpedo and bomb runs to throw off the ships.

 

A pilot lands at an unfinished land base, holds an uncooperative Army Major and gunpoint while he makes it a resupply base for carrier planes.

 

A pilot makes a torpedo run with no torpedo at a Japanese cruiser and as he flys over the ship, rolls inverted and empties his revolver at the ship.

 

If these are real actions and not some collection of sea stories, wow.

 

Has anyone here heard of this book?

 

Very Best Regards,

 

BJT

 

Have not heard of the book, but I will look for it. The action it describes is quite true. A small force of light carriers and escort vessels fought so fiercely defending the beachhead that the Japs turned back from what would have been a slaughter of Americans which could have lengthened the war.

 

Someone should make a movie out of it. It's a great story.

 

Book:

http://www.amazon.com/Last-Stand-Tin-Can-Sailors/dp/0739309080

 

Movie:

http://www.amazon.com/History-Special-Last-Stand-Sailors/dp/B001CUBAMO

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Fabulous account of "David vs Goliath" battle that kept the Leyte landings from becoming a disaster. Hard to fathom what so few pilots and sailors accomplished. (Adm. Halsey should have been severely disciplined for his reckless behavior.)

[Chantry]

I am about half way through. All the reviews I can find make the book seem credible and if so, wow.

 

Some Jeep Carriers and Destroyers/Destroyer Escorts are caught unsupported by Japanese Battleships and Cruisers near the Phillipines in 1944.

 

Some of the accounts are hard to believe. Many planes that were unloaded, repeatedly making torpedo and bomb runs to throw off the ships.

 

A pilot lands at an unfinished land base, holds an uncooperative Army Major and gunpoint while he makes it a resupply base for carrier planes.

 

A pilot makes a torpedo run with no torpedo at a Japanese cruiser and as he flys over the ship, rolls inverted and empties his revolver at the ship.

 

If these are real actions and not some collection of sea stories, wow.

 

Has anyone here heard of this book?

 

Very Best Regards,

 

BJT

 

I have the book and it matches other accounts of the battle I have read. I fully believe the stories of pilots making runs at the Japanese ships with unarmed aircraft, they were quite literally throwing everything they could hang on the aircraft at the Japanese, there are reports of the aircraft using depth charges to attack the cruisers and battleships.

 

The courage, tenacity and ferocity shown by the ships crews and pilots is just amazing

[Captain Woodrow Cahill, SASS # 54363]

It's all true BJT. My Dad was there in DesRon 23 on board the USS Thatcher DD 514. He told me about it when I was a kid.

 

It was damn near a disaster. There were missteps on both sides, and it was only because the Japanese admiral lost his nerve that we won. Had he pressed home his advantage the outcome would have been different. It was only through the bold (and sometimes unconventional) actions of our men that we were able to turn them back.

 

Had it gone the other way, at the very least Halsey and MacArthur would have been sacked, and the war could have easily gone on until 1947.

 

At one point, planners in the War Department expected the war to last until 1949.

[Willie Wheelgun]

It's all true BJT. My Dad was there in DesRon 23 on board the USS Thatcher DD 514. He told me about it when I was a kid.

 

It was damn near a disaster. There were missteps on both sides, and it was only because the Japanese admiral lost his nerve that we won. Had he pressed home his advantage the outcome would have been different. It was only through the bold (and sometimes unconventional) actions of our men that we were able to turn them back.

 

Had it gone the other way, at the very least Halsey and MacArthur would have been sacked, and the war could have easily gone on until 1947.

 

At one point, planners in the War Department expected the war to last until 1949.

[Uno Mas SASS #80082]

I've read all the descriptions -- except the holding of an Army Major at gunpoint, I'd guess the line doggies might have taken exception to that -- from Naval Institute sources. And at least until recently, NI was an unimpeachable source.

 

Taffy 2 and 3's ordeal in Leyte Gulf is the stuff of legends. One destroyer threw herself between Japanese battleships and cruisers, making multiple torpedo and gunnery runs against many much larger foes. She was finally shot to a colander. As she foundered, the bridge crew of a Japanese cruiser was seen to salute her and her officers and crew. I'm away from my books, she's the Johnstone? Somebody help. Damn CRS.

 

Greatest Generation, indeed.

 

Thanks BJT, I've put the book on my wish list.

[Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795]

Johnston, UNO. Other DD was the Hoel, also DE Samuel B. Roberts.All three sank, but not before they shot up a bunch of Japanese cruisers. Actually blew the bow off one of them with torpedos and dueled at short range with battleships

 

Kurita fooled Halsey. He had been retreating after taking heavy punishment from Halsey's carriers the day or so before and losing a couple cruiser's to our subs Darter and Dace. A radio message from Tokyo changed his mind and almost set up the destruction of the Leyte landings if not for the Taffy's. Halsey was out of position chasing carriers that didn't have enough planes to even defend themselves. Oldendorf was out of ammo and too far away after annihilating Nishimura at Surigao Strait in what is the last big gun duel in naval history, probably. The OBB's in that force were too slow to get there in time anyway. the glory was that most of them were raised off the bottom of Pearl

[Utah Bob #35998]

The skipper of the Johnston, Lt Cmdr Evans, was awarded the MOH posthumously.

