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Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue

Bob Drury,

Tom Clavin

4.05 · Rating details · 1,103 Ratings · 121 Reviews

In the tradition of The Perfect Storm and Flags of Our Fathers , Halsey’s Typhoon chronicles the epic tale of men clashing against the ruthless forces of war and nature. In December 1944, America’s most popular and colorful naval hero, Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, unwittingly sailed his undefeated Pacific Fleet into the teeth of the most powerful storm on earth. Three de ...more

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Hardcover, 322 pages

Published November 27th 2006 by Atlantic Monthly Press (first published September 12th 2006)

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Mar 05, 2013 Mike rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, military, naval, non-fiction, ww2

This is a sea story that all naval personnel and all who spend time on the water will find riveting and horrifying. The 4 Star Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue recounts the Dec 1944 encounter of the U.S. Third Fleet with Typhoon Cobra (the first named typhoon). More sailors will die in the storm than were lost in the Battle of Midway. Three ships will be lost and many more extremely damaged. Drury and Clavin tell a story that is every bi This is a sea story that all naval personnel and all who spend time on the water will find riveting and horrifying. The 4 Star Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue recounts the Dec 1944 encounter of the U.S. Third Fleet with Typhoon Cobra (the first named typhoon). More sailors will die in the storm than were lost in the Battle of Midway. Three ships will be lost and many more extremely damaged. Drury and Clavin tell a story that is every bit as dramatic as any battle. This was a kind of battle and you will find heroics, incompetence and serendipity in who lives and dies. Well-told.

Here is the setup.

Yet despite Japan’s seeming invincibility, as early as October 1942, while U.S. Marines and Japanese soldiers were still fighting to exterminate one another on Guadalcanal, CINCPAC Nimitz sensed that the U.S. was already winning a grinding war of attrition across the Pacific. Japan had a robust, if limited, manufacturing capability, and its capture of the resource-rich territories enveloping the South China Sea certainly upgraded that facility. But within a year of the attack on Pearl Harbor the United States was simply outproducing the rest of the combined world in ships, planes, weapons—and martial ideas.

A writer once observed that war is God’s way of teaching Americans geography, and certainly the ensuing rolling D-days of unpronounceable specks of coral and sand from Tarawa to Kwajalein to Eniwetok to Tinian to Peleliu left every U.S. sailor, soldier, and airman fighting across these alien shores of the Pacific embossed in his psyche. At bottom, however island-hopping raids and landings had one common goal: taking of the Philippines as a springboard from which to launch the invasion of Japan.

Moreover, unlike the great land battles being fought against Nazis in Africa and Europe, the Pacific Theater was and would remain primarily a naval and air campaign. The Japanese may have occupied far-flung islands, but they still needed to supply them. Without realizing it, the enemy had disastrously exceeded its chew ratio. As such, Nimitz exhorted his admirals never to shy taking the “calculated risks” that would decimate the enemy’s land, sea, and air forces.

Halsey has been criticized for his actions during the Battle of Leyte Gulf when he ran after the decoy Japanese carriers and left MacArthur’s landing ships unprotected. Now Halsey wants to stay close to the Philippines so he can support MacArthur’s landings on Mindoro. Unfortunately, his refueling rendezvous is smack dab in the middle of the track of a monster typhoon. Almost everyone is slow to realize the storm coming is a typhoon and Halsey is very slow to take actions that could have enabled his fleet to escape the worst. His actions have devastating results but forecasting was little different from earlier times. And this was wartime, bad weather is no excuse to stop the mission.

The authors put you right in the middle of the action, from the greenest young sailor on his first voyage to the admirals’ staterooms. Most of the story is at the individual ship and sailor level. So terrifying and yet so many heroes arise from ordinary crewmembers. After the destroyer escort The Hull capsizes, the survivors are swimming in the middle of a typhoon:

He started to swim, to where he did not know or care. Soon enough he realized he could “sense” by the surface current and wave action the impending crash of one of the huge crushers. As it closed on him he would hear the roar, and seconds before the wave broke, out of some primal instinct, he kicked his feet, folded his arms across his chest…and taught himself to bodysurf, as if learning to fly while talking. He began gliding down the face of ninety-foot combers.

