USS Marcus Island

Leyte

At Manus, Carrier Division 27 became part of Task Unit 77.4.2, more commonly known by its call sign, "Taffy 2". On 12 October, joined by the seventeen other escort carriers of Task Group 77.4, Marcus Island steamed for Leyte Gulf to support the landings on Leyte.^[14] Arriving off the island on 18 October, her aircraft carried out preparatory airstrikes and conducted combat air patrols. On 20 October, the day of the landings, Rear Admiral Sample insisted on accompanying one of her Avengers as it conducted a close air support mission. Sample's Avenger, loaded with eight rockets, took off at 07:45 to strike positions on Catmon Hill overlooking the landing beaches. As his Avenger circled at 5,000 ft (1,500 m) altitude following a rocket run, a shell hit his Avenger 12 in (30 cm) above the trailing edge of its right wing. Passing through the upper fuselage, the shell detonated just above the root of the left wing, tearing a large hole in the Avenger's flank. Sample was peppered with shrapnel that lacerated his head, right shoulder, and right arm. Nonetheless, the Avenger was able to make it back to the carrier, although the plane was written off due to damage.^[15]

Battle off Samar

On 23 October, the Battle of Leyte Gulf began. The bulk of the Japanese fleet had been concentrated to repel the Americans from the Philippines, the seizure of which would have cut the vital oil supply lines from Southeast Asia.^[16] Admiral William Halsey Jr., commander of the Third Fleet, encouraged by the prospect of destroying the Japanese carriers, had diverted his surface ships to engage the diversionary Northern Force.^[17] This left the San Bernardino Strait undefended, and on the early morning of 25 October, Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force passed through unopposed. Within the Center Force's sights was Taffy 3, 20 mi (32 km) north of Marcus Island, which had been caught completely by surprise.^[18]

With Taffy 3 overmatched, Taffy 2 received permission from Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid at 07:08 to divert its entire air group to join in the defense.^[19] Marcus Island only had two Avengers at hand, as at 05:45 she had sent out ten Avengers to airdrop supplies to the 96th Infantry Division. Nonetheless, she finished launching all her available aircraft at 08:08, dispatching two Avengers, each loaded with a Mark 13 torpedo, and fifteen Wildcats.^[20] One of her Avengers reported a hit on the port side, aft, of a heavy cruiser at around 08:45,^{[note 1]} possibly the Tone-class cruiser Chikuma, "which appeared to go out of control".^{[22][note 2]} Meanwhile, her fighters harassed the advancing Japanese ships and contested the airspace above the battle, shooting down three Aichi E13A seaplanes^[26] and two Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters.^[27]

During the battle, Marcus Island took on board seven Avengers from Taffy 3, rearming them with torpedoes.^[28] At 10:30, the Taffy 3 Avengers were joined by her own Avengers, returning from their resupply mission. By this time, the Center Force had already turned around.^[29] Of her returning Avengers, seven were each loaded with four 500 lb (230 kg) semi-armor piercing bombs and an eighth carried her last remaining torpedo. At 11:20, these eight of her Avengers and six of the Taffy 3 Avengers were launched to pursue the Japanese, and at around 13:00, they attacked a Japanese cruiser, straddling it with bombs.^[30]

While the American forces had been distracted by the Battle off Samar and its immediate aftermath, Vice Admiral Naomasa Sakonju's transport unit, which consisted of the Nagara-class cruiser Kinu, the Fubuki-class destroyer Uranami, and four transports, was unloading approximately 2,500 troops at Ormoc Bay, on the western coast of Leyte. The transport unit had finished unloading on the morning of 26 October, but the Japanese ships were sighted by American aircraft as they withdrew. A strike group of twenty-three Avengers and twenty-nine fighters, to which Marcus Island contributed twelve aircraft, was assembled to strike the transport unit. The strike group made contact at 10:00, bombing, rocketing, and strafing the transport unit. The two transport vessels that the Japanese ships were escorting were quickly sunk, and Uranami was sunk as she attempted to charge the wreckage of a downed Wildcat. Kinu proved to be more resilient, sinking in the aftermath of the attack at 17:30, southwest of Masbate Island.^[31] Early on 30 October, Marcus Island withdrew from Leyte for Manus.^[32]

Mindoro

Marcus Island entered Seeadler Harbor on 3 November, and replenished until 19 November, when Carrier Division 27 was assigned to Task Unit 77.4.6.^[33] Until 27 November, she provided air cover for convoys traveling near the eastern Philippines, which were being harassed by Japanese planes based on Mindanao.^[34] She resupplied at Naval Base Kossol Roads, and on 10 December, she steamed for Mindoro, providing air screening for the scheduled landings.^[35]

On 15 December, the morning of the Mindoro landings, Marcus Island's task unit came under intense attack. At 04:30, about 40 Japanese aircraft, roughly half kamikazes, half escorts, had taken off from Clark Field and Davao. At 08:00, the escort carriers turned back towards Leyte, having been relieved of their duties by land-based Army Air Forces aircraft, but they were pursued by the Japanese.^[36]

