At the time of the invasion, Taffy 3 consisted of "Fanshaw Bay", "St. Lo", "White Plains", , , and , along with an accompanying screen of three destroyers and four destroyer escorts. As the U.S. fleet gathered off the Philippines, the Japanese garrison on Suluan managed to alert their command. This prompted Admiral Soemu Toyoda to launch Shō-Gō 1, a gambit to defend Japan's access to the oil fields of Southeast Asia. On 18 and 19 October, Taffy 3 conducted strikes against Japanese bases located within Cebu, Negros, and Panay, destroying a total of thirty-eight planes, and damaging twenty-eight more. She then steamed off the island of Samar from 20 to 25 October, providing air support for U.S. forces onshore, and dropping leaflets on Japanese positions. In the meantime, Admiral William Halsey Jr. led his Third Fleet northwards, after spotting Vice Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa's diversionary Northern Force. Thus, the only ships covering the vulnerable landing crafts of Leyte Gulf were the three escort carrier task groups and their screens. Taffy 3, the northmost task group, would bear the brunt of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force as it swung through the San Bernardino Strait.