Bull Halsey’s moment of doubt Aboard USS New Jersey
In October 1944, Admiral “Bull” Halsey made a choice that shook naval history.
Aboard USS New Jersey, he took his entire Third Fleet north to chase Japanese decoy carriers, leaving a crucial strait wide open. Soon after, panicked messages flooded the flagship.
Japanese battleships were hammering American escort carriers with no protection in sight. Halsey first brushed off the pleas, but then came the breaking point.
A garbled message from Admiral Nimitz with the accidental phrase “the world wonders” made Halsey snap. He threw his cap down, yelled, and sobbed right on the bridge.
His staff had to shake him back to reality. By the time New Jersey raced south, the Japanese ships were gone.
The mighty battleship where this drama unfolded now rests in Camden, NJ, where visitors can sit in the very chair where Halsey faced his darkest hour.
Bull Halsey Moved His Command Center to USS New Jersey
Admiral “Bull” Halsey picked USS New Jersey as his flagship on August 24, 1944.
The massive battleship became home to Halsey’s 200-person staff who took over bigger quarters on the warship.
New Jersey served as the control center for Third Fleet operations from August 1944 through January 1945 during major Pacific battles.
From this 45,000-ton battleship’s bridge, Halsey boldly stated that “Japanese will only be spoken in hell” before they finished their work.
Japanese Navy Launched Their Last-Ditch Naval Effort
The Japanese Navy risked everything with Operation Sho-1 after MacArthur landed at Leyte on October 20, 1944. They sent almost every ship they had left into this desperate plan to crush the American invasion force.
Admiral Ozawa’s Northern Force, with its few remaining carriers, acted as bait to pull Halsey away from Leyte Gulf.
The Japanese hoped to trap the Americans using multiple naval forces coming from different directions to attack the invasion fleet.
New Jersey’s War Room Created a Backup Plan
Halsey and his staff met on New Jersey on October 24 to figure out what to do about Admiral Kurita’s powerful Center Force.
They created a backup plan called Task Force 34, putting four battleships, five cruisers, and 14 destroyers under Vice Admiral Willis Lee.
At 3:12 PM, Halsey sent a message about this plan, but his unclear wording caused problems later. He wrote that TF 34 “will be formed” but never said when or under what conditions.
American Planes Hammered the Japanese Center Force
Third Fleet carrier planes attacked Kurita’s Center Force on October 24 with many waves of strikes.
They sank the huge battleship Musashi after hitting it with 19 torpedoes and 17 bombs, and damaged the heavy cruiser Myōkō. Kurita turned his ships around and headed west, which looked like he was giving up.
Halsey thought the Center Force was no longer a threat, telling his staff they were “dealt with for the time being.
Halsey Spotted the Japanese Carrier Bait
Late on October 24, search planes from the Third Fleet found Ozawa’s Northern Force northeast of Luzon.
The Japanese carrier group looked weak with just four carriers carrying only 116 planes total, about the same as one American fleet carrier.
At 8:22 PM, Halsey walked into New Jersey’s flag plot room, put his finger on the map where Ozawa’s ships were, and told Admiral Carney: “Here’s where we are going, Mick. Start them north.
The Entire American Fleet Raced North
Orders went out from New Jersey’s tall radio masts sending the whole Third Fleet charging toward Ozawa.
Nine fleet carriers, seven light carriers, six battleships, sixteen cruisers, and twenty-seven destroyers all headed north at full speed. Not a single ship stayed behind to watch San Bernardino Strait.
At 8:22 PM, Halsey radioed from New Jersey that he was “PROCEEDING NORTH WITH 3 GROUPS TO ATTACK CARRIER FORCE AT DAWN.
Kurita Sneaked Through the Unguarded Strait
Kurita waited until 5:15 PM before turning his ships around again to head toward San Bernardino Strait. His Center Force slipped through the completely open strait at 12:35 AM on October 25.
Admiral Bogan called Halsey to report that navigation lights in the strait had been turned on, breaking the usual wartime blackout rules. A staff officer ignored this warning.
They also brushed off a similar warning message from Admiral Lee about strange activity in the strait.
Escort Carriers Faced Battleships Without Help
At 7:07 AM, Admiral Kinkaid sent Halsey an urgent uncoded message: “ENEMY B[ATTLESHIP]S AND CRUISER REPORTED FIRING ON” the small escort carriers of Taffy 3.
Over the next two hours, Kinkaid sent more and more urgent messages saying his escort carriers were under attack by four battleships, eight cruisers, and destroyers.
Halsey, racing north in New Jersey, got Kinkaid’s first message at 8:22 AM but kept going.
The Three Words That Broke Halsey
At 9:44 AM on October 25, Admiral Nimitz sent a message asking “Where is Task Force Thirty-Four?”
An encoding officer added standard filler phrases, making the message read: “TURKEY TROTS TO WATER GG WHERE IS RPT WHERE IS TASK FORCE THIRTY-FOUR RR THE WORLD WONDERS.”
The communications team on New Jersey failed to remove the final padding phrase “THE WORLD WONDERS. ” At 10:00 AM, Halsey read the decoded message and thought Nimitz was publicly mocking him.
Halsey Lost His Cool on New Jersey’s Bridge
The message hit Halsey hard. “I was stunned as if I had been struck in the face,” he later admitted, as the “paper rattled in my hands.”
He angrily crumpled the message, threw it and his cap on New Jersey’s deck, stomped on them both, and cursed loudly.
Admiral Carney rushed over and grabbed Halsey’s arm, shouting: “Stop it! What the hell’s the matter with you? Pull yourself together!” Halsey was so angry he couldn’t speak and stormed into his cabin.
The Battleships Turned Around Too Late
At 11:15 AM Halsey finally ordered his ships to turn “from due north to due south” when his carriers were just 42 miles from the crippled Japanese Northern Force.
At 4:22 PM, Task Group 34.5 formed around Iowa and New Jersey and raced south at 28 knots. Halsey sent a message to Kinkaid: “TG 38.2 6 FAST BATTLESHIPS PROCEEDING LEYTE BUT UNABLE ARRIVE BEFORE 0800 TOMORROW. “
New Jersey and the other ships arrived at San Bernardino Strait three hours too late.
Kurita had already taken his ships back through the strait to safety.
Visiting USS New Jersey (BB-62)
You can explore Admiral Halsey’s flagship at 62 Battleship Place in Camden, New Jersey, where he commanded during the Battle of Leyte Gulf and received the famous “world wonders” message.
Self-guided tours run daily 10am-5:30pm for $30 adults, $25 seniors/kids, $20 veterans. Guided tours cost $40 at noon daily.
You can even fire the guns with donations of $100 for the 40mm or $500 for the 5-inch gun.
This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.
Read more from this brand:
The post When Admiral Halsey fell for Japan’s perfect decoy at Leyte Gulf appeared first on When In Your State.