Taffy 3 fights surface ships off Samar

The Taffy carriers were present to support troops ashore, so their Wildcats, Hellcats, and Avengers initially carried ground-attack weapons rather than an ideal load for striking battleships and cruisers. Aircrews from all three groups attacked with whatever remained and continued dry runs after bombs and ammunition were exhausted. The ships' crews, despite the assumption that the best personnel went to fleet carriers, maintained a fast command loop and kept launching aircraft under surface gunfire. Armour-piercing shells sometimes passed through the lightly built hulls without detonating, but Japanese ships later switched to high explosive. Chikuma's close-range fire stopped Gambier Bay, prompting Johnston and other destroyers to intervene, while the first organized kamikaze attack sank St. Lo. Four Avengers and 130 crew went down with Gambier Bay. Most survivors then waited two days for landing craft and patrol craft from Leyte Gulf, extending the battle's human cost beyond the sinking itself.