Exército da ColômbiaCurso LanceroInsignía para "Oficiales y Suboficiales"
IV Brigada Paracaidista Argentina.
One of the pilots flying patrol after dawn alert of 25 October 1944 reported the approach of Japanese Center Force. Steaming straight for "Taffy 3" were 4 battleships, 7 cruisers, and at least 12 destroyers. This force unfortunately included the Japanese battleship Yamato. Johnston's gunnery officer later reported, "We felt like little David without a slingshot." In less than a minute Johnston was zigzagging between the six little escort carriers and the Japanese fleet and putting out a smoke screen over a 2,500-yard front to conceal the carriers from the enemy gunners: "Even as we began laying smoke, the Japanese started lobbing shells at us and the Johnston had to zigzag between the splashes.... We were the first destroyer to make smoke, the first to start firing, the first to launch a torpedo attack...."[2]For the first 20 minutes, Johnston was helpless as the enemy cruisers and battleships had her in range. But the destroyer's 5 inch guns could not yet reach them. Not waiting for orders, Commander Ernest E. Evans broke defensive formation, and went on the offensive by ordering Johnston to speed directly towards the enemy—first a line of seven destroyers, next one light and three heavy cruisers, then the four battleships. To the east appeared three other cruisers and several destroyers. Amazingly, the enemy gunners could not score a hit on Johnston.As soon as range closed to within 10 miles, Johnston opened her 5 inch battery on the nearest cruiser, Kumano, scoring damaging hits. About this time an 8 inch shell landed right off her bow, its red dye splashing the face of Johnston’s gunnery officer, Lt. Robert C. Hagen. He mopped the dye from his eyes while remarking, "Looks like somebody's mad at us!"[2] In 5 furious minutes, Johnston pumped over 200 rounds at the enemy, then Cmdr. Evans ordered, "Fire torpedoes!" The destroyer got off 10 torpedoes then whipped around to retire behind a heavy smoke screen. When she came out of the smoke a minute later, Kumano could be seen burning furiously from a torpedo hit; Kumano’s bow had been blown completely off. Johnston had taken three 14 inch shell hits from the battleship Kongo, followed closely by three 6 inch shells, from either a light cruiser or possibly the Yamato, hitting the bridge. The hits resulted in the loss of all power to the steering engine, all power to the three 5 inch guns in the after part of the ship, and rendered the gyrocompass useless. A rainstorm came up and Johnston "ducked into it" for a few minutes of rapid repairs and salvage work. The bridge was abandoned and Commander Evans, who had lost two fingers on his left hand, went to the aft steering column to conn the ship.
Leyte Gulf?
