The question of what to do with Zuikaku was the biggest one that Vice Admiral Katuka faced when it came to choosing which ships to sacrifice as part of the Northern Force. Ise and her sister ship, Hyuga had already been reassigned to Southern Force. While he doubted the aviation battleships would accomplish much beyond their now diminished battleship roll, but they still had eight three-hundred and fifty-six-millimeter guns. Two of the turrets were amidships, yes, but they still brought an identical number of guns as the Kongo class had.
That had been simple, even if their conversion had rendered them considerably worse in the mainline of battle. But Zuikaku was, different. If there was any ship in the fleet that would cause the Americans to take the bait of Northern Force, it would be Zuikaku. The last surviving fleet carrier of the attack on Pearl Harbor would not be a vessel the American's could ignore. They had sunken all the others. They would not ignore the chance to destroy her.
But it was not that simple. Zuikaku was among the last fleet carriers they had. She had the heaviest strike package in the entire fleet. Which could be a downside. Touho and Shokaku had lost most of their air wings during their sinking, taking a considerable portion of aircraft and airmen down with them. If he were to lose a carrier, then spreading out his remaining forces among several light carriers would result in an overall smaller loss.
But a light carrier was also much easier to sink than a fleet carrier, meaning he would be more likely to lose the very same aircraft if a strike or submarine did manage to find them. And even they would likely be operating out of the range of even land-based American aircraft, the possibility of American submarines could not be discounted. Nor could the threat they posed to his fleet be swept under the rug.
Shokaku and Touho had not been lost of American aircraft, after all, but rather, American submarines. He would have to think of something to try and prevent a repeat of the Battle of the Philippine Sea from happening again. Japan could not afford to lose any more of its carriers.
In the end, the cruel calculus of war would likely win out. There had to be something to draw in the American's to the Northern force. Zuikaku was the only ship in the fleet that could accomplish what he desired. Joining her would be Amagi, one of the Unryu class, alongside the escort carriers Kaiyo and Shinyo, with the light carrier Ryuho. If he took a fleet carrier, it would be the Unryu itself, alongside the light carriers Zuiho, Chitose, Chiyoda, and Hiyo.
He would have to try and force along with the commissioning for the two, of course. Amagi, being sacrificed, would likely not take much to convince his superiors to go through with it, but Unryu was still undergoing trials, though she had left the slipways a few days before Amagi had. The working up period would be rushed, but they were the only other fleet carriers that could be called upon.
Sacrificing both Unryu's he had was an option as well, and once he was tempted about it, but their structure had more in common with the Soryu class they'd been based on, rather than the more modern Shokaku class. Still, preserving Zuikaku's far more experienced crew had its appeal. Even if her air wings were made up of mostly fresh recruits, the rest of those on board were hardened veterans. From the attack on Pearl Harbor at the start of the war to the disaster that was the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
That was the biggest argument for keeping Zuikaku was her crew. It wasn't like he could simply transfer her crew over to Unryu, either. Sure, they would be more experience. But that experience would be for a completely different ship. They might be able to pick up the damage control systems of the vessel quite quickly. Or the opposite could be true.
Perhaps it would be unwise to send Zuikaku with the Northern Force after all. Maybe he could disguise one of the Unryu's as Zuikaku? It wouldn't be as effective as sending Zuikaku as bait herself, but if it worked, then it worked, and it would allow him to keep a portion of his more veteran crew.
Yes, that could work.
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Halsey looked down at the report before him that rested over a map of the region. A Japanese carrier force had been spotted to the North. If it was accurate, then as many as five carriers were part of this group. Two larger ones, accompanied by three smaller vessels and several escorts, meaning there were three total Japanese Task groups at play.
No. There were four. There had to be four. The distance between this Northern carrier group and the fleet they had attacking the Sibuyan Sea was outside the range of any known model of Zero to provide reasonable air cover.
Which meant there had to be a second carrier task force somewhere out in the ocean. But his scout aircraft had yet to spot such a force, nor did they seem to be willing to launch any attacks on his carrier force.
Where they possibly out of strike range? Or did they have a different role in this battle?
Given how a large and sudden flight of Japanese zero's caused many of Enterprise and Franklin's bombers to break off from their attacks runs on one of the largest Japanese battleships? They might have intended to escort this center force, which was already retreating.
Or were they? While most of the Japanese combat air patrol had been swept aside by the Hellcats, the sacrifice of the Japanese pilots had managed to interrupt dozens of attacks runs through brave, suicidal action. One had even managed to crash his plane into an Avenger, taking both pilots down in a blaze of metal and fire. As such, the strikes had been spread out, and while reports said the battleship was badly listing, he had no way to confirm that the Japanese wouldn't bring the flooding to heel.
And even if that battleship had been taken out of the action, they had at least four more. Alongside this other carrier force that was doing everything in its power to make sure it couldn't be found. Which made it a larger threat than the recently spotted carrier task group by a wide margin.
This northern strike group was a threat he certainly couldn't ignore. But at the same time, while the center battleship task force was a known, possibly neutralized one, its attached carrier group was unknown, and likely retained most if not all of its strike potential. Which, in the long run, meant he could afford to ignore such a group even less.
To deal with both, he would have to divide his forces. Half of his battleships were covering Surigao Straight, the six old standard battleships more than enough to deal with the two battleships and other two, odd, half battleships that had been spotted as part of the Southern enemy task force.
The fact the Japanese had put the two conversions as part of the main battle line was a sure sign of how desperate they were. Regardless, a few light carriers had been stationed behind the mainline to ward off any potential airstrikes that could come in from the half-carrier conversions, but it meant he had half the battleships he otherwise would have.
