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**Lou Newton** · December 13, 2016, 06:18 PM

HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE BATTLESHIPS THAT WERE SUNK AT PEARL HARBOR AND THEN RAISED AND REPAIRED:
When the US landed troops on the Philippine Islands to free them of the Japanese, the Japanese navy threw every ship that they had at our forces to repel them. During these battles the many ships that were landing the troops and also landing supplies for them were left without Navy protection when Admiral Halsey left them in pursuit of the glory of sinking the remaining Japanese carriers.

The Japanese carriers were simply a decoy to draw Halsey away from his assignment of protecting the US invasion fleet.

The Japanese sent a secret Naval force of battleships, cruisers and destroyers to sink the US landing fleet that was left without protection. It was the very battleships that Japan had sunk that rushed to stop the attack of that force. Without the action of these US Battleships that had been sunk but raised there would have been many thousands of US soldiers and sailors killed. Read about it below:

You can read about the whole battle of Leyte Gulf here:

Battle of Leyte Gulf - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf#Battle_of_Surigao_Strait_.2825_October.29

Nishimura's "Southern Force" consisted of the old battleships Yamashiro and Fusō, the heavy cruiser Mogami, and four destroyers.^[7] This task force left Brunei after Kurita at 15:00 on 22 October, turning eastward into the Sulu Sea and then northeasterly past the southern tip of Negros Island into the Mindanao Sea. Nishimura then proceeded northeastward with Mindanao Island to starboard and into the south entrance to the Surigao Strait, intending to exit the north entrance of the Strait into Leyte Gulf where he would add his firepower to that of Kurita's force.

The Second Striking Force was commanded by Vice Admiral Kiyohide Shima and comprised heavy cruisers Nachi (Flag) and Ashigara, the light cruiser Abukuma, and the destroyers Akebono, Ushio, Kasumi, and Shiranui.

The Southern Force was attacked by U.S. Navy bombers on 24 October but sustained only minor damage.

Nishimura was unable to synchronise his movements with Shima and Kurita because of the strict radio silence imposed on the Center and Southern Forces. When he entered the Surigao Strait at 02:00, Shima was 25 nmi (29 mi; 46 km) behind him and Kurita was still in the Sibuyan Sea, several hours from the beaches at Leyte.

As the Southern Force approached the Surigao Strait, it ran into a deadly trap set by the 7th Fleet Support Force. Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf had a substantial force. There were six battleships: West Virginia, Maryland, Mississippi, Tennessee, California, and Pennsylvania. All but Mississippi had been sunk or damaged in the attack on Pearl Harbor and repaired, Tennessee, California, and West Virginia having been rebuilt. Four heavy cruisers (USS Louisville (flagship), Portland, Minneapolis, and HMAS Shropshire) carried 35 8-inch (203 mm) guns, and 54 6-inch (152 mm) guns were mounted by four light cruisers(Denver, Columbia, Phoenix, and Boise). Added to this were the smaller guns and torpedoes of 28 destroyers and 39 motor torpedo boats (Patrol/Torpedo (PT) boats). To pass through the narrows and reach the invasion shipping, Nishimura would have to run the gantlet of torpedoes from the PT boats followed by the large force of destroyers, and then advance under the concentrated fire of the six battleships and their eight flanking cruisers deployed across the far mouth of the Strait.^[7]

At 22:36, PT-131 (Ensign Peter Gadd) was operating off Bohol when it made contact with the approaching Japanese ships. The PT boats made repeated attacks for more than three-and-a-half hours as Nishimura's force streamed northward. No torpedo hits were scored, but the PT boats did send contact reports which were of use to Oldendorf and his force.^[7]

Nishimura's ships passed unscathed through the gantlet of PT boats. However, their luck ran out a short time later, as they were subjected to devastating torpedo attacks from the American destroyers deployed on both sides of their axis of advance. At about 03:00, both Japanese battleships were hit by torpedoes. Yamashiro was able to steam on, but Fusō was torpedoed and sunk by USS Melvin. Two of Nishimura's four destroyers were sunk; the destroyer Asagumo was hit and forced to retire, but later sank.^[7]

