00:00October 25th, 1944. The Philippine Sea churns in the wake of hundreds of warships.
00:07American carriers burn in the water. Destroyers charge into suicide runs. It's the Battle of
00:13Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in human history. But let's change one thing. Cutting
00:19through the Surigao Strait where USS Melvin should be is something no one understands.
00:25A 9,700 ton guided missile destroyer from 2023. The USS Arleigh Burke Flight 3 dropped into a
00:34battle it wasn't built for. So what happens when the most advanced destroyer on earth is unleashed
00:39during one of history's most brutal naval battles? Can it single-handedly stop the Imperial Japanese
00:45Navy's gambit? Or is it just one ship against more than 60? The Arleigh Burke Flight 3 isn't just any
00:53old destroyer. It's a 509-foot blade of steel and circuits representing 80 years of technological
01:00evolution compressed into one hole. It's powered by four gas turbines that generate 100,000 horsepower,
01:07enough to push that behemoth to speeds over 35 miles per hour. Impressive as that is,
01:12the main course is what's hidden in its 96 vertical launch cells. Picture missile silos buried in the
01:18deck. Each one loaded with everything from SM-6 and SM-2, long-range surface-to-air missiles,
01:24Tomahawk cruise missiles with 1,000-kilometer range, and ESSM quad-pack defensive missiles for
01:32close range. The ship's brain is an AN-SPY-6 radar, a 3D radar that tracks hundreds of targets
01:39simultaneously, calculating intercept points faster than you can blink and can see through darkness,
01:45storms, and smoke like they don't exist. Topping it all off is an electronic warfare system that can
01:51fry enemy electronics, torpedo tubes loaded with homing weapons, and a 5-inch gun that puts shells
01:58exactly where the computer says they'll hurt most. But Admiral Takeo Kurita's center force is no
02:04pushover. Leading his charge is Yamato and Musashi, the two largest battleships ever built. Each one
02:12displaces 72,000 tons and has 18.1-inch guns that fire shells each the weight of a small car. One good
02:21hit is expected to delete an enemy destroyer from existence. Supporting them are three more battleships,
02:27including Nagato with her 16-inch rifles, as well as 10 heavy cruisers that bristle with 8-inch guns
02:34and oxygen-powered long-lance torpedoes, the best ship killers of World War II. In front are 15
02:42destroyers that screen the giants, ready-to-launch torpedo spreads meant to crack any ship in their
02:47way in half. Opposing the Berk are veteran warships crewed by men who've been fighting across the Pacific
02:53for years. They've practiced night battles until they can reload in pitch darkness, their gunnery is
02:58accurate, their torpedoes lethal, and their resolve absolute. Combined with Admiral Nishimura's southern
03:05force and Ozawa's carrier group, the Japanese are throwing over 60 warships at Leyte Gulf. It's their
03:11last roll of the dice. They will succeed here or watch their empire crumble. 3 a.m. south of Samar,
03:18the Arleigh Burke's SPY-6 radar locks onto Kurita's center force, the main Japanese battle group,
03:24still 150 kilometers to the north. It shows up in incredible detail on screens that make the control
03:31room look like Times Square. Every ship is tracked, cataloged, and assigned a threat priority before
03:36they know what they're fighting. In 1944, the Japanese are effectively blind. Their first radar
03:42system, the Tachi 3, exists, but it still hasn't been installed on a destroyer, so the Japanese ships rely
03:49on lookouts with binoculars, and they have no idea they are being watched. The captain aboard the Burke
03:55doesn't hesitate as he commands, weapons free. The first Tomahawk missile erupts from its cell at 3.47
04:01a.m. before another, another, and another. Six cruise missiles streak north at 900 kilometers per
04:07hour, 50 feet above the waves. No lookout can spot them in the darkness. Aboard Yamato, Admiral
04:14Ugaki is reviewing battle plans when his flagship simply explodes. The Tomahawk punches through the
04:21superstructure and detonates inside the command bridge. The blast obliterates the nerve center
04:26of the fleet while secondary explosions ripple through the ship. Within seconds, the pride of
04:31the Imperial Navy is ablaze, four hours before the crew would have been ordered to their battle
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05:52the channel. Now let's get back in on the Japanese fleet. Musashi takes two hits, one in her forward
