Ulithi lagoon on 6 October. At dusk on the 11th, the task force sortied to get into a position for a strike on Formosa, the first in a series of raids intended to destroy the usefulness of that highly fortified island as an air base and a staging area for Japanese forces during the impending landings on Leyte. For three days, planes from the carriers hit targets on Formosa; and, each evening, Japanese raiders attacked the American ships. On the 12th, Twining rescued several downed fliers. That evening, enemy planes attacked her formation in an action that continued until midnight. A Japanese plane threatened the destroyer from an altitude of 300 feet. After Twining opened fire, the raider attempted to crash into her but rapidly lost altitude and splashed 300 yards off her port bow, spreading flaming gasoline over the water near the ship. In the days that followed, enemy air activity continued to be heavy. On the 14th, an enemy bomber dropped two bombs that narrowly missed the destroyer. On the 18th and 21st, the carriers of TG 38.2 launched strikes against targets in the Philippines to support American landings on Leyte. Before dawn on the 24th, reports of American plane sightings of the Japanese Fleet began to reach the destroyer. That day, as Twining continued her routine screening duties, planes from the carriers struck telling blows against Admiral Takeo Kurita's "Center Force" in the Sibuyan Sea. That night, her task force turned north to attack a Japanese carrier force that had been sighted north of Luzon. Daylong strikes launched from the American flattops sank four enemy carriers of Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's Northern Force in an action known as the Battle off Cape Engaño. On the 26th, planes from TG 38.2 attacked crippled Japanese ships in the Visayan Sea. On the 29th, Twining rescued a downed flier from . But for occasional runs to Ulithi for ammunition, Twining remained with the carriers throughout November as they hammered Japanese fortifications in the Philippines. On 10 December, the destroyer got underway with Rear Admiral Montgomery's Fast Carrier Task Group to act as a picket during strikes on Luzon in support of the landings on Mindoro. On the 14th, she rescued a pilot from and had him on board four and one-half minutes after his plane hit the water. On the 17th, in rapidly worsening weather conditions, the formation rendezvoused with fueling