USS West Virginia firing on the Japanese fleet

At 03:16, West Virginia's radar picked up the surviving ships of Nishimura's force at a range of 42,000 yd (38,000 m). West Virginia tracked them as they approached in the pitch black night. At 03:53, she fired the eight 16 in (410 mm) guns of her main battery at a range of 22,800 yd (20,800 m), striking Yamashiro with her first salvo. She went on to fire a total of 93 shells. At 03:55, California and Tennessee joined in, firing a total of 63 and 69 14 in (360 mm) shells, respectively. Radar fire control allowed these American battleships to hit targets from a distance at which the Japanese battleships could not return fire, with their inferior fire control systems.^[7]^[18]

The other three U.S. battleships also had difficulty, equipped with less advanced gunnery radar. Maryland eventually succeeded in visually ranging on the splashes of the other battleships' shells, and then fired a total of 48 16 in (410 mm) projectiles. Pennsylvania was unable to find a target and her guns remained silent.^[7]

Mississippi only fired once in the battle-line action, a full salvo of 12 14-in shells. This was the last salvo ever fired by a battleship against another battleship.^[7]

Yamashiro and Mogami were crippled by a combination of 16-in and 14-in armor-piercing shells, as well as the fire of Oldendorf's flanking cruisers. The Japanese command had apparently lost grasp of the tactical picture, with all ships firing all batteries in several directions, "frantically showering steel through 360�."^[19]Shigure turned and fled but lost steering and stopped dead. Yamashiro sank at about 04:20, with Nishimura on board. Mogami and Shigure retreated southwards down the Strait.

The rear of the Southern Force�the "Second Striking Force" commanded by Vice Admiral Shima�had departed from Mako and approached Surigao Strait about 40 mi (35 nmi; 64 km) astern of Nishimura. Shima's run was initially thrown into confusion by his force nearly running aground on Panaon Island after failing to factor the outgoing tide into their approach. Japanese radar was almost useless due to excessive reflections from the many islands. The radar was equally unable to detect ships in these conditions, especially PT boats, as PT-137 hit the light cruiser Abukuma with a torpedo that crippled her and caused her to fall out of formation. Shima�s two heavy cruisers (Nachi and Ashigara) and eight destroyers^[7] next encountered remnants of Nishimura's force. Shima saw what he thought were the wrecks of both Nishimura's battleships and ordered a retreat. His flagship Nachi collided with Mogami, flooding Mogami's steering room and causing her to fall behind in the retreat; she was sunk by aircraft the next morning. Of Nishimura's seven ships, only Shiguresurvived. Shima�s ships did survive the Battle of Surigao Strait, but they were sunk in further engagements around Leyte, while Shiguresurvived long enough to escape the debacle, but eventually succumbed to the submarine USS Blackfin (SS-322) on 24 January 1945, which sank her off Kota Bharu, Malaya, with 37 dead.^[7]^[18]

It is noteworthy that the Battle of Surigao Strait was one of only two battleship-versus-battleship naval battles in the entire Pacific campaign of World War II (the other being the naval battle during the Guadalcanal Campaign) and was the last action of this type in history. It was also the last battle in which one force (in this case, the U.S. Navy) was able to "cross the T" of its opponent. However, by the time that the battleship action was joined, the Japanese line was very ragged and consisted of only one battleship (Yamashiro), one heavy cruiser, and one destroyer, so that the "crossing of the T" was notional and had little effect on the outcome of the battle.^[7]^{[18]

This was the very last battleship against battleship action. It was part of the battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines which was the largest naval battle to ever take place.}

**Steve Hollander** · December 13, 2016, 08:58 PM

While it was probably a terrifying scene, the Lord was there working His righteousness out in this horrific event that resulted in many lost souls, but it also resulted in His will being done and freedom being insured at a very high price. Much less than the price of our souls which cost an immeasurable amount from our God Whom owes us less than nothing and pays us a kings ransom. Thank you Lord Jesus.

**Lou Newton** · December 14, 2016, 01:34 AM

Here are some thoughts that came to me about this event:

1 - The Japanese did not even follow their own code of honor when they attacked Pearl Harbor by surprise attack. It was against their own morals to attack anyone without warning.

