 The next morning , the 1st Diversion Force attacked the American forces supporting the invasion in the Battle off Samar . Nagato engaged the escort carriers and destroyers of Task Group 77 @.@ 4 @.@ 3 , codenamed " Taffy 3 " . She opened fire on three escort carriers , the first time she had fired her guns at an enemy ship , but missed . One of the defending destroyers fired a spread of torpedoes that missed their intended target and headed for Yamato and Nagato which were on a parallel course . The two battleships were forced to turn away north to avoid the torpedoes , and were 10 miles ( 16 km ) away from the engagement before the torpedoes ran out of fuel . Turning back , Nagato engaged the American ships , claiming damage to one cruiser . Later in the day , Nagato was hit in the bow by two bombs , but the damage was not severe . 
