On the morning of October 25, 1944, the crew of USS Samuel B. Roberts found themselves facing one of the most difficult moments of the Battle off Samar. At 6:45 a.m., the radar screen showed a group of large ships approaching through the dawn haze near Samar Island. Lieutenant Commander Robert Copeland stepped onto the bridge and quickly understood that the shapes on the horizon were not friendly vessels. They were part of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita’s Japanese Center Force, a powerful surface fleet that included battleships, cruisers, and destroyers.
Samuel B. Roberts was not designed for this kind of battle. She was a destroyer escort, built mainly to protect convoys and hunt submarines. Her full displacement was about 1,745 tons, and her main battery consisted of two 5-inch guns. In comparison, the Japanese fleet included Yamato, the largest battleship ever built, along with other major warships. Yamato alone displaced about 72,000 tons and carried massive 18-inch guns. The difference in size and firepower was overwhelming.
Roberts was part of Task Unit 77.4.3, better known as Taffy 3. This small American group included six escort carriers, three destroyers, and four destroyer escorts. Their mission was to support the landings at Leyte, not to confront a major battleship force. The escort carriers were slow and lightly protected, built on merchant-style hulls. If the Japanese fleet reached them, the entire American force near Leyte could be placed in serious danger.
The situation had developed because Admiral William Halsey’s Third Fleet had moved north after Japanese carriers that had been used as a decoy. The San Bernardino Strait was left open, allowing Kurita’s Center Force to pass through during the night. By morning, the Japanese ships had appeared between Taffy 3 and Leyte Gulf, where American transports and supply ships were still supporting the invasion.
As Japanese shells began falling near the escort carriers, the American ships made smoke and turned away. Aircraft were launched quickly, sometimes carrying whatever weapons were available. Some carried bombs, some carried depth charges, and some had only machine guns. Even so, the pilots attacked again and again to delay the Japanese advance.
Lieutenant Commander Copeland knew that Roberts could not win a traditional gunnery duel. But he also knew that if the small ships did nothing, the carriers and the landing force would be exposed. Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague gave the order for the destroyers and destroyer escorts to attack with torpedoes. For the men aboard Roberts, this meant turning toward a much stronger enemy at close range.
At 7:40 a.m., Samuel B. Roberts began her torpedo run. To make the attack possible, Lieutenant “Lucky” Trowbridge and the engineering crew pushed the ship far beyond her normal design limits. Roberts had been designed for about 24 knots, but under extreme pressure the engineering team drove her to about 28 knots. The boilers and turbines were operated at levels that carried great risk, but the extra speed gave the ship a chance to close the distance.
Roberts moved through smoke and shell splashes toward the Japanese heavy cruiser Chokai. At one point, a shell damaged the mast and jammed the torpedo mount, but the crew worked quickly to clear the problem. When the ship reached roughly 4,000 yards, Copeland gave the order to fire. Three Mark 15 torpedoes entered the water and raced toward the Japanese line. Whether they struck directly or forced the cruiser to maneuver, they helped disrupt the Japanese advance.
Roberts then shifted to gunfire. Through the smoke, she encountered the heavy cruiser Chikuma, which was firing toward the escort carriers. Copeland ordered the 5-inch guns to open fire. At about 2,600 yards, the range was extremely close. Roberts’s shells could not defeat a heavy cruiser by armor alone, but they could damage exposed structures, disrupt fire control, and interfere with the ship’s ability to fight effectively.
Gunner’s Mate Third Class Paul Carr commanded the after 5-inch gun. His crew worked with remarkable speed and discipline. When the hydraulic loading system failed, they continued loading by hand. In the heat, smoke, and noise of battle, they kept firing round after round. The forward gun also continued firing whenever a target appeared through the haze.
