USS Leyte (ARG-8)

USS Leyte (ARG-8) underway in the Hampton Roads, off Norfolk, Virginia on 1 October 1944. Leyte's camouflage is Measure 31, Design 6Ax.
History
Name	USS Leyte
Namesake	Leyte, an island in the Philippines
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland
Laid down	20 January 1944
Launched	18 February 1944
Commissioned	17 August 1944
Decommissioned	30 August 1946
Renamed	USS Maui (ARG-8), 31 May 1945
Stricken	April 1967
Fate	Scrapped, 1972
General characteristics
Type	Repair ship
Displacement	5,159 long tons (5,242 t) light 8,700 long tons (8,840 t) full
Length	442 ft (135 m)
Beam	57 ft (17 m)
Draft	23 ft (7.0 m)
Propulsion	Reciprocating steam engine, single shaft
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement	574 officers and enlisted
Armament	1 × 5"/38 caliber gun 2 × 3"/50 caliber guns 4 × 40 mm guns

USS Leyte (ARG-8), later USS Maui (ARG-8), was a Luzon-class internal combustion engine repair ship that saw service in the United States Navy during World War II. Named after Leyte Island in the Philippines, she was the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name Leyte.

Construction[]

Leyte was laid down on 20 January 1944 at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc. in Baltimore, Maryland; launched on 18 February 1944; sponsored by Miss Rhoda J. Braun; and commissioned on 17 August 1944 with Commander Elder P. Johnson in command.

Operations[]

After training in Chesapeake Bay, Leyte sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, on 3 October 1944 for Pacific duty. She reported to Commander Service Force 7th Fleet on 26 November at Hollandia, New Guinea. Here she became a repair ship for LSMs, and continued this service until she departed for the Philippine Islands on 25 February 1945.

For the remainder of the War, Leyte served in Subic Bay. Her name was changed to USS Maui (ARG-8) on 31 May (after the Island of Maui, making her the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear that name) so that the name Leyte could be assigned to a new aircraft carrier then under construction, designated USS Leyte (CV-32). The ship departed Subic Bay in early December and arrived on the west coast with 1,108 returning war veterans before Christmas. She became inactive in March, 1946 and decommissioned at San Diego, California on 30 August where she was assigned to the San Diego Group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet.

Transfer and scrapping[]

In June, 1961 Maui was transferred to the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay in Benicia, California. The ship was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in September 1962, at which time custody was transferred to MARAD. Reacquired by the Navy briefly in February–April 1967, after which Maui was again struck from the Naval Register and returned to MARAD, where she remained until 1972 at which time she was scrapped.

References[]

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• "Leyte". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 16 March 2007.
• "Maui". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 16 March 2007.
• "ARG-8 Leyte / Maui". Service Ship Photo Archive. Retrieved 16 March 2007.
• Photo gallery at Naval Historical Center