 This invasion brought on the last great sortie of the Imperial Japanese Navy . Its plan for the Battle of Leyte Gulf included a feint by a northern force of <unk> heavy attack carriers to draw away the battleships , cruisers and fast carriers with which Admiral Halsey was protecting the landings . This was to allow the Japanese Center Force to enter the gulf through San Bernardino Strait . At the opening of the battle planes from the carriers guarded by New Jersey struck hard at both the Japanese Southern and Center Forces , sinking a battleship 23 October . The next day Halsey shaped his course north after the decoy force had been spotted . Planes from his carriers sank four of the Japanese carriers , as well as a destroyer and a cruiser , while New Jersey steamed south at flank speed to meet the newly developed threat of the Center force . It had been turned back in a stunning defeat when she arrived . 
