Time:

0415 Manned all Plight Quarter Stations.

0430 Manned all General Quarter Stations.

0457 Commenced launching VF by Catapult.

0505 Completed launching 8 VF.

0616 Sunrise.

0635 Received TBS message from TC "Set Condition 3 at discretion of Commanding Officer" .

0637 Secured from General Quarters. Set Condition 3 Captain and Navigator on the bridge.

0640 Anti-Aircraft fire observed to the northwest.

0643 Intercepted an almost unintelligible excited VHF transmission from an ASP plane from T.V. 77.4.2 to its base to the effect that the Japanese Fleet was sighted 30 miles from base. (T.V. 77.4.2 was operating 10 miles south of our position at the time.)

0644 A local ASP plane reported an enemy force consisting of 4 HH's, 8 CA 's and/or CL's and 4 DD's.

0645 A large unidentified surface force indication appeared on sa radar bearing 3000 (T) distance 23-1/2 miles.

0645 Sounded General Quarters.

0646 OTC gave signal by TBS "execute upon receipt 9 turn" (making new course 1300) and II Speed 16". Executed signal except, on orders from the Captain, engine room was directed to make maximum speed .

0647 OTC signaled by TES "Make maximum speed possible".

0647 All general Quarters stations were manned .

0648 The OTC commenced passing information concerning the contacts and made urgent requests for immediate assistance to C.T.G. 77.4 and Commander Support Aircraft Central Philippines. These transmissions were in voice on 2096 kilocycles Inter-Commander Support Aircraft circuit. This circuit was loaded with this type of traffic throughout the engagement. Enemy "Chatter" was heard intermittently on this circuit but apparently no attempt was made to effectively jam it.

0650 OTC gave signal over TBS "090 Turn.

0652 Order given to jettison three (3) remaining napalm bombs located on No.5 sponson.

0654 Gun flashes observed on horizon to the Northwest and large caliber salvo splashes were seen fabling near the ships on the northern side of the formation. Enemy's initial firing range estimated as approximately 35,000 yards.

0655 All planes on the flight deck (7 TBM-1C and 10 FM-1) turning up ready for launching.

0657 Commenced launching planes.

0705 Completed launching all planes on flight deck, (This left 4 TBM-l C aboard -all on hangar deck) .

0708 Brought 1 TBM-IO up the forward elevator. 0709 OTC signalled by TBS "All carriers launch all aircraft" .

0710 Launched 1 TBM (loaded with 1 torpedo) .Destroyer screen deployed making smoke to cover the CVE group.

0715 --0730 Foul weather between own Task Unit and closing enemy force momentarily checked fire and only a few salvo splashes were observed in the formation during this period.

0723 Changed course on TBS signal to the south.

0730 Picked up on SG radar two or three vessels bearing 1700 (T) distance 19 miles .

0730 Enemy force, at least six separate tracks on DRT, making approaches from 2700 around to about 060°.

0731 Advance cruiser unit moving around our northeast flank. Estimated speed of this unit -30 knots. Weather partially cleared between own and ports of enemy force.

0731 Salvos splashing intermittently near GAMBlER BAY; WHITE PLAINS and FANSHAW BAY under concentrated fire.

0732 Destroyer screen ordered by OTC to deliver a torpedo attack.

0733 One TBM-l C loaded with a torpedo brought up from hangar deck on forward elevator.

0734 Commenced pumping aviation gasoline to gas the plane now on the flight deck .

0738 Completed gassing and purged the gasoline system. (Pumped inert gas in risers to all filling stations.)

0740 OTC gave TBS order to "open fire with the 'pea shooters' when range is clear.

0741 Commenced firing 5" gun at enemy cruiser 17,000 yards on port quarter.

0745 Launched one TBM, enemy salvos straddling the ship.

0745--0810 Salvos fell near the ship shortly after fire was opened with the 5 If gun. During this period the ship was maneuvered to avoid salvos .

0746 Changed course to 210° (T) (on this course there was not enough wind across the deck to catapult a loaded TBM).

0750 Jettisoned one TBM by catapult. (This left only I plane -a TBM-l C aboard which was on the hangar deck near the forward elevator).

0750 Three unidentified ships sighted on horizon dead ahead of formation. Sent effective major war vessel challenge on 24" searchlight. All three ships responded immediately with correct reply. On the strength of this identification (too far away to be identified by sight, on order from the Captain, the Signal Officer sent "BT WE ARE UNDER ATTACK BT K". The center vessel "dashed" for each word and "rogered" for the message.