He saw shipmates doing the same. He rode one wave with Fire Controlman 1st Class Al Taylor, who curved in midair with the resilience of a dolphin and hollered, “Woo-ee, Chief! What a ride!”
Next he found himself bodysurfing parallel to Chief Radioman Burt Martin, who screamed, “Any port in a storm, right, Arch?”

Strongly recommended!
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Nov 21, 2008 Billy rated it really liked it

This is a book that I probably never would have read if my Dad hadn’t been in a typhoon himself in the Pacific during WWII. His recollections of that experience are pretty riveting. (90 ‘ waves cresting over the bridge where he was stationed for 4 hours trying to steer the ship! Another ship careening by out of control, and missing his by yards.)

This is the account of another typhoon just a few months earlier but in a very similar location – east of the Philippines. At the time (late 1944), the ...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Chris rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history-wwii-pacific

In December 1944 Admiral Halsey lost his mojo with his sailors. Weeks before he had taken the bait and gone after the Japanese ghost carriers and almost lost Leyte Gulf. He was so focused on the enemy that he didn't concern himself with the storm of the century. Kudos to those skippers who disobeyed orders and made their first priority saving their ship. The authors tell the story in a vivid, personal style with vignettes from different crew members on multiple ships. Indeed it can get confusing ...more

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Oct 11, 2014 Quinby6696 Frank rated it it was amazing

Second time around for this incredibly absorbing saga! Bull Halsey has sent the entire Third Fleet - the Big Blue Fleet - into the middle of Typhoon Cobra. Halsey is focused on supporting MacArthur's landings in the Philippines and doesn't pay proper attention to the relatively scant weather information he receives. No one - with exception of Nathaniel Bowditch (19th century author of The American Practical Navigator) - seems able to accurately predict the path of typhoons so Halsey ignores the ...more

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Oct 09, 2008 Zack rated it liked it

it's pretty stunning to think about a destroyer going belly up in 90' waves, wind that tears the skin off your face, and being lost in the philippine sea for days while hunted by sharks. that said, the writing leaves much to be desired. i found it hard to keep the characters and ships straight in my mind and might have been just as happy reading only the second half. the author's did a fine job of collecting these untold stories, i only wish they had done a better job of organizing the material.

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Feb 25, 2015 Gisela Hausmann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history

This is a great book, which I can highly recommend. In all honesty I had a bit of difficulty of getting into it at first. I did not like the Dramatis Personae listing in beginning (in all reality I am probably not experienced enough to maneuver this with a Kindle), I felt the introductions to what a typhoon is were introduced in the wrong locations, but once I got into this book I could not stop reading.

Bob Drury and Tom Clavin excel in describing the personality of a man, who was driven by the ...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Tony Taylor rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A really interesting book... well written and captivating. "Halsey's Typhoon" was a best seller when it was first published in 2007, and it is now available in paperback. For anyone interested in military history, more specifically, naval history, you will thoroughly enjoy this true story about a tragic event from WWII in the Pacific. Many of you may have read in history books about the horrendous typhoon in 1944 when Admiral Halsey, one of the great naval heros of modern times, sent a task forc A really interesting book... well written and captivating. "Halsey's Typhoon" was a best seller when it was first published in 2007, and it is now available in paperback. For anyone interested in military history, more specifically, naval history, you will thoroughly enjoy this true story about a tragic event from WWII in the Pacific. Many of you may have read in history books about the horrendous typhoon in 1944 when Admiral Halsey, one of the great naval heros of modern times, sent a task force into a typhoon with winds well over 100 knots and seas of over 100 feet high resulting in the loss of three ships and damage to many more ships and planes... 793 officers and sailors perished at sea.

The authors lead the reader into understanding Halsey and what led to this disaster and why in the end so many lives were lost, whereas in today's world with worldwide forecasting and weather satellites, along with better technology as to how to design ships, this would most likely never happen again. But what really makes this book a page-turner is that the authors did their homework while time was still on their side: they interviewed many of the survivors and heard firsthand as to what happened and how they survived in the storm-tossed, shark-infested seas, while so many of their shipmates either parished within their ships or during the trials of trying to survive in the water.

