Halsey's 1944 Typhoon

this week's typhoon hit south of here, and it was unusual because usually typhoons don't hit this late in the year.

no, it's not "global warming": and it's not the first time a December typhoon hit the Philippines in December: One such December typhoon almost destroyed the US fleet in 1944. 

here, the HistoryGuy summarizes what happened:


,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

This is not the only time in World War II when a typhoon presented a danger to the US fleet.

In 1945, another typhoon hit the fleet during the battle for Okinawa and again there is controversy if the ships should have been moved to other areas for safety.

Halsey was blamed for his lack of judgment that led to his failure to protect the ships in the bad weather, but given the many factors involved, including the lack of good weather forecasting, Halsey was spared being fired due to his reputation in other battles.

To understand that last statement, you have to remember the fleet wasn't twiddling their thumbs in the ocean, but had just fought the battle of Leyte Gulf, which was the largest Naval battle of World War II and one that decimated the Japanese fleet. (and yes, some fault Halsey's performance in that battle).

And, of course, in December the Navy was busy supporting MacArthur's invasion of the Philippines.

Wikipedia article on the Battle of Ormoc Bay summarizes what was going on at that time...another discussion: LINK 

a lot of the revisionist history of Halsey's performance is an argument about tactics (i.e. they criticize Halsey's tactics as if the alternative would not have had it's own problems). And then there is the problem of writing history from hindsight, ignoring what is called the "fog of war".

the audiobook Halsey's Typhoon is on line and gives a lot more information if you are interested in military/naval history: