page_title: Invasion of Leyte naval order of battle
section_title: Task Group 38.2
hierarchical_section_title: Invasion of Leyte naval order of battle / US Third Fleet / Fast Carrier Force (Task Force 38) / Task Group 38.2
caption_attribution_description: English: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) at sea in 1945. Note: The original photograph is dated 16 October 1945. Bunker Hill was still under repair at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington (USA), from kamikaze damage received on 11 May 1945 when the war ended in mid-August. On 27 September 1945, she sailed from Bremerton to report for duty with the Operation Magic Carpet fleet, being equipped to transport troops to return veterans from the Pacific as a unit of TG 16.12. The vessel made return trips to the U.S. West Coast from Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, and Guam and Saipan. In January 1946 the ship was ordered to Bremerton for deactivation, and was decommissioned into reserve on 9 January 1947.
context_page_description: On 17 October 1944, troops of the United States Sixth Army under the direct command of Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, invaded the Philippine island of Leyte. This operation was the beginning of General Douglas MacArthur's fulfillment of his promise in March 1942 to the Filipino people that he would liberate them from Japanese rule.
  MacArthur's formal title was Supreme Commander, Allied Forces, Southwest Pacific Area. The amphibious landings were carried out and supported by the United States Seventh Fleet, including 1 British and 11 Australian ships, under the direction of Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid.
  Seventh Fleet
  Combat ships: 18 escort carriers, 6 old battleships, 5 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers, 34 destroyers, 17 destroyer escorts
  280+ amphibious landing and support ships
  110+ auxiliaries
  In case the Imperial Japanese Navy interfered, additional air cover was provided by the fast carriers of the US Third Fleet under the command of Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr..
  Third Fleet
  9 fleet carriers, 8 light carriers, 6 fast battleships, 4 heavy cruisers, 7 light cruisers, 3 anti-aircraft light cruisers, 58 destroyers
context_section_description: Rear Admiral Gerald F. Bogan
  3 fleet carriers
  Intrepid (Capt. J.F. Bolger)
  Air Group 18 (Cmdr. W.E. Ellis)
  VF-18: 38 F6F Hellcat fighters, 5 F6F-xN Hellcat night fighters
  VB-18: 28 SB2C Helldiver dive bombers
  VT-18: 18 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Hancock (Capt. F.C. Dickey)
  Air Group 7 (Cmdr. J.D. Lamade)
  VF-7: 37 F6F Hellcat fighters, 4 F6F-xN Hellcat night fighters
  VB-7: 42 SB2C Helldiver dive bombers
  VT-7: 18 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Bunker Hill (Capt. M.R. Greer)
  Air Group 8 (Cmdr. R.L. Shifley)
  VF-8: 40 F6F Hellcat fighters, 8 F6F-xN Hellcat night fighters
  VB-8: 17 SB2C Helldiver, 3 SBF Helldiver, 4 SBW Helldiver  dive bombers
  VT-8: 19 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  2 light carriers
  Cabot (Capt. S.J. Michael)
  Air Group 29 (Lt. Cmdr. W.E. Eder)
  VF-29: 21 F6F Hellcat fighters
  VT-29:   1 TBF Avenger, 8 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Independence (Capt. E.C. Ewen)
  Night Air Group 41 (Cmdr. T.F. Caldwell)
  VFN-41:   5 F6F Hellcat fighters, 14 F6F-xN Hellcat night fighters
  VTN-41:   8 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers
  Battleship Division 7 (Rear Admiral Oscar C. Badger II)
  2 fast battleships: Iowa (Capt. A.R. McCann), New Jersey (Capt. Carl F. Holden)
  Cruiser Division 14 (Rear Admiral Francis E. M. Whiting)
  2 light cruisers: Vincennes (Capt. A.D. Brown), Miami (Capt. J.G. Crawford)
  2 anti-aircraft light cruisers: San Diego (Capt. W.A. Mullan), Oakland (Capt. K.S. Reed)
  Screen (Captain John P. Womble)
  18 destroyers (all Fletcher-class): Owen, Miller, The Sullivans, Stephen Potter, Tingey, Hickox, Hunt, Lewis Hancock, Marshall, Halsey Powell, Cushing, Colahan, Uhlmann, Benham, Stockham, Wedderburn, Twining, Yarnall
caption: Fleet carrier Bunker Hill
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