BUT they were hypocritical about following this code for centuries. For instance, an assassin (ninja) would dress in all black and enter the victims house quietly. Then he would wake the victim with a knife at his throat right before he killed him. That is NOT a fair warning at all. If he was serious about this code he would have woke the person and given him time to awake while he informed him he was there to kill him and give him a real chance to defend himself.

But at Pearl Harbor they did not give any warning at all. The first warning was the first torpedo or bomb that was dropped.

2 - The Lord did not surprise the Japanese navy like they did the US at Pearl. THEY chose to attack at night. The US did not go after them, but instead lie waiting in case they attacked. Since they chose to attack at night, they could not see the US Battleships. But that was by their own hand. The US had better radar and could see the Japanese and so fired first. The Japanese already knew the US Navy was protecting the straight because PT boats and destroyers had already fired upon them. They had the choice to turn back at any time. They sailed on to their own destruction. And this was not to protect their own homeland; but to hang onto the land of others that they had taken.

3 - When they seen the total destruction of these US battleships at Pearl they thought they were out of the war. But they were "raised from the dead" so to speak. The whole Japanese plan of using the carriers as decoys worked perfectly and left the whole US landing fleet without defense. The only thing left to defend the US landing fleet was the old battleships that had been sunk at Pearl. Was this a rare coincidence ? The Bible says nothing happens by coincidence. ( Proverbs 16:33 says, �The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.� ) I think it was The Lord who was showing the Japanese that even the dead can be raised back to life. What looked impossible was made possible. And it was these old battleships that saved the day for the US fleet.
Was The Lord showing the Japanese that the dead can be raised ? Not only the Japanese but the whole world. And when raised, the dead can then live and be a savior.

LUKE 14:11
For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

The Japanese had exalted themselves and God surely humbled them.

But also Halsey had exalted himself and he is forever humbled in history. He chased after glory, instead of defending the defenseless attack fleet, and that is how he will be remembered.

**Lou Newton** · December 15, 2016, 12:28 PM

Originally posted by Lou Newton View Post

Here are some thoughts that came to me about this event:

1 - The Japanese did not even follow their own code of honor when they attacked Pearl Harbor by surprise attack. It was against their own morals to attack anyone without warning.

BUT they were hypocritical about following this code for centuries. For instance, an assassin (ninja) would dress in all black and enter the victims house quietly. Then he would wake the victim with a knife at his throat right before he killed him. That is NOT a fair warning at all. If he was serious about this code he would have woke the person and given him time to awake while he informed him he was there to kill him and give him a real chance to defend himself.

But at Pearl Harbor they did not give any warning at all. The first warning was the first torpedo or bomb that was dropped.

2 - The Lord did not surprise the Japanese navy like they did the US at Pearl. THEY chose to attack at night. The US did not go after them, but instead lie waiting in case they attacked. Since they chose to attack at night, they could not see the US Battleships. But that was by their own hand. The US had better radar and could see the Japanese and so fired first. The Japanese already knew the US Navy was protecting the straight because PT boats and destroyers had already fired upon them. They had the choice to turn back at any time. They sailed on to their own destruction. And this was not to protect their own homeland; but to hang onto the land of others that they had taken.

3 - When they seen the total destruction of these US battleships at Pearl they thought they were out of the war. But they were "raised from the dead" so to speak. The whole Japanese plan of using the carriers as decoys worked perfectly and left the whole US landing fleet without defense. The only thing left to defend the US landing fleet was the old battleships that had been sunk at Pearl. Was this a rare coincidence ? The Bible says nothing happens by coincidence. ( Proverbs 16:33 says, �The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.� ) I think it was The Lord who was showing the Japanese that even the dead can be raised back to life. What looked impossible was made possible. And it was these old battleships that saved the day for the US fleet.
Was The Lord showing the Japanese that the dead can be raised ? Not only the Japanese but the whole world. And when raised, the dead can then live and be a savior.

LUKE 14:11
For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

The Japanese had exalted themselves and God surely humbled them.

But also Halsey had exalted himself and he is forever humbled in history. He chased after glory, instead of defending the defenseless attack fleet, and that is how he will be remembered.

Any comments about this ? What are your thoughts about this event ?

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These 13 U.S. Navy Ships Rose from the Dead After Pearl Harbor

These 13 U.S. Navy Ships Rose from the Dead After Pearl Harbor

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