USS Johnston DD-557
Would like to see a movie about CMDR. Ernest Evans and the USS Johnston during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Sorta like David vs. Goliath, but with tin cans and Japanese capital ships.
Agreed entirely! From Wiki:
"In the battle, the very powerful force of Japanese battleships, cruisers, and destroyers commanded by Admiral Kurita engaged a U.S. task group of three escort aircraft carrier units. The Americans were taken entirely by surprise because the U.S. Seventh Fleet, of which it was a part, had firmly believed that its northern flank was being protected by Admiral Halsey's immensely powerful Third Fleet. However, Halsey and the Third Fleet had been lured away from their covering mission by a Japanese decoy force commanded by Admiral Ozawa.
The brunt of the Japanese attack fell on the northernmost of the escort carrier units, Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague's Task Unit 77.4.3 (usually referred to by its radio call-sign "Taffy 3"). Ill-equipped to fight a battle with large-gunned warships, Taffy 3's escort carriers attempted to escape from the Japanese force, while its destroyers, destroyer escorts, and aircraft made sustained attacks on Kurita's ships. The ordnance for the escort carriers' aircraft consisted mostly of small high-explosive bombs used in ground support missions, and depth charges used in anti-submarine work, rather than the armor-piercing bombs and torpedoes which would been more effective against heavily armored warships. Nevertheless, even when they were out of ammunition, the American aircraft continued to harass the enemy ships, making repeated mock attacks, which distracted them and disrupted their formations.
In all, two U.S. destroyers, a destroyer escort, and an escort carrier were sunk by Japanese gunfire, and another U.S. escort carrier was hit and sunk by a Kamikaze aircraft during the battle. Kurita's battleships were driven away from the engagement by torpedo attacks by American destroyers; they were unable to regroup in the chaos, while three cruisers were lost due to air attack and several other cruisers were damaged. Due to the ferocity of the defense, Kurita was convinced that he was facing a far superior force and withdrew from the battle, ending the threat to the troop transports and supply ships.
The battle was one of the last major naval engagements between U.S. and Japanese surface forces in World War II. After this, the Imperial Japanese Navy never again sailed to battle in such force, but returned to its bases to remain largely inactive for the rest of the war.
This battle is often depicted as one of the major "what-ifs" in World War II. If Kurita had continued the attack instead of withdrawing, it is thought possible that the U.S. could have suffered heavy losses in troops and supplies, which would have delayed their capture of the Philippines. It is also likely that had Kurita's and Halsey's forces met, that would have set the stage for the long awaited "decisive battle" where both sides would have finally been able to pit their largest battleships against each other."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taffy_3
I urge you to take the time to read the article. It's truly riveting, and the bravery of the Tin Can Sailors is astounding.
I became aware of this battle from History Channel's "
Dogfights."
To portray the
Johnston's CO, Lieutenant Commander Ernest E. Evans, I'd suggest Tommy Lee Jones.
).