At 08:12, the Japanese planes made first contact, with a kamikaze shot down as it dove upon the Bagley-class destroyer Ralph Talbot. At 08:22, three Zeros were spotted approaching Marcus Island from the port quarter, at about 15,000 ft (4,600 m) in altitude. One Zero disappeared into a cloud, while the other two reoriented themselves towards her. Of the pair, one made a steep bank to remain at her port, completed a chandelle, and then dove from astern, aiming for a painted dummy aircraft elevator midway between her forward aircraft elevator and her bow. Her gunners scored hits on the aircraft 1,000 ft (300 m) out, which may have incapacitated the pilot, as the kamikaze skimmed just over her flight deck. As it passed, its wingtip clipped a lookout platform, decapitating one lookout and injuring another. It then crashed 20 ft (6.1 m) off her starboard bow and exploded underwater, sending a column of water into the air.^[37]

The other Zero had passed over Marcus Island to approach her from the starboard quarter, and as it dove, it also set its sights on the painted aircraft elevator. Buffeted by anti-aircraft fire, the kamikaze made a sudden 90° roll to port 500 ft (150 m) short of the carrier and careened into the water 30 ft (9.1 m) off her port bow. The kamikaze detonated upon impact, spraying shrapnel across the flight deck and injuring six of the carrier's crew. The two attacks had occurred only ten seconds apart. Damage from both was very light.^[38]

At 09:30, Marcus Island came under attack again. A Yokosuka D4Y Suisei dive bomber began its dive against her from her starboard beam at an altitude of 4,000 ft (1,200 m). Swaying from side to side, the Suisei appeared to have trouble maintaining its aim. The bomb was released at an altitude of 800 to 1,000 ft (240 to 300 m) at a glide angle of 20°, missing astern of the carrier by 100 yd (91 m) and short by 40 ft (12 m). As the Suisei attempted to escape, it was shot down by anti-aircraft fire.^[39] On 18 December, she retired from operations, entering Kossol Roads on 19 December.^[40]

Lingayen Gulf

Marcus Island was back at Manus on 23 December, replenishing until 29 December,^[41] when she set off for Luzon to participate in the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf. Carrier Division 27 had been assigned to Task Unit 77.4.4, tasked with covering the convoys of the Sixth Army.^[42] For this mission, her division consisted of only two carriers, with Savo Island and Ommaney Bay having been transferred to the main escort carrier group.^[43]

On the afternoon of 5 January 1945, as the convoys passed through the Surigao Strait, the Fletcher-class destroyer Taylor sighted two torpedo wakes running towards the formation. Responding to the alarm, a plane from Marcus Island spotted the periscope of a midget submarine, and dropped a depth charge 60 ft (18 m) away, which left it listing. The submarine was finished off by a ramming attack from Taylor.^[44]

Marcus Island arrived in Lingayen Gulf on 6 January, where she provided an air screen to fend off potential kamikazes.^[45] The Lingayen operation was to be a costly one for the escort carriers. Miscommunication between Halsey's Third Fleet, Kinkaid's Seventh Fleet, and Douglas MacArthur's land-based Far East Air Forces meant that there was disagreement as to whose responsibility it was to neutralize the airfields on Luzon. This confusion allowed the Japanese to mount more kamikaze attacks than would otherwise have been possible.^[46]

During the early morning of 8 January, Marcus Island launched two divisions of fighters for combat air patrol. At 07:16, a large group of Japanese aircraft was detected approaching from the east, which separated into three distinct groups. Although her air contingent shot down four planes in a series of short engagements, a kamikaze dove and damaged Kadashan Bay, the other escort carrier in TU 77.4.4. Though the damage was not crippling, Kadashan Bay was still forced to transfer her remaining stock of aircraft to Marcus Island on 10 January and withdraw.^[47] As a result, Marcus Island joined Petrof Bay and Saginaw Bay to form Task Unit 77.4.6, the Close Covering Carrier Group.^[48]

Later, on the night of 8 January, Kitkun Bay was also damaged by a kamikaze, obliging her to withdraw. Combined with the earlier sinking of Ommaney Bay on 4 January, extra work was put onto the remaining escort carriers. On 8 January, Marcus Island recorded ninety-four planes launched and ninety-nine planes^{[note 3]} recovered during operational hours, averaging a launching or landing every 3.8 minutes, setting a record for an escort carrier in combat.^[49]

On 9 January, the day of the landings, aircraft from Marcus Island sank two small Japanese coastal ships on the north shore of Luzon. On 17 January, land-based aircraft of the United States Army Air Forces took responsibility for operations over Luzon, relieving the escort carriers of Task Group 77.4.^[50] Of the eighteen escort carriers brought to the Lingayen landings, nine had come under kamikaze attacks, which sank Ommaney Bay and damaged five others. After being relieved from operations around Lingayen, Marcus Island joined Rear Admiral Russell S. Berkey's Close Covering Group, which was operating to the west of northern Mindoro.^[51] On 29 January, she supported landings in Zambales, on Luzon, which were unopposed. On 31 January, she headed to Ulithi in the Caroline Islands, arriving on 5 February.^[52]