*EVANS, ERNEST EDWIN

 

Rank and organization: Commander, U.S. Navy. Born: 13 August 1908, Pawnee, Okla. Accredited to: Oklahoma. Other Navy awards: Navy Cross, Bronze Star Medal. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Johnston in action against major units of the enemy Japanese fleet during the battle off Samar on 25 October 1944. The first to lay a smokescreen and to open fire as an enemy task force, vastly superior in number, firepower and armor, rapidly approached. Comdr. Evans gallantly diverted the powerful blasts of hostile guns from the lightly armed and armored carriers under his protection, launching the first torpedo attack when the Johnston came under straddling Japanese shellfire. Undaunted by damage sustained under the terrific volume of fire, he unhesitatingly joined others of his group to provide fire support during subsequent torpedo attacks against the Japanese and, outshooting and outmaneuvering the enemy as he consistently interposed his vessel between the hostile fleet units and our carriers despite the crippling loss of engine power and communications with steering aft, shifted command to the fantail, shouted steering orders through an open hatch to men turning the rudder by hand and battled furiously until the Johnston, burning and shuddering from a mortal blow, lay dead in the water after 3 hours of fierce combat. Seriously wounded early in the engagement, Comdr. Evans, by his indomitable courage and brilliant professional skill, aided materially in turning back the enemy during a critical phase of the action. His valiant fighting spirit throughout this historic battle will venture as an inspiration to all who served with him.

[Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172]

Those WW II guys were something else.

 

I doubt that we will see the likes of them again soon.

 

Guess I am going to have to read that book.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Guess I am going to have to read that book.

You won't be able to put it down.

 

There are more famous battles like Midway, but this is the stuff of legends. Amazing to know it's real and not a product of Hollywood.

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

I've read many books on WW II and when written by those that were there in the moment bring the reality of what they endured real.

 

When I finished this book I was at a loss for words to describe it to friends. Other than we will never know the sacrifice and honor that these men represent.

 

It is a very humbling reading what they did to save so many.

Ike

[BJT]

Thanks all. Amazing! I am shocked that this story has not been given more attention. I hope I never need to find out if I have what these men gave. I hope we never forget what they did. Awesome, in the classic sense of the word.

 

Humbled,

BJT

[Deadeye Doug Dalton SASS#65449L]

I don't know if it's true, but, supposedly, one of the American sailors of Taffy 3, upon seeing the Jap fleet turn and retire from the battle, yelled out, "Hey, fellas, there're getting away.!"

[Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795]

Supposedly a sailor on one of the "jeep" carriers........

[Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172]

I had an uncle that served in the Philippines. Perhaps these guys saved his bacon.

Heck, I had uncles all over the place. I had one in Africa, One in France, one in the Pacific

one in England with the 8th AF, and all of them were front line troops. My Dad was Stateside.

[Deadeye Doug Dalton SASS#65449L]

Online Condensed Book

 

The Battle Off Samar - Taffy III at Leyte Gulf

 

http://www.bosamar.com/book/boswarn.html

[DocWard]

Those WW II guys were something else.

 

I doubt that we will see the likes of them again soon.

 

Guess I am going to have to read that book.

 

We still have their likes in our midst, fortunately. I am hopeful that we will never see war again on the scale that brings out that sort of legendary courage.

 

I've seen a documentary on the subject, and have heard much about it, but never read the book. Time for me to find it.

[Chantry]

For those of you who don't have the book and don't expect to buy it, Wikipedia has a decent summary of the battle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_off_Samar

 

After reading a lot of military history, I am continually surprised on how battles can be determined by relatively insignificant things.

In the case of this battle, the far superior radar control gunnery of the destroyers and escort carriers, enabled the 5" guns to score hits BEFORE the optically controlled range finders of the Japanese heavy cruisers and to a lesser degree their battleships.

Another factor (through all of WWII) was the superb damage control of the US Navy, by far the best of the war, which kept the American ships in the fight far longer then could reasonably be expected.

 

Poor communications, on both sides, which lead to commanders making incorrect decisions. Halsey, who thought that the Japanese surface force had retreated after heavy air attacks over the prior several days and Kurita, who thought he had run into either all or elements of Halsey's fleet with it's much larger fleet carriers and it's escorting cruisers and battleships.

[San Joaquin Red, SASS # 47267]

I had two very grand memories of the U.S.S. Hoel (DD 533).

 

The Hoel was built at the Bethlehem Shipyard in San Francisco, California and My Uncle Joe was a foreman on the build.

