Leyte (CV 32) - Naval Cruise Book

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HISTORY OF THE USS LEYTE THE aircraft carrier USS LEYTE was named after tl1e Battle of Leyte Gulf. The 27,000- ton ESSEX class carrier was launched at New- port News on 23 August 1945. Commissioned on 11 April 1946, the LEYTE was scheduled for a shakedown cruise in tl1e Guantanamo Bay area during the following month. However, a person- nel shortage aboard the huge carrier necessitated a postponement of tl1e shakedown cruise until September of 1946. Arriving at Guantanamo Bay 20 September, the carrier started a shake- down cruise which took her through tl1e Panama Canal to arrive at Balboa 20 October. A ' The LEYTE then traveled to Valparaiso, Chile, arriving there on 1 November. Theishakedown cruise took on all the aspects of a goodwill cruise as the ship stopped at Callao, Peru, during 9-13 November 1946. Transiting the Panama Canal again on 189 November, tl1e LEYTE exercised in the shakedown area of Guantanamo until 9 December. 1 Upon returning to the United States again, the carrier made several trips to Yorktown during her stay in Norfolk 27 January 1947. Touching briefly at Newport, and Quonset Point, Rhode Island, the LEYTE departed for maneuvers with Task Force 28 off the Virginia Capes on -3 Feb- ruary. Liberty at Trinidad stepped up the morale of the crew from 28 February until 7 March, when the ship departed to rendezvous with Task Force 24. I, I On 19 March, the LEYTE moored at Quonset Point, where she made preparations to' depart on a training cruise to the Mediterranean sea. Dur- ing her stay in the Mediterranean area the carrier' I visited Suda Bay, Crete, for a week- starting 16 April. She subsequently visited such Medi- terranean ports as Athens, Istanbul, Alexandria, Naples and Gibraltar. Setting her course across the Atlantic' again, the LEYTE tied up at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, -on 9 ,Iune 1947. .From 7 to 25 .Iuly, the' carrier was designated for a three-weeks-afloat training program for NROTC students. Upon returning to Quonset the LEYTE spent one month making preparations for another trip to the Mediter- ranean. U On the second Mediterranean cruise the LEYTE stopped ' at Gibraltar, Algiers, Golfe .Iuan, France, Izmir, Turkey, Suda Bay, Crete, Naples and' Taranto, Italy, Athens, Greece, and Gibraltar then home on November 19th. The LEYTE took to sea again in February for fleet maneuvers in tl1e Caribbean, visiting Trini- dad and Panama. Upon returning in April 1948 the LEYTE spent four months in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The ship departed on August 28th and stayed until October 12th in the 'Guantanamo area. The LEYTE spent November in the frigid Davis Straits area testing cold weather flying. In January 1949, the LEYTE, with 700 reserves, went to Guantanamo for a brief reserve cruise. Most of .February and March were spent in Fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean with visits to Trinidad and Guantanamo Bay. After a short visit to New York the LEYTE returned to Quonset. In May, the LEYTE spent a week at Annapolis, showing the Centennial visitors what a carrier looks like. In ,Iune the LEYTE made two two week cruises, training Reserves and Midshipmen from Annapolis. On each cruise, brief stops were made in Norfolk and New York or Bayonne. August was spent in painting ship and taking on supplies for the third Mediterranean cruise. In early September the LEYTE took departure from Narragansett Bay and was on the way to the Mediterranean again. After visiting Gib- raltar, the Riviera, Malta, Argostoli, Greece, Famagusta, Cyprus, Athens, Tripoli, Messina, Leghorn, Palermo, Augusta, Naples, and Mers- el-Kebir, she returned to the United States in late .Ianuary 1950. g 1 a Q During February and March of 1950 the LEYTE took part in Operation Portrex-the exercises off Porto Rico, then returned to Norfolk for an accelerated three week overhaul. Following this periodlin Norfolk, the big carrier returned to Quonset Point fora brief stay. During this time Air Group Three I was embarked and carrier qualified on a five day cruise. On May 2 the LEYTE set sail again for the Mediterranean, stopping briefly at Norfolk. On the ship's fourth Mediterranean cruise, she called 'at the following ports: Lisbon, Augusta, Naples, Leghorn, the Riviera, Athens, Izmir, and Beirut. I 'I r While in Beirut, tl1e men of tl1e LEYTE were enjoying one -of tl1e finest liberty ports in tl1e Mediterranean when, suddenly, tl1e visit 'was cut short. The LEYTE received the fateful mes- sage which ordered her to return to Norfolk at high speed to prepare for an emergency tour' of duty with the United Nations Forces in Korea. X, 1

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CDR W. M. RYON, U.s.N., Executive Officer, on the bridge during refueling. THE PGWERS THAT BE .... RADM E. C. EWEN, U.s.N., Commander, Task Force 77, is welcomed aboard by CAPT. T. U. SISSON, U.S.N., our Commanding Officer.

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BEIRUT TO KOREA THE Hbig push came upon us suddenly and unexpectedly-one night ashore on liberty, the next morning underway. That night the flag moved off and the next morning, after we were underway, we received word that we were re- turning to the U. S. You can always depend upon one thing in the Navy, and that is that it is un- certain. It makes for an interesting, if somewhat haphazard, life. In Norfolk, Virginia after a steady 24 knot run across the Mediterranean and North Atlantic the ship received an accelerated shipyard overhaul of 10 days duration. And this was our jumping-off point for Panama. Special Canal Detail. A tight squeeze. 5 at