Typhoon Cobra, also known as the Typhoon of 1944 or Halsey's Typhoon (named after Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey), was the United States Navy designation for a powerful tropical cyclone that struck the United States Pacific Fleet in December 1944, during World War II. The storm sank three destroyers, killed 790 sailors, damaged nine other warships and swept dozens of aircraft overboard off their aircraft carriers. Task Force 38 (TF 38) had been operating about east of Luzon in the Philippine Sea, conducting air raids against Japanese airfields in the Philippines and had been trying to refuel their ships. Information given to Halsey about the typhoon was incorrect, and despite warning signs of worsening conditions, the ships remained on station until December 17 when Halsey ordered the Third Fleet into the centre of the typhoon. With currently available data, it is the twenty-third and last known Western Pacific tropical cyclone formed during the 1944 season. Meteorological history On December 17, the typhoon was first observed when United States Third Fleet was refueling. U.S. Army Air Force forecast center on Saipan sent a reconnaissance flight and found the storm heading towards the fleet, with the estimated winds of . As it was headed towards the fleet, barometric pressures as low as 27.3 inHg (924 mbar) were reported by USS Dewey, but in some ships, barometric pressures were estimated as lower than 27 inHg (917 mbar). The storm was last seen on December 18. Damage to Task Force 38 TF 38 consisted of seven fleet carriers, six light carriers, eight battleships, fifteen cruisers, and about fifty destroyers. The carriers had been conducting raids against Japanese airfields in the Philippines, and ships were being refueled, especially many destroyers, which were running low on fuel. When the storm hit, the procedure had to be aborted. Damage to the fleet was severe. Some ships rolled more than 70 degrees. Three destroyers, , , and , had nearly empty fuel stores (10–15% of capacity), so lacked the stabilizing effect of the extra weight, and thus were relatively unstable. Additionally, several other destroyers, including and , were of the older Farragut-class and had been refitted with over of extra equipment and armament, which made them top-heavy. Spence, Hull, and Monaghan either capsized or were sunk after water flooded down their smokestacks and disabled their engines. Without power, they were unable to control their heading and were at the