page_title: Leyte Gulf order of battle
section_title: American Forces
hierarchical_section_title: Leyte Gulf order of battle / 25 Oct – Battle off Cape Engaño / American Forces
caption_attribution_description: English: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-18) at anchor in Ulithi Atoll, 8 December 1944, during a break from operations in the Philippines area. Wasp is painted in Camouflage Measure 33, Design 10A.
context_page_description: The Battle of Leyte Gulf, generally considered to be the largest naval combat in history, was fought 24–25 October 1944 in the waters of the Philippine Islands by elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet and the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet. Of the five separate engagements that made up the battle as a whole, the forces involved in the three principal ones are listed here.
  Since the Japanese assumed the tactical initiative in all three actions, their forces are listed first in each section.
  Losses in these three actions
  IJN: 1 fleet carrier, 3 light carriers, 2 old battleships, 3 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 9 destroyers, 1 oiler
  USN: 2 escort carriers, 3 destroyers
context_section_description: Third Fleet 
  
  Admiral William F. Halsey in battleship New Jersey
  Task Force 38 (Fast Carrier Force)
  Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher in fleet carrier Lexington
  Task Group 38.1 (Task Group One)
  Vice Adm. John S. McCain, Sr.
  2 fleet carriers
  Wasp (Capt. O.A. Weller)
  Air Group 14 (Cmdr. W.C. Wingard)
  49 F6F Hellcat fighters
  25 SB2C Helldiver dive bombers
    6 TBF, 12 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
    4 F6F-xN Hellcat night fighters
  Hornet (Capt. A.K. Doyle)
  Air Group 14 (Cmdr. F.R. Schrader)
  36 F6F Hellcat fighters
  25 SB2C Helldiver dive bombers
  18 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
    5 F6F-xN Hellcat night fighters
  2 light carriers
  Monterey (Capt. S.H. Ingersoll)
  Air Group 28 (Lt. Cmdr. R.W. Mehle)
  22 F6F Hellcat fighters
    9 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Cowpens (Capt. H.W. Taylor)
  Air Group 22 (Lt. Cmdr. T.H. Jenkins)
  26 F6F Hellcat fighters
    9 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Cruiser Division 6 (Rear Adm. C. Turner Joy)
  1 heavy cruiser
  Wichita (9 x 8-in. main battery) (Capt. D.A. Spencer)
  Cruiser Division 10 (Rear Adm. Lloyd J. Wiltse)
  1 heavy cruiser
  Boston (9 x 8-in. main battery) (Capt. E.E. Herrmann)
  Cruiser Division 5 (Rear Adm. Allan E. Smith)
  3 heavy cruisers
  Pensacola (10 x 8-in. main battery) (Capt. A.P. Mullinnix)
  Salt Lake City (10 x 8-in. main battery) (Capt. L.W. Busbey)
  Chester (9 x 8-in. main battery) (Capt. Henry Hartley)
  Screen
  21 destroyers
  12 Fletcher-class (5 x 5-in. main battery): Boyd, Brown, Cowell, Charrette, Conner, Bell, Burns, Izard, Caperton, Cogswell, Ingersoll, Knapp
  6 Mahan-class (5 x 5-in. main battery): Cummings, Case, Cassin, Downes, Dunlap, Fanning
  2 Gleaves-class (5 x 5-in. main battery): Grayson, McCalla
  1 Benson-class (4 x 5-in. main battery): Woodworth
caption: Essex-class fleet carrier Wasp at Ulithi 1944
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