It is the largest naval battle in history. It takes place in and around the Philippines between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the U.S. Third and U.S. Seventh Fleets. Afterward is the first Kamikaze attack of World War II.

On this day, USS St. Lo becomes the first major warship to sink as the result of a kamikaze attack. At 10:47, the task unit comes under a concentrated air attack by the Shikishima Special Attack Unit. During the 40–minute engagement with enemy kamikazes, all the escort carriers except Fanshaw Bay are damaged. One Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero—perhaps flown by Lieutenant Yukio Seki—crashes into the flight deck of St. Lo at 10:51. Its bomb penetrates the flight deck and explodes on the port side of the hangar deck, where aircraft are in the process of being refueled and rearmed. A gasoline fire erupts, followed by six secondary explosions, including detonations of the ship's torpedo and bomb magazine. St. Lo is engulfed in flame and sinks 30 minutes later.