 

When I returned from Viet Nam, William Dow Thomas, the original C.O. for the Hoel (he was replaced by Cdr. Leon Kintberger) was my History Professor in College. He had been transferred to the Pentagon, and the new C.O. had assumed command. There was no transportation available to Washington so he figured he would "bum" a ride to help out. During the encounter with the Yamato, an 18 inch armor piercing shell put an 18 inch hole in the port bulkhead on the Bridge, took off his left arm and exited the bridge leaving and 18 inch hole in the starboard bulkhead. Seeing how destroyers lacked much if any armor, the shells just whistled on through. According to Captain Thomas, the Hoel sank mostly because of hits to the engine rooms, and all the holes left behind by the armor piercing shells that did not detonate.

 

The aircraft from the "Jeep" carriers were armed with GP bombs and rockets, to support the landings ashore. Not AP bombs, or torpedoes (the destroyers had the torpedoes) for anti-ship. They still raised such a fuss that Vice-Admiral Takeo Kurita was convinced he was being opposed by Halsey's main battle fleet, which prompted him to retreat.

 

Halsey had a direct order from Admiral Sprague to sink Japanese carriers at every opportunity. Ironically they were carriers without aircraft, but you don't court marshall an admiral that had been on the cover of Time Magazine as many times as Halsey had.

 

 

God, guts, and guns. It's the American way.

 

 

Audios,

 

 

San Joaquin Red

[Grumpy Old Man]

I'll have to check out the book. I've read several articles on it, since my dad was on a repair ship at Leyte. Never could get him to tell me anything about it and hes is gone now.

[Uno Mas SASS #80082]

Got my copy today. $5.93 used through Amazon! I just might be absent for the few next days.

[Hacker, SASS #55963]

I read somewhere that after the war Vice Admiral Kurita was interviewed about why he turned away after the fight with Taffy 3 et al.

Following the loss of BB Musashi, CA Atago, CA Maya, CA Suzuya, CA Chokai, CA Chikuma and damage to CA Takao, BB Yamato, BB Nagato, and CA Tone.

Let alone the loss of the BB Fuso and BB Yamashiro and CA Mogami.

3 Battleships sunk, 6 heavy cruisers sunk, 2 more battleships damaged as well as heavy cruisers and destroyers damaged.

Over a couple of days this was not a great period of time for the Japanese navy.

 

Admiral Kurita reportedly said that he didn't want to waste anymore japanese lives.

I wonder if that was code for he turned coward.

But I guess an hour or so in the water would change an admiral's mind.

Remember that the USS Darter sank the HIJMS Atago which was Kurita's flagship in the Palawan passage.

He later assumed command from the damaged battleship Yamato.

 

Amazing as it was the Destroyers and Destroyer Escorts did in several of the heavy cruisers sunk.

Lt. Cmdr Evans of USS Johnston was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Taffy 3 was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for actions in Battle of Leyte Gulf.

 

An amazing story. They made an episode of Dogfight out of this story as well.

[Bucky Buscadero, SASS #73085]

OK, I'm hooked from what I've read here and the links posted. Sounds like a "must read". Just ordered a copy from Amazon, looking forward to it.

 

Bucky (whose Dad was in Europe / Tank Destroyer during WWII)

[S. Quentin Quale, Esq. SASS 9953]

Kurita was in interesting guy who could display great agressivness then, suddenly, "lose it."

 

He had no real intelligence on the precise location of the U.S. forces as he had no air assets. He was in a "cruising" formation with his ships when he encounted the Taffy forces. He ordered a change of formation to a battle line just about the time LCDR Evans sent his famous signal "Small Boys Follow Me." The aggressivness of the American attack prevented an orderly change in the Japanese formation and threw their command staff into chaos. Kurita never really had control of his own forces. The "fog of war" had descended on his flagship (compliments of LCDR Evans) and he ultimately ordered a withdrawl.

 

The larger Japanese plan included decoying Halsey's forces north. Halsey took the bait and swallowed the hook. He was probably saved from a Board of Inquiry by the actions of Task Group Taffy. He did suffer a loss, however, as he was the first of the five stars to retire. The Phillipine action was his second major command error. His first was sailing his fleet through a typhoon that caused major damage and loss of life. IIRC the Caine Mutiny is based upon the experience of one ship in that force.

 

The "Greatest Generation" moniker has a lot of traction in the popular press but has been challenged. I recently watched a presentation by Rick Atkinson who is author of An Army At Dawn, the first book of a trilogy on the U.S. Army in Europe. He openly stated that he doesn't see the WWII vets are superior to the men of the American Revolution or ACW. This is not to depreciate the sacrifices of the WWII generation, only to put them in context. We still do have guys today that would step up and take on long odds. They do it all the time in the Sand Box.

 

G.

[Hacker, SASS #55963]

The main reason that Halsey avoided a board of inquiry was that his orders from Nimitz gave him the flexibility to do what he did.