On the evening of the 27th, MacArthur, who was having lunch, suddenly heard the familiar engine roar of the P-38 fighter jet. Without informing MacArthur, Kenny brought in 34 P-38s from the Forty-ninth Fighter Group from Morrotai Island. Despite constant heavy rain and air raids, after all-night fighting by American sappers, Sverdrup paved the last section of the runway that day. All but 1 crashed, the remaining 33 landed safely.
MacArthur dropped his job and drove to the airport. The plane stopped on the far unfinished runway, and Lao Mai shook hands with the three pilots who jumped from the plane first. Among them was Major Richard Bond, the number one ace pilot of the Land Aviation. To date, the state has achieved 28 records. MacArthur told the pilots, "You won't know how happy I am to see you!" He turned to the reporters around him: "I know that the Fifth Air Force has never let me down. But in the next 24 hours, the Japanese raided the Tacloban airstrip, and nearly half of the P-38s were destroyed on the ground.
On 29 October, the 2nd Group of Task Force 38 sent fighters to bomb the Japanese airfield in Luzon, claiming to have shot down 71 enemy aircraft and destroyed 11 on the ground in the air battle. Five Japanese aircraft from the "Loyal Team" launched a sharp counterattack. At 12:04, a special attack aircraft piloted by Shoichi Nozo noyama swooped toward Bogan's flagship, the Intrepid, and crashed into the carrier's No. 10 20 mm gun group. Although the damage to the hull was not severe, the violent explosion killed 10 people and injured 6 people on the spot. Halsey on the bridge of the USS New Jersey witnessed the Japanese "kamikaze attack" for the first time. He and his staff officers around him saw this as a case in which such deliberate suicide attacks were utterly incomprehensible to the Americans. Halsey believes that his warriors, though brave, will not carry out such a mission that has no chance of surviving: "We believe that even if they had a tradition of cutting their stomachs, it would be difficult to recruit enough people to form a team that really worked." "Halsey is looking down on the madness of the Japanese too much.
The next day alone, Halsey changed his mind. Six special attack aircraft from the "Ye Ying Team" attacked the US Fourth Brigade. Four Zero fighters avoided the Hellcat interception, and at 14:26, the Japanese long planes kept a 45-degree angle and crashed into Davidson's flagship, the Franklin. The rear of the carrier and 33 aircraft were destroyed, the stern was instantly burst into flames, smoke billowed out, 56 sailors were killed or missing, and 60 people were injured, 22 of whom were seriously injured. About 20 minutes later, the auxiliary fuel tank stacked in the hangar exploded twice in a row, and the induced fire was not completely extinguished until 18:00.
The second Japanese plane was shot during the approaching and instead crashed into the Belu Forest. Although the Japanese aircraft was eventually shot down, some of the wreckage crashed into the flight deck, detonating the ammunition on the plane and burning 12 fighters, and the induced fire was not extinguished until 16:00. Of the 92 killed or missing and 97 injured, 54 of them, surpassing the Franklin. A large number of photos taken by the ship on the 25th to attack Ozawa's mobile units were also burned in the fire. The third Japanese plane, which was charging at the San Jacinto, was hit by anti-aircraft guns and fell into the sea near the bow. The fourth Japanese plane aimed at the battle-hardened battleship "Enterprise", which slid over the flight deck and crashed into the sea 23 meters out of the left rear port. The battered Franklin and Belu Forest had to return to Ulisi Atoll. The Belo Forest was returned to California for major repairs until February 1945.
The Japanese attack caused huge losses to the American army. Halsey had to disband the Fourth Group and replenish the rest of his ships to the other groups. On the evening of the 3rd, the torpedo fired by the Japanese submarine "I-41" hit the light cruiser "Renault". Sherman had to transfer the tugboat "Damping" from Ulisi Atoll and send 4 destroyer escorts to tow it back to Ulisi Atoll.
On 1 November, it was Kincaid's turn to suffer the Seventh Fleet. Japanese kamikaze attacked a U.S. destroyer in the Surigao Strait. At 9:50 a.m., a Japanese plane flew over the Clarkston and crashed into the sea. Only 2 minutes later, another Japanese plane hit the "Amen", fortunately, the Japanese plane hit the side of the ship and rebounded and exploded, and the "Amen" luckily escaped the disaster. The Kiren was also hit by a bomb and was not seriously injured. The most unfortunate was the Abner Reed, where a Japanese bomb exploded in the firehouse and another comet was attacked. The fire that swept through the stern of the ship induced a series of martyrdoms. The captain, Major Arthur Perdy, gave the order to abandon the ship at 13:58, and 17 minutes later the Abner Reed sank into the water and 187 sailors were rescued. The ship thus became the first of 13 destroyers to be sunk by Japanese special attack aircraft.