As a side note: As so often happens when I read a book about events that have taken place during my lifetime, I come across places and people in the stories that I know or have known. As an example, one of the skippers of a ship in the typhoon was the father of one of my very best friends after the war in the early 50s; and another officer mentioned in the story later became a vice admiral and had the pleasure of escorting my bride down the asile when we were married. Additionally, as a junior naval officer myself, I once worked for an admiral who was the son of one of the key characters in the story. It also so happens that three months after this typhoon my father was on the staff of Admiral Halsey during the closing days of the war and was there with him on USS Missouri for the signing of the Surrender in Tokyo Bay. ...more

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Mar 21, 2011 Pam rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

Folks here is your father's day/birthday gift for the man in your life who loves stories about the sea. It is a terrific and sweeping look at a little known event during WWII when the entire 3rd fleet sailed into and through an incredibly large typhoon, later called Halsey's Typhoon, after Admiral Bull Halsey, commander of the 3rd fleet and WWII hero. It was a white-knuckle read that was so intense I had disturbing dreams (I'm sure that they were nightmares, but I can't remember anything but bei ...more

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May 09, 2015 G Lee Graves rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Normal men doing the improbable against impossible circumstances.

Written in a compelling chronological sequence of events, this account grabs your mind and soul as you share with these intrepid men their fears, bravery, exhaustion, devastation en extremis and release in their rescue. For both those survivors of ships sunk during the typhoons and three undeserving dedication of those committed to the rescue of survivors this account depicts the challenge, difficulty and burden each sailor has fo ...more

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Dec 11, 2016 Jack rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorite-reads-2016-2017

This is a detailed and well-written account of one of the worst natural disasters during war. This ranks among the best at making a horrific experience very personal and evoking the feelings of fear, horror, astonishment, bravery, honor, and others associated with war while providing an accurate and very readable account of the incredible events that sank three Navy vessels and cost 793 brave men their lives. This also makes as good a case as I can think of for increasing our scientific knowledg ...more

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Dec 02, 2014 Jenny Hassell rated it it was amazing

I am not military-minded, and I know very little about the specifics of WWII in the South Pacific. I was actually searching for "maritime disasters" books when I stumbled upon this one. It is an amazing story of survival and heroics, and it makes me proud to honor our military every single day.

For someone like me who does not already know the specifics - battles, strategy, etc. - this book laid it out pretty simply. I was energized by the simplicity and clarity, so I printed off some maps to re ...more

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May 16, 2009 Dick rated it really liked it

I had no idea this would be such a good read - Shari brought it home and I looked at the cover and figured, what the heck. Wellmuch to my surprise - terrific read. I had never heard of this true story. It is about Admiral Bull Halsey's pacific fleet in December of 1944 and being caught up in a typhoon - the damage, the heroism and sheer guts it took to survive. Many names are familiar and lots are not. One that was a pleasant surprise was Gerald Ford - who got high marks in the book, by the way. ...more

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Jul 02, 2010 Dad rated it it was amazing

There has only been a couple of times in my life that a book has captured me so emotionally! It is one of those rare finds on a book shelf in the library that often eludes you; not having any ideal about what it's contents contain before checking it out. I have read a lot of books on naval actions in the Pacific in WWII, but never knew of this diaster until I picked up this book. It still amazes me how words on paper can stir one's emotions and add to our quality of life.

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Nov 13, 2008 Eric_W rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nautical-non-fiction

Excellent recounting of a series of mistakes that resulted in the loss of several ships and many hundreds of men. It was this typhoon that formed the basis for the famous Caine Mutiny

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Apr 14, 2010 Richard rated it really liked it

This is a story that was not told in detail for a long time following World War II. Not that it isn't representative of the heroism and sacrifice so common in those perilous times. However, in the immediate aftermath of the war, no one wanted to dwell on misjudgements of high ranking officers which contributed to the tragic deaths of sailors and loss of ships, especially when the reputation of one of America's highest respected admirals was involved.

