Largest battle by air and sea

The greatest battle involving both ships and aircraft was the World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf, in the Philippines, in which 218 Allied warships battled 64 of their Japanese counterparts over six days from 22-27 October 1944. In the skies above, 1,280 US and 716 Japanese aircraft were engaged in combat. In the end 26 Japanese and six US vessels were sunk.