The carrier departed Eniwetok on 29 August and sortied with TF 38, under the command of Adm. William F. Halsey for air assaults on Peleliu and airfields in the Philippines as the preliminary steps in the invasion of the Palaus from 15 to 20 September 1944. During October, she operated off Formosa and the Pescadores Islands. Later in the month, TF 38 supported the landings on Leyte. The Japanese efforts to stop the U.S. advance included the counterattack by most available major fleet units (Operation Sho-Go). On 24 October, Langley's planes took part in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea. Aircraft of TF 38 attacked the Japanese Center Force, as it steamed toward the San Bernardino Strait and the American beachhead at Tacloban. The Japanese units temporarily retired. The following day, upon word of Japanese aircraft carriers north of Leyte, TF 38 raced to intercept. In the ensuing Battle off Cape Engaño, the Japanese lost four carriers, two battleships, four heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and five destroyers. Langley's aircraft assisted in the destruction of the carriers Zuihō and Zuikaku, the latter being the only remaining carrier of the six that had participated in the Pearl Harbor attack.