Mark Lardas - The Kamikaze Campaign 1944–45: Imperial Japans last throw of the dice

Authors Dedication

To my mother, Betty Lardas, who went to join my late father on March 28, 2021. Ave atque vale.

It had already been one hell of a morning for crews manning the ships of the Seventh Fleets Task Unit 77.4.1 on October 25, 1944. Best known by its call sign, Taffy 1, it was one of three escort carrier groups providing air cover for US invasion troops on the Leyte beachhead. It consisted of Sangamon-class escort carriers Sangamon, Santee, and Suwannee,Casablanca-class carrier Petrof Bay, destroyers McCord, Trathen, and Hazelwood, and destroyer escorts Edmonds, Richard C. Bull, Richard M. Rowell, Eversole, and Coolbaugh.

A kamikaze crashed on the flight deck of the fleet carrier Essex(CV-9) just forward of the Number 2 elevator during attacks on November 25, 1944. (AC)

A Japanese warship force, including two battleships, had just attempted a failed attack on the Allied invasion fleet off the Leyte Gulf beaches. Most were sunk the previous night in the Surigao Strait by a US battle line guarding the strait, primarily made up of battleships present at Pearl Harbor. As dawn broke, Taffy 1 launched a mixed strike of Hellcat fighters and Avenger torpedo bombers to hunt down the retreating survivors.

An hour after that strike left, Admiral Thomas Sprague, commanding all three escort carrier groups, present aboard Taffy 1 escort carrier USS Sangamon, learned that Taffy 3, 130 miles north, was under attack. Admiral Kuritas Center Force, including Yamatoand three other battleships, had come through the San Bernardino Strait and were shelling the light-skinned escort carriers, destroyers, and destroyer escorts comprising Taffy 3. Taffy 3s escorts were attacking the Japanese surface ships and its escort carriers were launching aircraft.

They needed help. Thomas Sprague ordered all of Taffy 1 and Taffy 2 to assist Taffy 3. Soon, Taffy 1 was recovering aircraft completing earlier strikes, rearming them, and sending them north to attack the Central Force. At 0729hrs, radar picked up six approaching bogies unidentified aircraft, potentially hostile. They were identified as bandits hostile aircraft six A6M Zeros, known to the Allies as Zekes.

One of the first group of kamikaze special attack pilots share a ceremonial cup of sake with Vice Admiral nishi Takijir, prior to departing on their mission. (USNHHC)

Tension probably ratcheted down aboard the US carriers. Zekes were fighter aircraft, obsolescent by late 1944, and within the capabilities of Wildcat and Hellcat fighters carried by Taffy 3. Zekes would not be carrying bombs. If they were, they would be small, incapable of doing much damage to an escort carrier with an empty flight deck. Launching the armed and fueled aircraft aboard the carriers became more important, and such operations continued. Two of the six Zeros were subsequently intercepted and destroyed by Taffy 1s combat air patrol.

At 0740hrs, the Sangamonwas recovering aircraft from the first strike launched to aid Taffy 3. The Suwanneeand Petrof Bayhad empty flight decks, while Santeehad just finished launching five Avengers and eight Wildcats for Taffy 1s second strike against the Central Force.