Admiral William "Bull" Halsey was commander o This is a story that was not told in detail for a long time following World War II. Not that it isn't representative of the heroism and sacrifice so common in those perilous times. However, in the immediate aftermath of the war, no one wanted to dwell on misjudgements of high ranking officers which contributed to the tragic deaths of sailors and loss of ships, especially when the reputation of one of America's highest respected admirals was involved.

Admiral William "Bull" Halsey was commander of the U.S. Navy's Third Fleet. During December, 1944, he was sailing with Task Force 38, a powerful fleet of 170 ships ranging from destroyers and destroyer escorts, to eight battleships and seven fleet carriers. His Army counterpart, General Douglas MacArthur, was making good on his promise to return to the Philippines. MacArthur led an Army invasion of Leyte on October 20, 1944. Hard fighting against the Japanese forces there led to the further landings on Mindoro on December 15th, preperatory to the main event involving the retaking of Luzon. As with all Army and/or Marine island invasions of World War II, the Navy was needed for the transport of the land forces to the invasion site and for providing support firepower to the land forces in the form of air and sea bombardment. Luzon, Mindanao and other locations in the islands posed a special problem because the Japanese had scattered their aircraft on numerous landing strips. Unless these air assets were destroyed on the ground and in the air, the Army's position would be extremely precarious. Therefore, Halsey was depended on very heavily by MacArthur to provide ongoing air support to constantly fly over the island in search of enemy aircraft.

T.F. 38 was sailing in open sea north of Leyte on December 17th. It was necessary for the fleet's ships to rendezvous with tanker ships in order to replenish fuel, before resuming the support of MacArthur. Refueling was especially critical for the destroyers, since these were in need of the ballast offered by full fuel tanks in order to maintain stability in rough seas. Unfortunately for Halsey, Typhoon Cobra was moving directly into the path of the task force at this time. Seas on the 17th became so treacherous that tankers had to repeatedly break off refueling attempts with the task force, including the destroyers. The fleet was faced with the full force of the typhoon by the evening of the 17th, with its over-100 mph winds and extremely high seas. Still, no order came from the admiral's flagship, the USS New Jersey, for ships to disperse and ride out the storm to the best of their abilities. The harrowing night and following day are told in detail by Drury and Clavin. Ships of all sizes were tossed about, and three destroyers went down. The Spence fought to survive in canyon-sized troughs, finally rolling 72 degrees to port; the electricity failed, pumps stopped working, the rudder jammed, and the ship capsized; only 24 of its crew of 336 survived. The Hull lost ability to steer in deep troughs, and rolled so violently in the mountainous sea that it finally flooded and sank after rolling 80 degrees. The Monaghan sunk after taking a roll to starboard. Six survivors of its crew of 100 were rescued on a raft three days later.

Many sailors ended in the sea. It was a miracle that so many were able to find something to hang on to for sometimes several days until they were rescued. Nevertheless, as the book's dedication page shows, 793 sailors would perish from this storm.

Drury and Clavin tell many engrossing stories of survival and death. One of the most interesting involved the mishap of Lt. Gerald Ford aboard the Light Aircraft Carrier USS Monterey. Ford was hit hard by the storm's winds while outside and careened across the deck, almost ending in the water. He saved himself by heroic effort. Later, the carrier had a fire in its hanger deck from aircraft tossing about and banging into each other. Ford led a party that fought the fire and saved the ship.

The most epic story of all centered around the USS Tabberer. The Tabberer was a destroyer escort, meaning that it was smaller and more lightly armed than a destroyer. It took a terrific pounding from the storm, losing its mast and radio antennas. Unable to communicate with the rest of the fleet, Commander Henry Plage still decided to look for survivors as the storm ebbed instead of immediately returning to home base on Ulithi Atoll for repairs. This little ship picked up and saved the lives of 55 of the 93 sailors rescued from the ocean. Plage and the ship's crew were personally decorated by Halsey for the risks they took in the aftermath of the storm.

