Japanese ships are faintly visible on the horizon beyond the smoke screen 80g288144. Thus, the overall track of the battle off samar would come to resemble an inverted fishhook. Six small united states carriers and seven escort ships moved through the somber seas east of the philippine island of samar. Butler also steamed ahead and joined their sister ship samuel b. The battle off samar was the centermost action of the battle of leyte gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the. The real question is why isnt there a movie about the battle off samar. The battle off samar was only one of several major naval conflicts that constituted the battles of leyte gulf. In 1870, in the spanish philippines, the commandant of an island penal colony, aided by an american doctor and local villagers, decides to relocate his coastal camp to a fertile valley inland but the arduous trek is fraught with dangers. As the american 1orces advanced relentlessly across the southern pacific.
Samar, formerly named as western samar, is a province in the philippines located on samar island in eastern visayas. This story of an overmatched group of american destroyers and destroyer escorts beating off a vastly superior japanese force including battleships and cruisers is the stuff of naval legend, and was perhaps the linchpin to american victory at leyte gulf. It has rock formations and lagoons, similar to kapurpurawan in ilocos. Despite its losses in the sibuyan sea, the japanese center force steamed to counter the u. The escort carrier gambier bay, burning from earlier gunfire damage, is bracketed by a salvo from a japanese cruiser faintly visible in the background, centerright shortly before sinking during the battle off samar. War is a 20 tamil mystery thriller film written and directed by thiru. Could little taffy 3 hold off admiral kuritas gigantic battleships. It may well be regarded as the largest naval battle in military history.
Most popular battle of samar movies and tv shows imdb. The battle off samar one of three philippine islands in a chain including leyte and luzon saw the taffy 3 task group taken by surprise after the much larger third fleet was lured off by. The southeast corner of the island had almost no road network or other infrastructure. On the ijn side, youd need one dd, one cl and or one ca, and one bb.
The photo was taken from an aircraft from uss petrof bay cve80. The battle off samar was the centermost action of the battle of leyte gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the philippine sea off samar island, in the. The enemy below here is one of the best war movies ever, a chess game of cat and fish not mouse duration. After three long years, general douglas macarthur had returned. Battle off samar island oct 25, 1944 battle map sixty seven years ago this october 25th, a battle that ranks among the greatest naval epics in american history took place when one small part of american task force 77. Third fleet units, including the fast carrier task forces, provided the outer line of defense for the operation. All told about 70 japanese warships and 210 american and australian ships were engaged. October 25, 1944 despite its losses in the sibuyan sea, the japanese center force steamed to counter the u. The battle of samar island occurred on the 25th of october and it lasted for several hours. The battle off samar was the centermost action of the battle of leyte gulf, one of the largest. The other interesting thing is how much more effective the us navy surface combatants had become by 1944.
The battle off samar one of three philippine islands in a chain including leyte and luzon saw the taffy 3 task group taken by surprise after. Desperate courage the battle off samar mark loves history. As the only major action in the larger battle where the americans were largely unprepared against the opposing forces, it has been cited by. Ernest evans, the skipper of the fletcherclass destroyer johnston dd 557 and one of the many heroes of the battle off samar on october 25, 1944. The primary reason for this, in my opinion, is a prohibitive lack of crucial hardware. In 1942 battles around guadalcanal, the ijn surface ships outfought the us navy surface ships in the initial battles. It features vishal, trisha krishnan and sunaina in the lead roles, with manoj bajpayee and j. It was the only major action in the larger battle in which the americans were largely unprepared. I just finished reading the battle off samar taffy iii at leyte gulf which was written by a nephew of a survivor of the great battle. As the only major action in the larger battle where the americans were largely unprepared against the opposing forces, it has been cited by historians as one of the. Biri island is one of the top attractions in the province of samar.
However, there was a good road from san pedro bay in the south around the west side of the island, with a spur through the central mountains to the northeast coast. Called the last of the great sea battles, the battle of leyte gulf used every known weapon of naval war, except mines, and in shear destruction the battle has no rival in naval history. The battle was fought between the american forces and the imperial japanese navy and took place close to the philippines islands of leyte, luzon and samar, in the. The japanese battleship yamato and a heavy cruiser, possibly tone or chikuma, in action in the battle off samar. Surface warrior remembering ernest evans the sextant. An independent group is working on a virtual recreation of this. The battle of samar 25 october 1944 was the nearest the japanese came to success during the battle of leyte gulf and saw a powerful japanese battleship force come close to destroying a force of american escort carriers the japanese realised that an american invasion of the philippines or of formosa would cut their empire in half and prevent vital supplies reaching the. The battle off samar one of three philippine islands in a chain including leyte and see full article at deadline movie news permalink.
Movie about sammy b and the battle off samar bobbi september 15, 2016 at 7. Eventually, the us navy got better, and the samar battle shows how much they improved. Ellis idea about the battle off samar was the project theyd been waiting for. The result was a horrific threeday battle which was actually several smaller battles, namely the battle of the sibuyan sea, the battle of surigao strait, the battle off samar, and the battle of. Some folks criticized the style, but i found it was exceptional. A film about the life of lieutenant commander ernest evans, hero of the battle off samar, was announced in 2015 but does not appear to have. The battle was showcased by three separate primary engagements. Part of battle of leyte gulf, philippines campaign 194445, pacific war world war ii. Why was the battle off samar in 1944 among all the more. Mixed in are many photographs and stills from film shot during the battle, most of which i had never seen before.
