Following the Palau offensive, the force retired to Manus; then returned to the Palaus, where, in October 1944, they sailed to strike against Japanese shipping and positions on Okinawa, Luzon, and Formosa. On the 14th the force returned to smash targets on Luzon, continuing the raids through the 19th. On the 20th it supported the Leyte landings, then returned to operations off Luzon. On the 24th it steamed north to intercept the Japanese Northern Carrier Force. On the 25th, as Ralph Talbot screened the heavier vessels, the Battle off Cape Engaño was fought and, on the 31st, the force retired to Ulithi.Ralph Talbot, detached from the fast carriers on 16 November, rejoined the 7th Fleet on the 17th and, with the CVEs of TG 77.4, patrolled the convoy routes in the Leyte Gulf area until the 27th when she steamed to Kossol Roads. On 12 December she returned to Leyte Gulf, then escorted the CVEs into the Sulu Sea for operations in support of the Mindoro landings. A brief respite at Manus followed, preceding her next screening assignment, the Luzon invasion. Departing the Admiralties 27 December, the destroyer steamed north to Kossol Roads and on 1 January 1945 sortied with the escort carrier group. On the 4th, the Ommaney Bay(CVE-79) was hit by a kamikaze and on the 6th the group arrived off Lingayen Gulf. Through the 17th, the destroyer screened the carriers as they provided air cover for the assault troops and on the 23d she returned to Ulithi to replenish. Reassigned to the 5th Fleet in February, she steamed to Saipan, where she screened transports to Iwo Jima. Between the 16th and the 27th, she patrolled off that island, then returned to Saipan. Back at Ulithi 5 March, she remained at that base until 20 April when she got underway for Okinawa. Arriving at Hagushi on the 26th, she immediately reported for duty in TG 51.5 and commenced antiaircraft patrols. Soon after 2200, on the 27th, while patrolling off the anchorage, she was closed by two enemy fighters flown by pilots of the "Divine Wind" school. The first crashed into the starboard side aft. The second, a near miss, splashed into the sea off the port quarter. Damage control parties brought flooding under control by 2213 and within minutes PCE-852 pulled alongside, with a medical officer and seven corpsmen. Her casualties were five dead and nine wounded. The