The loss of so many men and ships, in addition to over 100 aircraft, and serious damage to at least nine other ships, inevitably led to a Navy inquiry. The Navy found Admiral Halsey responsible for the losses. Yes, this was a force of nature, but Halsey's decision to keep the task force on station for refueling even after that became impossible led to a finding from his superior, Admiral Chester Nimitz, that errors of judgement were committed under the stress of war operations. Nimitz stopped short of taking disciplinary action against Halsey, who also was reeling from the embarrassment of narrowly avoiding a major defeat at the hands of the Japanese due to his poor judgement at the Battle of Samar in Leyte Gulf, shortly before the typhoon. Halsey's troubles were not over. Although not covered in the Drury and Clavin book, Halsey exposed his task force to a second typhoon near Okinawa in June 1945 that led to the loss of sailors and heavy damage to ships, although this did not have effects on as catastrophic a scale as at Leyte. The second typhoon led to a Navy board recommending his relief from duty, but Admiral Nimitz again decided that the good of the country would not be served by this treatment of a genuine American hero who had guided the war in the South Pacific for the Navy since Pearl Harbor. There was also the fear of the blow that would happen to the morale of the folks back home if they learned the details of misjudgements that led to loss of lives and ships in bad weather equal to the losses inflicted in a major battle with the enemy.

Drury and Clavin provide useful visual aids, including maps and photographs. The latter contain some arresting images, especially of ships which became partly swamped by the storm. Newsreel film of the storm has also been shown on television war documentaries many times; this is some of the most dramatic footage of the entire war, with its images of ships bouncing in huge waves. I recall one sequence of a huge wave breaking over the bow of a battleship, most likely taken from the bridge, where the entire forward section of the ship, including its two main 16-inch gun turrets, is whited-out with sea spray from the wave. Anyone standing on the forward section of that ship would have been washed away immediately. Another sequence is taken from one ship, with the camera aimed at a destroyer trying to make headway not far away, through huge rolling waves, and bouncing like a cork. Anyone sailing on one of these ships would have had a terrifying ride.

The first time this footage was seen by a large public audience would have been as part of the groundbreaking "Victory at Sea" television series, which aired during 1952-53. The American public would have been able to see the most arresting images of World War II, especially of the Pacific Theater, on their new Muntz and Crosley TV's. This series established the documentary genre of using actual newsreel footage on television. I remember being highly impressed as a young kid seeing this stuff for the first time, with the stirring Richard Rogers/Robert Russell Bennett soundtrack in the background. Excellent as the series was, "Victory at Sea" continued the tradition established during the war, of sanitized history. The typhoon footage of both of the "Halsey" storms is presented as one sequence, with the image presented of a Navy faced with battling the enemy with bullets and torpedoes, and battling the elements with steadfast sailing into a generic storm. Worse yet, the typhoon footage is included as follow-up to the unrelated 1945 Iwo Jima invasion as part of episode 23, "Target Suribachi". Nowhere is the slightest mention of Admiral Halsey's command of the Naval forces, or of Naval Boards of Inquiry into the reasons for the losses of sailors; in fact, nowhere in this documentary is any mention ever made of the losses incurred in sailing against this storm. And that is the way the public was treated to the truth, for decades following World War II. This is not to suggest that any one should be subjected to a witch hunt after all of this time. It is necessary, however, that information surrounding important events in our history are unearthed from official archives and made available for all of us to fully appreciate. This is Drury and Clavin's ultimate service.

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Apr 17, 2018 Vic Lauterbach rated it really liked it

This harrowing tale relates how circumstances and small errors combined to create a disaster. The heroism of the Third Fleet sailors is heartening, and the stories of both victims and survivors inspiring. The only weakness of the book is the survey of events in the Pacific War leading up to December 1944 which most readers interested in this topic won't need. Once the fleet enters the storm, this book is hard to put down. It may be difficult for younger readers to comprehend a world without weat ...more

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May 03, 2017 Andrew Downing rated it really liked it

An excellent book that balanced history and detailed action very well. The first half of the book setup the major characters involved and finished with the gut wrenching details of a devastating typhoon that nearly destroyed an an entire fleet of American Naval Ships. I really enjoy the writing style of the author and highly recommend any of his works. Bob Drury and his team do a wonderful job.