At dawn on 5 November, Task Force 38 arrived 130 kilometres east of central Luzon. McCain first dispatched fighters to clear the field, and then bombers and torpedo planes escorted by fighters swept the Japanese airfields and ships from the northern tip of Luzon to Mindoro, encountering little resistance. In the afternoon, the Japanese kamikaze special attack team launched a counterattack. Four special attack aircraft broke through the interception of the "Hellcat" and launched a fierce attack on the third brigade. One Japanese aircraft was shot down directly, and two were evaded by the Ticonderoga, which had just arrived at Ulisi Atoll on 29 October to join Sherman's Third Group, and McCain's flagship, the Lexington, but the fourth Japanese aircraft still hit the latter's command tower, killing 50 people and injuring 132 on the spot. McCain had to lead the command members aboard the new flagship, the Wasp.
The U.S. airstrikes were higher than the waves, and the heavy cruiser Nachi, the flagship of the Fifth Fleet moored in Cavite, had no choice but to leave the anchorage and sail into open water to avoid the air raids. At 12:50, the ship was attacked by the carrier-based aircraft lexington and Ticonderoga, losing power after hitting 5 bombs and 2 torpedoes. The destroyer Akebono stepped forward to try to tow, but at 14:45 another wave of attacks from the Lexington hit as many as 5 torpedoes on the starboard side of the Nachi, and Lieutenant General Kiyohide Shima on the shore witnessed the whole process of the flagship being blown apart. At 14:50, Nachi sank at 14 degrees 32 minutes north latitude and 120 degrees 45 minutes east longitude. Kasumi and Shio rescued 220 men, and 807 sailors, including captain Kashikaoka Motohei Daisa, were sunk with the ship, and Shikaoka was posthumously promoted to rear admiral. The Akebono, which was preparing to carry out the towing operation, was also hit twice and caught fire, and was dragged to the shore by the Tide to avoid sinking. The U.S. airstrike also sank the coastal defense ship USS 107.
Japanese counterattacks were also everywhere. Although MacArthur's exact residence was not known, the Japanese carried out more than a dozen attacks on Price Manor. Once, a bomb landed in the bedroom next door to MacArthur's office, and it didn't explode. On another occasion, a U.S. counterattack anti-aircraft shell landed on a couch in MacArthur's bedroom, but fortunately another dud. That evening, when The anti-aircraft artillery commander, Major General William Marquardt, returned to the manor for dinner, MacArthur threw the shell at his table with a "bang": "Bill, tell your gunners to aim a little higher." ”
One night in early November, a Japanese fighter flew over Price Manor and shot at the street outside. MacArthur was sitting at his desk when two 30mm rounds of aerial ammunition shot through the open window into a beam just half a meter above his head. The operational staff officer, Lieutenant Colonel Lylebas, rushed in like a whirlwind and found the commander sitting quietly at his office, as if nothing had happened. MacArthur looked up and asked, "Larry, what's wrong?" ”
"Thank goodness! I thought you'd been killed!" Lyle Bass said.
"Not yet, thank you for coming in to see me." After saying this, MacArthur lowered his head and continued to read the file.
Old Mai had the two warheads dug out of the beams, wrapped them up and sent them to his son along with the letter: "Dear Arthur: Daddy gave you 2 big bullets, which were fired at Daddy, but didn't hit. Dad misses you and Mom. Love you guys! Father. ”
Under the fierce attack of the Seventh Division and the Ninety-sixth Division of the US Twenty-fourth Army on the South Road, Lieutenant General Makino could not resist and was forced to withdraw from the coastal area and retreat west to Dagami, with the American army in hot pursuit behind him. By 29 October, the U.S. 24th Army had captured Tanarn, Dagami, Braun, and Durag, expanding the front to 18 km and 15 km deep. The U.S. Tenth Army on the North Road was also not far behind. By 2 November, the 1st Cavalry Division and the 24th Infantry Division had captured Spitz, Caligala, Gillo and Paro, attacking 28 km head-on and 35 km deep.