MacArthur readies to retake the Philippines; the US Navy relentlessly pounds the coast.

At dawn the task force Taffy-3 steams in search of the main Japanese fleet coming from the north.

Kamikaze's attack, and the St. Lo becomes the first American ship to suffer the ultimate disaster - death by flying, human bomb....

Off in the distance as viewed from another ship, a terrific explosion rips through the air.

Screaming across the waves at 50 feet, a Japanese Zeke wings over and crashes through the St. Lo's forward deck.

The plane explodes one deck below next to the ship's magazine, blowing the forward flight elevator hundreds of feet into the air.

The explosion is terrific and the ensuing fireball can be seen for miles.

10:35
More explosions, and the St. Lo begins burning uncontrollably. The sky darkens with her oily smoke.

The situation is becoming grave.

She continues to burn.

The ruptured hull fills quickly with the warm waters of the Pacific and the St. Lo's fate is sealed.

The order is given to abandon ship.

Diving from the side of a pitching, rolling, crippled ship is not easy. A mis-timed leap lands you head first against the side of a steel hull.

Anxious sailors watch from afar for the inevitable end.

Finally, at 10:58, the St. Lo founders and the last of its aft hull disappears beneath the waves. Two-thirds are lost.

Some survivors spend three days floating at sea fending off sharks before being rescued.