NARRATOR: By October 1944, the American

and Japanese aircraft carrier forces

have been slugging it out for three years.

[gunfire]

And now, following the recent clash over the Philippine Sea

in which 400 planes were lost, the enemy's carrier force

is a shadow of its former self.

Their carriers at this point are empty.

They have vessels, but they don't have planes or pilots

to put on those vessels.

NARRATOR: Just over 100 planes remain to distribute

amongst the surviving carriers.

Even so, the Japanese Navy has another skilled and menacing

combat arm.

JONATHAN PARHALL: The remaining strength

of the Japanese navy at this point

is in its battleships and its heavy cruisers.

They still have a very formidable array

of heavy gun warships that they can bring to bear.

NARRATOR: Among the warships are Japan's two

super battleships, the monsters Musashi and Yamato.

The biggest battleships ever built.

They were massive battleships.

863 feet long, 172 foot beam, weighing 72,000 tons.

The Yamato and the Musashi both had a main battery

of nine 460 millimeter guns.

That's 18.1 inches.

The largest naval guns used in combat.

They're extremely heavily armored, yet relatively fast.

Very powerful, graceful warships.

And they're able to sustain a level of punishment

that was considered inconceivable even

at the beginning of the war.

NARRATOR: Japanese admirals must now

rely on these large surface warships

to stop the American advance through the Pacific.

They believe the best way to do it is to disrupt

the American beach landings.

It's recognized at this point in the war

that it's important to hit the American invasion forces.

So the point of attack for the Japanese battleships,

for the first time, is not their American opposite numbers,

but it's rather the beachhead itself, and the transports,

and the logistical apparatus that

are supporting this invasion.

NARRATOR: On the opposite side of the equation,

the American carrier forces are holding their own--

so far.

They still have plenty of carriers and aircraft.

US admirals also have battleships

and cruisers at their disposal.

They feel they have enough strength

at this point in the war to finally target the Philippines.

Taking the Philippines will place US forces between Japan

and its navy's oil supply in Indonesia.

But any attempt at landing in the Philippines

will be hotly contested.

Japanese occupiers will defend this crucial ground

to the death.

The American strategy for taking back the Philippines

calls first for the capture of the centrally

located island of Leyte.

It's felt that Leyte needs to be captured so that we can

put air bases into operation.

And then we'll extend our air umbrella over further portions

of the Philippines, and go on eventually

to the liberation of Luzon, which

contains the capital of Manila.

NARRATOR: Japan's battleships and cruisers will steam north

toward Leyte from Singapore.

The warships will split into two groups, one

for sailing through the Sulu Sea and Surigao Strait,

and approaching Leyte Gulf from the south.

The other half sailing through the Sibuyan Sea

and San Bernardino Strait, and coming

down on Leyte from the north.

JONATHAN PARHALL: They have a southern and a northern pincer

composed of battleships and cruisers that will hopefully

meet up off of the island of Leyte,

and there crush the invasion convoys.

NARRATOR: When Japanese and American forces collide,

the numbers of ships involved, and the hundreds of miles

separating major battle areas will distinguish the struggle

for Leyte Gulf as the largest naval battle

in the history of mankind.

[explosion]

[gunfire]