Certainly, if he concentrated his battleships into a single fleet, he would likewise outnumber the Japanese force, another matchup of six to four, in his favor when numbers were concerned. But unlike in the south, which was facing two older battleships and two old battleship conversions, he was facing one of the more modern Nagoto's, a term he would use to describe the class only loosely, and a Yamato. The Yamato was the real concern, with the other two battleships, a pair of Kongos, nearly irrelevant.
It wasn't two, thank goodness unless they managed to repair the retreating battleship that had taken at least a dozen hits, possibly up to two dozen. While the battleships he had remaining were the most modern in the fleet, including Iowa and New Jersey, fighting both at once could prove problematic.
And he would need to leave behind some of his carriers as well, both to provide cover from their Japanese counterparts for their force, and to strike at this central formation of battleships, on the off chance that they weren't retreating.
As for the spotted carrier task force, he could afford to take half of his present fleet carriers to hunt down this group, taking two of the light carriers along as well, alongside an escort screen. Which would leave four fleet carriers and four light carriers to ward off any enemy aircraft. It wasn't ideal, but until he was sure the center group had turned tail, alongside the carrier force accompanying them, then this was his best option.
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Bombs crashed into the water, sending up geysers of water into the air, as torpedoes made their way through the waves. Above their heads circled dozens of aircraft, wheeling in the sky like a bunch of carrion birds.
What remained of the fighters that had covered the fleet, the very same ones that saved her sister's life, had been crushed. She knew from Vice Admiral Kurita that the situation was increasingly dire, as the strength of Center Force was being bled away, little by little.
They were considering launching bombers, dive, and torpedo, in an attempt to drive away the American aircraft. Not with their payloads. Rather, the planes would be forced to rely on their guns to drive off the American attackers. A roll their planes were never meant to fill, with crews never trained to perform such a task.
It would be a massacre. Japan's carrier-based air forces had been dead since the Philippine Sea. This would merely be the evening bell. But Yamato knew Zuikaku and the others would do their duty to the best of their ability.
However, she, Yamato, had no intention of making it easy for the Americans, as flack and shells filled the air, given off by both her guns and those of the numerous escorting cruisers and destroyers.
But it wasn't going to be enough. Kongo had already been lost, succumbing to numerous torpedo and bomb hits, after one jammed her rudder, forcing her to turn in circles. Several destroyers and a light cruiser tried to screen for the stricken battleship, but by then, it had been too late, Kongo's screams of pain only drowned out by Haruna's screams of rage.
Haruna herself did not look well, as numerous bombs had crashed into her frame, destroying numerous anti-aircraft guns in the process, while portions of her superstructure were simply gone or wreathed in flame. Yamato knew that if a few more bombs found their mark, they would lose her as well. She had avoided every torpedo attack so far, an event that would lower her speed considerably.
The same couldn't be said for herself, or Nagato. Nagato's captain kept up her speed up as much as her bulkheads would allow, and the damage from the three bomb hits wasn't helping. Nagato winced in pain as she continued to plow through the waves, her hull weaving port, and starboard to avoid any further damage.
As for herself? She, Yamato, was in pain. Five torpedoes had found her port side, cutting her speed by several knots, on top of seven bombs, finding purchase along her superstructure, knocking out several anti-aircraft guns. That didn't stop her remaining guns from pounding away, intending to take out as American aircraft as possible.
But this battle had lasted since shortly after dawn broke, with no end of American aircraft in sight. Surely, they had to be leaving the carrier's strike range soon. Yamato may have been the strongest ship in the fleet, but she, herself, was no fool.
They could not afford to take much more of this. It was a simple, irreversible, truth.
Just as Kumano suffered another hit from an American bomb, a noise began to grow louder and louder. More planes? Yamato felt her face tighten. That was all the rumbling of engines could mean.
But they were not American planes, Yamato quickly realized. The American planes had come from the west. These?
These were coming from the east.
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It was with the sacrifice of nearly all of Japan's carrier aircraft that they managed to make it back to safety. Yamato knew that Vice-Adrimal Kurita was taking stock of the damage before him, and she, herself was doing much the same.
Haruna was the worst off among them by far. While she had managed to avoid being hit by any torpedoes dropped by American aircraft, but she could scarcely be considered afloat. Her superstructure was nearly gone, with her guns being the only somewhat intact structure above her deckline. Haruna rested so low in the water from the damage it was still in danger of coming over her sides, an event that would most certainly doom her.
Nagato had also suffered greatly at the hands of the American attack, taking two torpedos and six bombs. Repairing the damage inflicted upon her would take months they could scarcely afford.
Mushashi, Yamato's darling little sister, had also made it back to port, though she was already in a dry dock, undergoing the repairs for the eleven bombs and twelve torpedos.
Yamato herself had also suffered heavy damage receiving eight bomb hits and five torpedos.
They lived, at a heavy cost. The Americans shattered Northern Force, leaving five carriers at the bottom of the sea. Southern Force had been driven away, Yamashiro and Fuso being sunk during a night battle, as Vice Admiral Shima was desperately trying to disengage with the last two remaining undamaged Japanese Battleships.
Takao and Chokai had been lost during their retreat, succumbing to their injures, as had Yahagi. Almost everyone else was heavily damaged, if not crippled, with only a few destroyers unharmed by the carnage.
Yes, they had escaped with their lives. But in the end. They had failed. All the sacrifices they had made to stop the Americans from landing the Philippines? Northern force, with five carriers sent to die? Everyone else, that sailed into a grinder that accomplished nothing but the lives of sailors?
They were willing to give their lives for the emperor. They were willing to give their lives if it meant victory.
But all they had brought was failure.