After he recovered from his wounds, in February 1944 Ugaki was placed in command of the 1st Battleship Division (, , ), and was commander during the disastrous Battle of Leyte Gulf, including the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea on 24 October, and Battle off Samar on 25 October 1944. Despite the tremendous potential firepower of these three vessels, the largest in the Imperial Navy, only modest damage was inflicted on the American forces, and from the fall of 1944 to the summer of 1945 all three ships would be severely damaged by overwhelming strikes by U.S. carrier-based planes.