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Sep 17, 2017 Shaun Geary rated it it was amazing

Absolutely amazing book, should be a must read for all Naval Officers. I was hooked from the beginning, Halsey's Typhoon gave insight to Admiral Halsey's persona via background on his time in command during WWII. The tales of survival from those aboard the ships in his Task Group were both amazing and heartbreaking.

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Oct 26, 2017 Karen rated it really liked it

So fascinating! and very well written.

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Apr 04, 2018 Mary Ellen rated it it was amazing

A truly fascinating story.

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May 06, 2017 Roger rated it it was amazing

One great story - read the book in 2 days.

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May 16, 2017 Buck Amey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Great reading.

Great reading.
Glad I took the time to read more about WWII. This was a terrible tragedy for all who went through this!

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Feb 26, 2017 Jim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Excellent read. Wonder what happened to James A. Marks, captain of the USS Hull, after his ship sank in the typhoon. The "Caine Mutiny" was very loosely based on this CO's actions during the typhoon.

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Feb 26, 2017 Jon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The Navy sailors that survived the typhoon in December 1944 had tales to tell of 90 knot winds, shipmates swept overboard, sunburn, starvation and shark attacks. The US fleet was on the way to support General MacArthur in his landing on the Philippines, but a huge storm changed the plans. The authors did a great job researching the details and telling the story. I liked the book and plan to stay on dry land.

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Sep 26, 2016 Kenneth Flusche rated it it was amazing

Well that was quick, Started slow sitting up the event recapping early part of WWII, Army/Navy rivalry during the war and Boom the Typhoon a must read for any Navy History Buff.

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Jan 25, 2011 Nate rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, wwii

While I consider myself a WWII buff, I had not heard about the huge storm that ravaged the American fleet in the Pacific in 1944. So when I picked out this book, I had no idea what it was about other than it would cover Admiral Bill Halsey, a person I had heard of as a great naval mind, but didn't really know much about. I took away two main themes from this book: 1) Great fighting men are often blind to their own weaknesses 2) The technology we have available to us today for both viewing our ea ...more

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Oct 25, 2011 Michael rated it it was amazing

What I expected to get when I bought "Halsey's Typhoon" was an aside to the epic war in the Pacific. Rather than an aside, it turned out to be a riveting war story except that instead of the Japanese vs. the United States it was Admiral William "Bull" Halsey's great fleet of American ships against the awesome destructive force of nature. Nature truly won the fight. Bob Drury, the author, gives a blow by blow account of the fight as Halsey disregards hints that his fleet was to be hit by a typhoo ...more

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Aug 07, 2011 Alain Dewitt rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

If you enjoy naval history, WWII history or stories about the heroism of men in the face of incredible circumstances, you will probably enjoy this book.

The authors provide a solid background to the events leading up to the typhoon which strikes Third Fleet on December 18, 1944. They recount the early setbacks of US naval forces in the Pacific, the turning point at Midway, the Halsey-Spruance rivalry [full disclosure: I am a Spruance partisan and I think, in the words of Capt. Marko Ramius in 'Th ...more

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Feb 16, 2017 Bill rated it it was amazing

An outstanding book describing one of the worst catastrophies in naval history. A must read for those interested in the war in the Pacific following the attack on Pearl Harbor

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Jul 11, 2014 George Miller rated it it was amazing

This book relates the 3rd Fleet's encounter with Typhoon Cobra in December 1944 following the battle of Leyte Gulf. Admiral Halsey, the Navy’s version of George Patton, was preparing to support MacArthur’s invasion on Mindoro, the next step in the process to drive the Japanese out of the Philippines, when the typhoon hit. Due to the primitive storm tracking technology available during WWII, combined with a misplaced weather warning from CINCPAC in Pearl Harbor and Halsey’s determination to conti ...more

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