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| Location The Battle of the Palawan Passage was an engagement between two U.S. submarine versus Japanese warship engagement in the Palawan Passage prior to the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Sometimes referred to as The Fight in Palawan Passage or Battle of Palawan Passage. Wartime History On October 22, 1944 during the night USS Darter (SS-227) on radar spots a major task force, Japanese warships of "Center Force" under the command of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita in Palawan Passage at a range of 30,000 yards and shortly afterwards made visual contact. The Japanese force included battleships Yamato, Musashi, Nagato, Kongō, and Haruna, heavy cruisers Atago (flagship with Vice Admiral Kurita), Maya, Takao, Chōkai, Myōkō, Haguro, Kumano, Suzuya, Tone and Chikuma, two light cruisers: Noshiro and Yahagi plus fifteen destroyers. Immediately, Darter sent a contact report and the pair move into position ahead for a attack. At least one message was intercepted by a radio operator aboard Yamato but Kurita did take precautions. Both surfaced submarines got underway at full speed to get into a position for an attack at dawn. On October 23, 1944 submarines USS Darter (SS-227) and USS Dace (SS-247) were patrolling together. At 1:16am Darter's radar detected Japanese warships of Force A "Center Force" under the command of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita in Palawan Passage at a range of 30,000 yards and shortly afterwards made visual contact. The Japanese force included battleships Yamato, Musashi, Nagato, Kongō, and Haruna, heavy cruisers Atago (flagship with Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita), Maya, Takao, Chōkai, Myōkō, Haguro, Kumano, Suzuya, Tone and Chikuma, two light cruisers: Noshiro and Yahagi plus fifteen destroyers. The Battle of the Palawan Passage began when both submarines initiated a successful torpedo attack. At 5:33am Darter fires a spread of torpedoed and four hit and sank heavy cruiser Atago. After the sinking, Kurita transfers his flag to Yamato. At 6:00am Dace torpedoes and sinks Maya. At 6:34am Darter fires a spread of torpedoes with two hitting and damaging Takao. On October 24, 1944 after midnight, while tracking the damaged cruiser, USS Darter (SS-227) ran hard aground on Bombay Shoal and was abandoned with the crew rescued by USS Dace (SS-247) then scuttled. Contribute
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