0800 Changed course on TBS signal to 200° (T).

0805 Changed course on TBS signal to 240° (T).

0810 First hit, after end of flight deck starboard side near Batt II. Fires started on flight and hangar deck -personnel casualties small.

0815 Changed course on TBS signal to 205° (T) .

0820 Hit in forward (port) engine room below waterline.

0821 Two portable electric submersible pumps placed in operation. Bilge pumps turned on.

0825 The Captain informed OTC by TBS that ship had been hit hard and had lost one engine.

0825 Engine room flooded to burner level. Boilers secured.

0826 All loads shifted to after generators and engine room.

0827 Forward engine room secured. Slowed to 11 knots, dropping astern and out of formation.

0837 Lost steering control forward, probably as result of ruptured liquid lines by shell fragments from hits in or near the island structure.

0840 Radars went out of commission.

0840 After engine room hit -8" shell entered skin of ship, pierced No.3 boiler and probably lodged in the lower part of generating tubes.

0842 Water poured rapidly into after engine room from the sea. Bilge pump suction taken in after engine room.

0843 All boilers secured on order of the Engineering Officer.

0845 Ship dead in the water. Ordered all classified material jettisoned. 0850 Gave order to "abandon ship" .(The ship was in a sinking condition surrounded by three enemy cruisers firing at point blank range).

0855 The Navigator, who, as Officer of the Deck, had remained with the Captain on the open bridge until then, was directed to abandon ship and did so via the starboard bridge life lines just as another salvo pierced the island structure.

0858 The Captain attempted to reach the interior of the ship via interior island structure ladders but was driven onto the flight deck then aft over the starboard side by hot black toxic smoke .

0907 Ship capsized to port.

0911 Last sign of ship disappeared from surface of the water.

0930--1230 During this period, the majority of the survivors assembled into seven or eight separate groups. They lashed life rafts and floater nets together and collected sections of flight deck planking and any other floating debris with sufficient positive buoyancy to support those for whom there was no room on or around the rafts . At least three attacks before noon by groups of four to six TBM's each with escorting FM"s were observed on enemy ships to the Northeast, East and Southeast. Inaccurate bursts of anti-aircraft fire were seen as these attacks were being made.

With the exception of a large vessel with a destroyer standing by to the south- east, none of the enemy ships were seen by the survivors in the water. This particular ship has been definitely called a Kongo battleship by a few and not so positively identified as a heavy cruiser by others (See Part I -Ship Identification) .

1300 Dive bombing attack (6-8 SBD's or SB2C's) to the northeast. Planes and AA bursts seen. No bomb explosions or ships observed.

1530 A group of 40 planes (SB2C's and F6F's) approached at 10-12,000 feet altitude from the northeast, made a complete circle around to the south, and took departure to the northwest. (Presumably in pursuit of the retiring Japanese force. As this flight circled around our group, intermittent but effective bursts of AA fire were observed, apparently from the ship or ship's damaged and dead in the water and by their escorts .

1800 Large enemy vessel (Kongo Class BB?) with a destroyer nearby in sight during the forenoon still visible and observed on a northerly heading at slow speed, by some of the survivors. Note: This ship was not seen the next morning) . October 26. 1944 0900 1 TBM and 1 FM, together, passed five (5) miles to the east at altitude 6,000 feet. Red and green Very stars were fired and dye markers thrown in the water. The planes apparently saw none of these and continued on their northerly course.

0945 Same two planes observed at 0900 returning five (5) miles to the west on a southerly course. All attempts to attract attention were to no avail.

1200 From time to time, several groups of survivors sighted each other and closed within hailing distance.

2230 All groups were about equally spaced along either side of a line bearing 260-0800 35-45 miles from the center of the coast line of Samar.

TG 78.12 (2 PC' s and 5 LCI's) sighted Very stars fired by various groups of survivors. (Note: This task group had been dispatched from Leyte Gulf to locate and rescue the survivors of ships sunk in this engagement. They had arrived at the reported position of sinking, which was about 15 miles southeast of the estimated actual position, at 0800, 26 October . This group made continual sweeps north and south with the search line running east and west until they sighted the Very stars indicated above).

Following Day...

0000-0430 Ships of T. G. 78.12 picked up approximately 700 survivors from the GAMBIER BAY 15-20 miles east of Samar.

0700-1000 Search was continued by C.T.G. 78.12 and survivors from the Hoe1, Johnston, and Roberts were rescued.

1000 T.G. 78.12 departed for Leyte Gulf. (Note: There were no aircraft observed by either the survivors or the rescue vessels offering any effective assistance in the rescue operations).

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