Tin Cans and Greyhounds

The Destroyers that won two world wars By; Clint Johnson For any of you who were in the Navy or knew of others you will enjoy reading this book. He traces the beginning going back to the Civil War. It ends with the surrender of Japan in August 1945. A lot of it is technical describing the features of the various boats built by all nations. I skipped over being mostly interested in the activities. He describes major battles and incidents. I am just singling out one major battle which could have been devastating had they not showed great courage and resourcefulness. This occurred with the landing of troops on the Island of Leyte. Once the troops were ashore, Admiral Nimitz received a report that a major Japanese fleet was northeast. It consisted of two battleships, four cruisers and four carriers. The Japanese intended to lure the fleet away so other fleets could destroy the landing by sinking the supply ships. There were two other fleets. The southern one consisted of two battleships, four cruisers and eleven destroyers. The center force had five battleships, twelve cruisers and fifteen destroyers. The Southern force attacked first. Destroyer Squadron 54 consisting of nine Fletcher destroyers fired twenty seven torpedoes sinking three Japanese destroyers. Other squadrons sank both battleships with torpedoes. The Southern force ceased to exist. Air power had hit the central fleet and it appeared to be retreating. This was when Halsey left to attack the carriers thinking the beachhead was safe. The only remaining ships were six escort carriers and seven destroyers. The fleets came face to face. Our carriers launched their planes while fleeing. The Japanese were much faster and could have caught and sunk all except for the destroyers. I should mention the Yamamoto was in the fleet, the largest most powerful battleship ever built. Undaunted the American destroyers headed full speed towards the fleet firing torpedoes and five inch shells. They disrupted the formation. The Japanese commander ordered a retreat not realizing that his fleet was vastly superior. The daring of the destroyers won the day. Destroyers were used to escort convoys to Europe and shelled the landing beaches in the Mediterranean theatre and Normandy. Many were lost. Attrition was in our favor as the Arsenal of Democracy created far more ships than Germany or Japan could. I found this book at the Public Library.