Taffy 3 launched immediately, while the more distant groups had time to rearm for anti-ship work. Even high-explosive bombs and strafing could damage exposed systems or force evasive maneuvers, and empty aircraft still divided Japanese attention because defenders could not know which attackers remained armed. Crews trained mainly for land support improvised anti-ship attacks and continued dry runs after expending their weapons. Their persistence helped convince Japanese commanders that they might be facing Halsey's fleet carriers rather than lightly armed support groups.
Chapter · 2:29:20-2:35:27
Why empty aircraft still mattered at Samar
Aircraft trained for land support attacked with whatever weapons they had and kept making dry runs after their ammunition was gone.