As the Sixth Army pushed deeper into Leyte, the Japanese struck back in the air and at sea. On 24 October, some 200 enemy aircraft approached American beachheads and shipping from the north. Fifty American land-based aircraft rose to intercept them, and claimed to have shot down between 66 and 84 of the attackers. Day and night air raids continued over the next four days, damaging supply dumps ashore and threatening American shipping. But by 28 October, counterattacks by US aircraft on Japanese airfields and shipping on other islands so reduced enemy air strength that conventional air raids ceased to be a major threat. As their air strength diminished, the Japanese resorted to the deadly kamikazes, a corps of suicide pilots who crashed their bomb-laden planes directly into US ships. They chose the large American transport and escort fleet that had gathered in Leyte Gulf on A-day as their first target and sank one escort carrier, the USS St. Lo, on 25 October 1944 and badly damaged many other vessels. This was the first instance of a major warship to be sunk by kamikaze attack.
As the Sixth Army pushed deeper into Leyte the Japanese struck back in the air and at sea On 24 October some 200 enemy aircraft approached American beachheads and shipping from the north Fifty American land-based aircraft rose to intercept them and claimed to have shot down between 66 and 84 of the attackers Day and night air raids continued over the next four days damaging supply dumps ashore and threatening American shipping But by 28 October counterattacks by US aircraft on Japanese airfields and shipping on other islands so reduced enemy air strength that conventional air raids ceased to be a major threat As their air strength diminished the Japanese resorted to the deadly kamikazes a corps of suicide pilots who crashed their bomb-laden planes directly into US ships They chose the large American transport and escort fleet that had gathered in Leyte Gulf on A-day as their first target and sank one escort carrier the USS St Lo on 25 October 1944 and badly damaged many other vessels This was the first instance of a major warship to be sunk by kamikaze attack