Battle of the Visayan Sea, October 26, 1944.

[sergey]

Colleagues.
I am interested in the composition of the groups that sent escort aircraft carriers TG 77.4.1 and TG 77.4.2 to attack the cruiser KINU and destroyer URANAMI. This information
26 October 1944:
Visayan Sea, Jintotolo Channel. At 1020, KINU and URANAMI are attacked by 80-85 aircraft from two groups of Task Group 77.4's escort carriers.
http://www.combinedfleet.com/kinu_t.htm
I think it's greatly overstated.

sergey

[Darius]

Hi Sergey,

maybe you can find here something

https://catalog.archives.gov/search?...%20TG%2077.4.2

Regards

Darius

[sergey]

Thanks Darius.
There is a lot of information here and it requires careful study.

[sergey]

Colleagues.
I don't have volume 12 of S.E. Morrison Leyte: June 1944 - Jan 1945. Perhaps the information I need, as well as similar information about the battle in Ormoc Bay on November 11, 1944, is there?

[Leendert]

For Ormoc Bay, a start here: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/139816701 and https://catalog.archives.gov/id/139816705. More here and following pages: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/78684811

Leendert

[sergey]

Darius.
Thank you again. I found almost everything I needed from your link. There really were far fewer American planes than the original information indicated.

Sergey

[sergey]

Leendert.
Thank you. I will work with this information.

sergey

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Hello Sergey, what was your final finding about the US aircraft that attacked Kinu and Uranami ?

The TG 77.4 air action report talks of 13 fighters and 5 torpedo aircraft (https://www.fold3.com/image/29223639...jap-fleet-1012).

But the TG 77.4.2 action report says 162 sorties were flown by this Task Unit alone to search and attack ships that day (https://www.fold3.com/image/29223651...g-engagement-w).

Later in the second report (https://www.fold3.com/image/29223664...g-engagement-w) it is said that a "light cruiser and one destroyer, both previously crippled, were sunk by REPEATED attacks from TU's planes, even though carrying only GP bombs and rockets." (upper word by me)

So it is possible the 18 aircraft formation reported by TG 77.4 was only the first of several raids attacking the Kinu and Uranami.

[sergey]

Hello Laurent.
I have done a detailed analysis of all the documents. It turns out that the figures in the general reports do not correspond to the figures in the reports of individual ships and air groups. Therefore, I have written down the number of aircraft participating in the attacks from each aircraft carrier/each naval air group.
TG 77.4.2 took off with 20 FM-2s (including 8 from NATOMA BAY, 4 from KADASHAN BAY and 8 from MARCUS ISLAND) and 16 TBMs armed with bombs and rockets, including 8 from KADASHAN BAY, 1 from NATOMA BAY (another one crashed on takeoff), 3 from MANILA BAY (including 2 that had landed there the day before from NATOMA BAY's air group) and 4 from MARCUS BEY. TG 77.4.1 sent 7 FM-2s - 6 from SANGAMON with 500-pound bombs and 1 from SUWANNEE and 5 TBMs - 2 from PETROF BAY (including 1 from FENSHAW BAY) with 500-pound bombs and 8 rockets and 3 from SUWANNEE - 2 with bombs and rockets and one with a torpedo; en route to the target, off the northern end of Leyte, the latter was joined by 4 TBMs from SAVO ISLAND that had flown out earlier to search.
The aircraft from TG 77.4.1 and TG 77.4.2 took off simultaneously, at 08:25 - 08:35, but it was not possible to determine exactly which of them attacked first. The attacks on the Japanese ships began at 10:20 and lasted for about 1.5 hours.