For more than half an hour, Roberts fought with determination far beyond what anyone expected from a destroyer escort. Her two main guns fired more than 600 rounds combined. Her smaller anti-aircraft guns also joined when the range allowed, aiming at exposed positions on the Japanese ships. The small vessel maneuvered constantly, using smoke and speed to make herself a difficult target.
Eventually, the larger Japanese ships focused their attention on Roberts. Battleship shells began falling around her. Near misses shook the hull and damaged the ship. At about 8:51 a.m., Roberts was hit. One shell struck near the forward gun area, and another damaged the after engine room. Her speed dropped quickly, making it harder for her to maneuver.
Even then, Roberts continued firing. The crew knew the ship was badly damaged, but they remained at their stations as long as the guns could operate. At about 9:00 a.m., more heavy shells struck the ship. Power and propulsion were lost, flooding increased, and the situation became impossible to control. The ship began to list heavily.
Paul Carr’s gun mount was badly damaged. Several members of the crew were lost or wounded, and the gun could no longer function properly. Carr, severely injured, still tried to load one more round. His effort became one of the most remembered moments in the ship’s history. He was later awarded the Silver Star posthumously for his courage and devotion to duty.
At 9:10 a.m., Copeland gave the order to abandon ship. Roberts was listing heavily, fires were burning, and the ship could no longer be saved. Survivors moved to the deck and entered the water with life rafts and floater nets. Many were wounded or exhausted. The ship remained afloat for a short time, then rolled over and sank beneath the Philippine Sea.
For the survivors, the ordeal was not over. They drifted in the open sea for about 50 hours with limited supplies, no shade, and no certainty of rescue. Some men helped keep injured shipmates afloat. Others struggled against dehydration, exposure, and exhaustion. The sea conditions, wounds, and hazards in the water made survival extremely difficult.
On October 27, a patrol aircraft spotted debris and life rafts. Patrol craft PC-623 was sent to the area and recovered the survivors. About 120 men had escaped the sinking, but 89 members of the crew were officially listed as killed in action during the battle. Others had suffered greatly during the long wait for rescue.
The sacrifice of Samuel B. Roberts and the other ships of Taffy 3 helped change the course of the battle. Kurita’s force, confused by smoke, torpedo attacks, air strikes, and the bold actions of the American escorts, eventually turned away. The Japanese fleet did not reach the vulnerable transports and supply ships in Leyte Gulf. The invasion continued.
Roberts did not defeat Yamato by sinking her. Instead, she and the other ships of Taffy 3 helped create uncertainty, delay, and pressure at a decisive moment. Their actions made a small American force appear far stronger than it truly was. Courage, teamwork, and aggressive maneuvering helped protect the larger operation.
After the battle, Taffy 3 received the Presidential Unit Citation. Lieutenant Commander Copeland received the Navy Cross. Paul Carr received the Silver Star. Lieutenant Trowbridge and the engineering crew were remembered for pushing the ship beyond its design limits at a critical moment. Later American ships carried the names Samuel B. Roberts, Copeland, and Carr, preserving their legacy.
For decades, the wreck of Samuel B. Roberts remained undiscovered. The ship rested somewhere deep beneath the Philippine Sea, protected as a war grave. In June 2022, explorer Victor Vescovo and his team located the wreck at a depth of 6,895 meters, or 22,621 feet. The hull number 413 was visible, confirming the identity of the ship.
The wreck was found in two main sections. Cameras recorded the damaged hull, the torpedo launcher, and the 5-inch gun associated with Paul Carr’s final action. The discovery made Samuel B. Roberts the deepest shipwreck ever located and surveyed at that time. Under the Sunken Military Craft Act, the site remains protected. No salvage or disturbance is permitted.
USS Samuel B. Roberts had been built for escort duty, not for a battle against cruisers and battleships. Yet on October 25, 1944, her crew carried out a mission far beyond what the ship had been designed to do. They fought to protect the carriers, the landing force, and their fellow sailors. She was not a battleship, but on that morning off Samar, she became a symbol of courage under impossible odds.