The battle off samar was the centermost action of the battle of leyte gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the philippine sea off samar island, in the philippines on october 25, 1944. It took place in the philippine sea off samar island, in the philippines. My father was not quite two years old when eugene was killed, and therefore never got to know his brother. We recently learned about a film being developed about the battle off samar. Intense photos wwii battle leyte gulf, biggest naval. The united states begins a massive invasion of the philippines and the japanese will stop at nothing to destroy.
The 5th edition of my book 2010, the battle off samar taffy iii at leyte gulf at. In which a small force of escorts and small carriers face off against the biggest battleship the world has ever seen, plus all its friends. Where a tiny us navy contingent were pitch against a superior imperial japanese naval task force in an epic battle perhaps to all naval history in the world. The tiny american ships did everything they could to get in the way. Navy planes visible, one is under fire in the foreground. Douglas macarthur had returned to the philippines and invaded leyte. First a small quote from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only.
Truth be told, i wasnt expecting much when we got here but the views caught me by surprise biri is indescribably beautiful. Im not sure where you get the idea that the battle off samar was the last stand for the us navy. I made this video to honor the us servicemen who fought in the action off samar during the battle of leyte gulf, 25 october 1944. During the battle off samar, 25 october photographed from white plains the battle off samar was the centermost action of the battle of leyte gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the philippine sea off samar island, in the philippines on october battle of leyte gulf, battle off samar, october 25, 1944.
I have to say this is how a battle book should be written. Navy task groups, or taffys, were rear admiral thomas. The second battle of last stand will bring you back to world war 2 at the sea of philippine, to an unevenly match naval engagement off samar. Ellis idea about the battle off samar was the project theyd been. Battle off samar last stand of the tin can 1944 ad. Labanan sa may samar was the centermost action of the battle of leyte gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the philippine sea off samar island, in the philippines on october 25, 1944. The task force was full of ships that performed very heroically that day, but johnston led the charge immediately begins dropping smoke to cover the escort. Samar is connected to the island of leyte via the san juanico bridge marcos bridge. Roberts, powering straight into the teeth of the epic naval duel that now raged across the ocean. The tin can sailors of taffy 3 the battle of samar the. Perhaps you inferred it from the title of an excellent book by james hornfischer, the last stand of the tin can sailors.
Uss gambier bay cve73 and two destroyer escorts making smoke at the start of the battle off samar, 25 october 1944. Roberts was assigned to protect taffy 3s small escort carriers, which were serving as bases for. Dedicated to the men who manned the ships and the embarked composite squadrons of task unit 77. The battle off samar one of three philippine islands in a chain including leyte and see full article at deadline movie news. The 2005 japanese movie yamato shows yamato firing its main guns against surface targets, and battling against aircraft, but it is not made clear. With george montgomery, gilbert roland, ziva rodann, joan obrien. Battle of leyte gulf, october 2326, 1944, decisive air and sea battle of world war ii that crippled the japanese combined fleet, permitted u.
Posts about the battle of samar written by historycus. The battle of surigao straits, the battle off samar island, and the battle of cape engano. In the early morning of october 25, 1944, four japanese battleships, eight cruisers, and eleven destroyers surprised the allies. Im not a ww2 naval expert by any means, but lets examine a few key facts about the johnston during that action fletcherclass destroyer with 5inch guns and ten torpedoes goes stampeding ahead of the rest of taffy 3. Back in the gun battle now engulfing the seas off samar island, the destroyer escorts dennis, raymond, and john c. Admiral halsey had admiral nimitz commander in chief of the pacific fleet as his superior, while admiral kinkaid had general mac arthur commander in chief in the southwestern pacific as his superior. Four tiny ships and a handful of aviators turned back the most powerful concentration of naval gun power the japanese had ever assembled. As the only major action in the larger battle where the americans were largely unprepared against. Sixty seven years ago this october 25th, a battle that ranks among the greatest naval epics in american history took place when one small part of american task force 77. It is bordered by northern samar, eastern samar, leyte and the leyte gulf, and includes several islands in the samar sea. The battle of leyte gulf was fought from october 2326 1944 and was the largest naval battle of world war ii.
John moore to direct wwii naval battle movie come hell or high. It was the centremost part of the largescale navalair battle for the leyte gulf, which lasted from 23rd to 26th of the october, 1944. The battle off samar is considered by many to be the us navys finest hour. United states forces, including most of the third and seventh fleets, arrived in leyte gulf to begin the longawaited invasion of the philippine islands. In world war ii a japanese battleship task force surprised a group of american aircraft carriers, and an incredible battle of heroism and wits began. Surprised by an overwhelming japanese force of four battleships, eight cruisers, and many destroyers, evans nevertheless chose to attack rather than flee. Nathan handled the cinematography, while the films soundtrack and score were composed by yuvan shankar raja and dharan kumar, respectively. October 25, 1944 the battle off samar also known as the last stand of the tin can sailors has been cited by historians as one of the greatest military mismatches in naval history. The battle oft samar was a direct result of japanese higli command plans. The battle off samar naval battles world of warships. Ernest edwin evans august, 1908 october 25, 1944 was an officer of the united states navy who posthumously received the medal of honor for his actions during the battle off samar in world war ii. The battle off samar the saga of taffy 3 october, 1944.
1448 214 490 550 118 1329 1541 568 1106 329 1017 826 1300 630 717 978 351 624 882 695 1051 128 227 1229 843 682 528 527 871 950 1370