05:58magazine and one in her engine rooms. The first turns her bow into a steel inferno. The second kills her
06:07propulsion, leaving the ship and its crew dead in the water, burning, and sinking. Their horizon
06:12is still pitch black, and the 2,500-man crew is out of commission before they realize the battle
06:18started. The Japanese fleet dissolves into chaos. Ships collide in the darkness, trying to avoid the
06:24darkness all around them. Radio channels flood with panicked reports of submarines, mines, or ghost
06:29bombers. Nobody can comprehend that one destroyer, 150 kilometers away, just decapitated their battle
06:36line. By dawn, when American escort carriers would have launched their planes off Samar,
06:42Corita's center force is already crippled, and the Arleigh Burke isn't done. The destroyer races north
06:48at 35 knots, when Japanese float planes finally spot it. A lone gray shape slicing through the morning
06:54seas, Corita's surviving ships move to engage what they think is a 1940s American cruiser. At 75 kilometers,
07:02the Burke opens up with a barrage of SM-6 missiles. The heavy cruiser Chokai disintegrates when a Mach 3.5
07:10missile hits her bridge. Suzuya is hit as well, and its ammunition magazines detonate in the blaze
07:16seconds later. Japanese 8-inch shells begin falling all around the destroyer as every ship realizes its
07:22only target, but hitting a target moving at 35 knots from 40 kilometers away? Let's just say it's
07:29difficult. Japanese gunnery, excellent by 1944 standards, becomes guesswork. The Burke's 5-inch
07:35guns begin to fire. Its radar-guided shells airburst over Japanese destroyers, shredding their bridge
07:41crews with tungsten rain. Without orders or coordination, the smaller ships scatter. Meanwhile,
07:48200 kilometers south, beyond the islands of Leyte, Admiral Nishimura's southern force pushes into
07:55Surigao Strait, aiming to flank the American fleet from below. Instead, they sail right into
08:00the lone destroyer's killing field and are immediately identified by its radar. The Burke launches a spread
08:06of eight tomahawks as the Japanese ships maneuver the narrow strait. The battleship Fuso splits in half
08:12when three missiles make contact, and Yamashiro burns from bow to stern. The destroyer, Michishio,
08:19simply vanishes in a ball of flames. The surviving Japanese destroyers launch desperate torpedo spreads,
08:26but the Burke's sonar tracks everyone while still simultaneously tracking the ships they came from.
08:32The Burke dances between torpedoes at 35 knots. But missiles are finite, and by now the destroyer's
08:38vertical launch cells are running low. As morning breaks, far to the north in the Philippine Sea,
08:44Admiral Ozawa's decoy carrier force comes into view on radar. Four more carriers with barely 100
08:50planes between them, just a shadow of their Pearl Harbor glory that launches everything they have.
08:55The Burke's remaining SM-2s and ESSMs strike skyward and create an umbrella of death. The last hope,
09:03Japanese AM-60s and Kate torpedo bombers begin to explode 50 kilometers out, then 30 kilometers out,
09:10then 10. The few that make it to attack range are met by the Phalanx CIWS, a swiveling Gatling gun that
09:18spits 4,500 rounds per minute designed for short-range missiles and enemy aircraft that have
09:24penetrated outer defenses. A brave Zero pilot, already trailing smoke, aims for the destroyer's
09:29bridge. The Phalanx tracks him automatically, and in the span of two heartbeats, a wall of 20-millimeter
09:36tungsten turns the pilot and his plane into falling scrap metal that splashes into the sea below.
09:41With air threats neutralized and missiles depleted, the Burke closes on the carriers with her gun.
09:46From 15 kilometers, radar-guided 5-inch shells fire in the direction of the Zuikaku, aimed at her
09:53aviation fuel bunkers, and the carrier that launched the Pearl Harbor attack bursts into flames.
09:58The Zuiho and Chitos follow. Their unarmored decks no match for modern ammunition.
10:05By noon on October 25th, the Battle of Leyte Gulf is over. The Imperial Japanese Navy has ceased to
10:11exist. Four battleships, including both Yamato-class giants, are gone. Four carriers burn on the seafloor,
10:19and dozens of cruisers and destroyers litter the Philippine waters. The Americans' only loss
10:24was some well-spent ammunition. If you're curious what would happen if a modern carrier fought at
10:30Pearl Harbor, check out the video on your screen now. Thanks for watching.
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