Dark Seas | The Most Insane Attack Ever Survived by a US Destroyer @DarkDocsSeas | Uploaded March 2023 | Updated October 2024, 21 hours ago.
On December 7, 1944, exactly three years after the Pearl Harbor attack that pushed the United States into World War 2, the 77th Infantry Division led by Major General Andrew Bruce made an amphibious landing 3.5 miles south of Ormoc City, Leyte, in the Philippines.
The area was Leyte's largest and most crucial Japanese stronghold and supply base, and while the 77th's three Infantry Regiments came ashore virtually unopposed, the same could not be said of the Navy’s ships in the surrounding area.
As the American destroyer USS Mahan patrolled off Ponson Island, nine Japanese bombers and four escort fighters suddenly appeared on the horizon and attacked her with all their might. The ship then suffered the wrath of one kamikaze bomber, but just as the crew thought they were done, one bomber after another kept diving straight into them…
On December 7, 1944, exactly three years after the Pearl Harbor attack that pushed the United States into World War 2, the 77th Infantry Division led by Major General Andrew Bruce made an amphibious landing 3.5 miles south of Ormoc City, Leyte, in the Philippines.
The area was Leyte's largest and most crucial Japanese stronghold and supply base, and while the 77th's three Infantry Regiments came ashore virtually unopposed, the same could not be said of the Navy’s ships in the surrounding area.
As the American destroyer USS Mahan patrolled off Ponson Island, nine Japanese bombers and four escort fighters suddenly appeared on the horizon and attacked her with all their might. The ship then suffered the wrath of one kamikaze bomber, but just as the crew thought they were done, one bomber after another kept diving straight into them…
