Typhoon, the Other Enemy The Third Fleet and the Pacific Storm of December 1944

266 Pages·1981·30.638 MB·English

by  C. Raymond Calhoun

TYPHOON
The Other Enemy
THE THIRD FLEET
AND THE
PACIFIC STORJV
OF DECEMBER
194*
By Captain C. RaymondCalhoun,
Navy
U.S. (Retired;

Typhoon:
Enemy
The Other
Typhoon:
Enemy
The Other
THE THIRD FLEET AND THE PACIFIC STORM
OF DECEMBER 1944
By Captain C. Raymond Calhoun,
Navy
U.S. (Retired)
NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS
Annapolis, Maryland
Copyright © 1981
by the United States Naval Institute
Annapolis, Maryland
All rights reserved. No part ofthis book
may be reproduced without written permission from
the publisher.
Library ofCongress Cataloging in Publication Data
Calhoun, C. Raymond, 1913—
Typhoon, the other enemy.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. World War, 1939-1945—Naval operations,
American. 2. Philippine Sea, Battles ofthe, 1944.
3. World War, 1939-1945—Personal narratives,
American. 4. Calhoun, C. Raymond, 1—913—
5. United Sta—tes. Navy—. Task Force 38 History.
6. Typhoon—s Histor—y 20th century. 7. Destroyers
(Warships) History 20th century. I. Title.
D774.P5C34 940.54'5973 81-38384
ISBN 0-87021-510-8 AACR2
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
This book is dedicated to the officers and
of the United States Third Fleet
who
lost their lives
during the typhoon of 18 December 1944.

Contents
Preface ix
part Prelude to a Typhoon
i
1 Symptoms of Instability 3
2 Typhoon Warning at Ulithi 9
3 DesRon One Joins the Third Fleet 19
4 Fleet Operations, 10-16 December 25
5 The Storm Approaches, 17 December 30
part ii The Struggle for Survival
6 The Fleet Is Overtaken 43
7 The Dewey's Ordeal 51
8 The Tempest Takes Its Toll 69
9 The Small Carriers Prove Their Mettle 83
part in The Aftermath
10 The Casualties Are Counted 99
11 Search, Recovery, and Heroism 109
12 Assessment of Damage, Repairs, and
Investigation 119
13 Command Aspects 126
14 Weather Forecasting 141
15 Stability 155
16 The Court's Findings, Opinions, and
Recommendations 161
17 Critique 170
part iv Summary
—
18 Conclusion The End of the Farraguts 189
19 Epilogue 202
vii
Viii CONTENTS
Appendix A. Notes on Stability 213
Appendix B. Third Fleet Task Organization 215
Appendix C. Nimitz Letter of
13 February 1945 216
Notes 225
Bibliography 235
Index 241