Philippines: Battle of Leyte Gulf wreaks?

[in2deep]

Hi there all –

I recently read an article on the WWII battle of Leyte Gulf – the largest naval battle ever fought. 32 ships were sunk, including 3 destroyers, 3 battleships, 4 small carriers and 4 heavy cruisers, with most of the action taking place in the waters off southern Leyte and eastern Samar (in the Philippines).

I'm aware of the wreaks at Coron (from a separate battle?), but haven't heard of any one doing any wreak diving off southern Leyte –where there should be, in theory, some very impressive wreaks indeed.

Are any of these wrecks divable, are they too deep, or haven't they been found yet?

Cheers,
Rohan.

[happybuddha]

If you would like to read more about the battle try Thomas Cutlers's "The Battle of Leyte Gulf: 23-26 October 1944".

As for wrecks what I have always heard is that most of the wrecks would be in deep, deep water. Also some areas where parts of the battle took place, like Surigao Straits, have fierce currents.

John Bennett, who holds the world open circuit depth record at 308m, was planning a dive on one of the Japnese ships that sank around Southern Leyte (I think) but since he moved to Australia (he did live in Puerto Galera, Philippines) I don't know what the status of that is. That wreck was at 260m or some such depth and the currents were going to be quite wicked.

You might try contacting Peter at Peter's Dive Resort in Southern Leyte, I was there in August 02 and he was planning to do some exploring when he had time. Maybe he has found something. I dont' have an email handy but if you go to www.whaleofadive.com, there is an inquiry box you can fill out.

[erwin]

That battle was one of the largest naval engagements in history. The Japanese lost most of its fleet and several U.S. ships were sunk as well. The crowning glory of this battle for divers ( If they ever find it) would be the Musashi. This ship was the largest battleship ever built ( along with its sister ship the Yamato ).

Having said that, many of this ships have not been found and if indeed some have been found they are in depths that are too deep for divers. Another factor is the wide area where the battle was fought. The battle stretched almost the entire length of the eastern coast of the Philippines. This factor makes finding the wrecks much harder.

At the moment I know of no ship in the Leyte Gulf battle being available for diving either by recreational or technical divers. Maybe technological improvements and dedicated research in the future would make these vessels available to us. I have dreamt since childhood of diving the Musashi.

P.S. The wrecks in the Coron area are from a different engagement. Most of these ships were also supply ships and not warships.

[Hammer 23]

Hello everybody-

I am pretty new to this whole new diving thing however i can offer some valuable information on the whole Leyte Gulf subject. I myself know a good amount of stuff about World War II. I have read a few books about the Battle of Leyte Gulf and one book I think you guys would find helpful would be "Sea of Thunder" by Evan Thomas. It does talk a little excessively about the commanders moods and personalities and the Japanese War mindset at the time but the there is a large section of the book (Chapter 10 to 16 i think) that talks in depth about the battle. Now from what i recall there should be a few sunken destroyers a few klicks out from the San Berendino Straight heading toward Leyte. Also in the Surigao Strait lies one of two largest battleships ever made. That would be the "Musashi" with her 18 inch guns, she was hit hard and sunk by American planes. Also lies the "Atago" which is a heavy cruiser that was the flag ship for the Japanese fleet. Well i've rambled on long enough hopefully that helps.

Sincerely,
Hammer

[jonix]

guys try matt reed here in sb. he with some of his tech buddies attempted a dive last year to one of those wrecks in leyte but it didn't push through because of bad weather.

anyways here's the original thread regarding that dive World Record Dive to a Ship Wreck, May 17th

[pakman]

google "Yamashiro Project" or read the following thread on rebreatherworld.com about the search for the Japanese battleship Yamashiro.
HIJMS Yamashiro - Rebreather World