Soemu Toyoda
In the meantime, as the escort carriers conducted their strikes, the Japanese garrison on Suluan had managed to alert their command, triggering Admiral Soemu Toyoda to launch Shō-Gō 1, a gambit to defend Japan's access to the oil fields of Southeast Asia. On 24 October, news began filtering through of the Japanese fleet moving out to engage, in what was to be the Battle of Leyte Gulf. "Petrof Bay", having rejoined "Taffy 1" ("Saginaw Bay" had transferred her aircraft contingent to other carriers and retired from the field on 24 October), was located in the southernmost group of the escort carriers, just east of Surigao City. With this news, VC-76 began rearming into a complement more suitable to fighting against surface ships, with Captain Kane ordering all of her TBM Avengers to be loaded with torpedoes, of which they would dearly need the following day.