In this episode, we're putting New Jersey in place of the Japanese Fusō battleships at the Battle of Surigao Strait.
For more on the battle:
https://youtu.be/eTGvZ0IxyKo
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Play by Play:
2236 October 24, 1944, in Surigao Strait: The first American PT boats make radar contact with Admiral Nishimura's fleet of 2 battleships, a heavy cruiser, and 4 destroyers. For the next three hours, 39 PT boats attack with torpedoes, missing but harassing Nishimura's fleet, and alerting Admiral Oldendorf to the progress of the Japanese forces advancing into the Surigao Strait. PT-493 has to beach, and later sank. At 0325, PT-137 damages light cruiser Abukuma, part of Admiral Shima's following force.
0240 October 25, 1944, in Surigao Strait: Radar on the destroyer McGowan detect ships eighteen miles away, and converging columns of Allied destroyers speed south through the darkness. Starting at 0300, they launch one of the largest torpedo attacks in history at the Japanese ships a mile and a half away. Torpedoes from other New Jersey-built destroyers, Melvin and McDermut, blow the battleship Fuso in two at 0309, and at 0320 hit three destroyers, exploding Yamagumo, helping to sink Michisio, and blowing the bow off Asagumo. Other American destroyers' torpedoes hit the battleship Yamashiro. Admiral Nishimura continues up the strait toward Admiral Oldendorf's cruisers and old battleships.
0351 October 25, 1944, in Surigao Strait: Fulfilling the dream of admirals since the 1600s, Admiral Oldendorf's 8 cruisers and 6 old battleships, arrayed in line of battle, "cross the T" of Admiral Nishimura's approaching fleet, so the Americans can fire all their guns in a full broadside while the Japanese vessels can only fire their forward guns. From almost 9 miles away, rapid fire spews from the cruisers, including Camden-built Denver, Phoenix, and Columbia, which fires a 12-gun salvo every twelve seconds. Their thousands of shells "looked like a continual stream of lighted railroad cars going over a hill." Battleships West Virginia, Tennessee, California, and Maryland, which were sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor, with Mississippi begin firing at 0353 at a range of 14.5 miles.
0409 October 25, 1944, in Surigao Strait: Hearing destroyer Albert W. Grant is being hit by friendly as well as enemy fire, Admiral Oldendorf orders his battleships and cruisers to "cease fire," before battleship Pennsylvania could locate a target to fire upon.
0412 October 25, 1944, in Leyte Gulf: In radio a report of the battle in the Surigao Strait, Admiral Kinkaid decides to ask Admiral Halsey: "IS TF 34 GUARDING SAN BERNARDINO STRAIT?" Because the radio message has to be transmitted from the Seventh Fleet's flagship to MacArthur's headquarters in the Admiralty Islands two thousand miles away, retransmitted to the Third Fleet's flagship New Jersey, and then decoded, it is not received by Halsey on New Jersey until 0648. In fact, Halsey has taken all of the Third Fleet charging toward Admiral Ozawa's decoy carrier force off Cape Engaño as the Japanese hoped he would.
0419 October 25, 1944, in Surigao Strait: Enveloped by shells and flames, Admiral Nishimura's battleship Yamashiro capsizes and sinks, killing Nishimura and all but 10 of her crew. The heavy cruiser Mogami, "burning like a city block," retreats south with the remaining destroyer Shigure.
0430 October 25, 1944, in Surigao Strait: The retreating Mogami collides with the heavy cruiser Nachi, one of Admiral Shima's ships finally entering the battle. Seeing Nishimura's fleet had been devastated, Shima's cruisers fire torpedoes and then withdraw back down the Surigao Strait. Admiral Oldendorf orders his cruisers to pursue. At 0545, the southernmost escort carrier group, Taffy 1, launches planes to attack the fleeing Japanese ships.
0721 October 25, 1944, off Surigao Strait: Leading Admiral Oldendorf's pursuit of the fleeing Japanese ships, the Camden-built light cruisers Denver and Columbia sink the bowless destroyer Asagumo.
0910 October 25, 1944, near Surigao Strait: Avenger torpedo bombers from Taffy 1 leave the heavy cruiser Mogami dead in the water, and the fleeing Japanese sink her at 1230.
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