LeyteGulf 1944

The Battle of Leyte Gulf is generally considered to have been the largest naval battle of WW2
by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history. It was fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte, Samar and Luzon,
from 23–26 October 1944, between combined American and Australian forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy.
On 20 October, United States troops invaded the island of Leyte as part of a strategy aimed at isolating Japan from the countries
it had occupied in Southeast Asia, and in particular depriving Japanese forces and industry of vital oil supplies.
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) mobilized nearly all of its remaining major naval vessels in an attempt to defeat
the Allied invasion but was repulsed by the U.S. Navy's Third and Seventh fleets.
The IJN failed to achieve its objective,
suffered heavy losses, and never sailed to battle in comparable force thereafter.
The majority of its surviving heavy ships, deprived of fuel, remained in their bases for the rest of the Pacific War and suffered under heavy sustained aerial attack
Battle of Leyte Gulf. Wikipedia
The Free Encyclopedia. September 5, 2022

The battle consisted of several separate engagements between the opposing forces:
the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle of Cape Engano
and the Battle off Samar, as well as other actions. This was the first battle in which Japanese aircraft
carried out organized kamikaze attacks. By the time of the battle, Japan had fewer naval ships
than the Allied forces had aircraft carriers, underscoring the disparity in force strength at this point in the war

Strength :3rd Fleet:Task Force 38 - 7th Fleet:Task Force 77
US & australian 300 ships in total-8 fleet carriers-8 light carriers-18 escort carriers
12 battleships-24 cruisers-166 destroyers and destroyer escorts
Many PT boats, submarines, and fleet auxiliaries-About 1,500 planes
Casualties and losses:3,000 US RAN casualties-1 light carrier-2 escort carriers
2 destroyers--1 destroyer escort sunk-200+ planes
VS Japanese:12,500 casualties-1 fleet carrier-3 light carriers-3 battleships
10 cruisers-11 destroyers sunk-~300 planes