 Massachusetts shelled Ponape Island on 1 May , her last mission before sailing to Puget Sound to overhaul and <unk> her gun barrels , now well @-@ worn . On 1 August , she left Pearl Harbor to resume operations in the Pacific war zone . She departed the Marshall Islands on 6 October , sailing to support the landings in Leyte Gulf . In an effort to block Japanese air attacks in the Leyte conflict , she participated in a fleet strike against Okinawa on 10 October . From 12 – 14 October she screened Allied forces while they struck Formosa . While part of Task Group 38 @.@ 3 ( TG 38 @.@ 3 ) she took part in the Battle for Leyte Gulf from 22 – 27 October , during which planes from her group sank four Japanese carriers off Cape Engaño . After having stopped briefly at Ulithi , Massachusetts returned to the Philippines as part of TF 38 which struck Manila on 14 December . 
