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USS Leyte (CV-32)

1946 COLD WAR KOREAN WAR

History of USS Wright (CV-32)

The conventionally powered Essex-class aircraft carrier was one of the main surface warships of the United States Navy (USN) during World War II (1939-1945). The class was originally intended to consist of about 32 ships, but eventually grew to 24 ships, as 8 were cancelled at the end of the war in 1945.

All twenty-four survived at sea, and four of them (Yorktown, Intrepid, Hornet, Lexington) survived.

These include USS Leyte (CV-32) - originally commissioned as "Crown Point" - she was ordered in August 1942 as part of the "Low-Bug" subgroup. She was built by the experienced Newport News shipyard in February 1944 and launched at sea in August 1945 - that would be the last year of the war.

It was not officially put into use until April 1946.

The warship was named after the "Battle of Leyte Gulf" (October 1944) in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

Following a structural overhaul in March 1943, the Essex-class carriers were given the "Longbow" descriptor, during which the hulls were lengthened to accommodate additional anti-aircraft (AA) defenses, improved survivability and ventilation , and improve the forward launch bow - especially important in the face of frontal attacks and relentless kamikaze attacks - and install a second catapult.

When built, Wright had a displacement of 27,100 tons (standard), a barrel length of 888 feet, a beam of 93 feet, and a draft of 28.6 feet. Power comes from 8 x boiler units feeding 4 x Westinghouse gear steam turbines producing 150,000 hp to drive the 4 x axles under the stern.

This arrangement gave the boat a speed of 33 knots.

Her external layout follows Essex-class standards: the island superstructure is on the starboard side, leaving the forward, aft and port sections of the flight deck completely unobstructed. The hangar lift enables the aircraft to be lowered or raised as needed and to launch the catapult assist platform during takeoff.

The flight deck is a simple pass-through design. Unlike other Essex-class carriers, the USS Wright has not undergone more modern modifications, such as a sloping flight deck, during its service life.

There were as many as 3,448 people on board. Up to 100 aircraft can be transported, consisting of different makes and models to fulfill different mission roles. As the era of the propeller gave way to the rise of the jet, the type of aircraft Wright used also changed.

The weapons installed are purely for self-defense: 4 x 5" double gun mounts, 4 x 5" single gun mounts, 8 x 40mm Bofors, quad mounts and 46 x 20 mm Oerlikon -AA guns, Single gun rack. Armor protection up to 4 inches for conveyor belts and up to 2.5 inches for hangar decks.

The armored deck is up to 1.5 inches thick, and the conning tower has 1.5 inches of protection.

The warship is relatively well armed and armored and will still rely heavily on its fighter cargo as well as the fleet's frigates.

During World War II, Wright was too late for combat duty, undergoing peacetime surgery during her early years at sea, with stopovers in South America and the Caribbean. Fleet exercises were conducted before Wright was drafted into combat duty in the Korean War (1950-1953).

She began her tenure there in October 1950, and by the end of the year, her fighter jets had conducted nearly 4,000 sorties against North Koreans. She worked at the station until January 1951, before returning to the United States for an overhaul.

Wright was awarded two Battle Stars for his heroism in the conflict.

In 1952, she was renamed "CVA-32" ("Attack Carrier") and returned to the United States from Mediterranean waters in February 1953, facing deactivation. Her service life was extended in August and the warship was reclassified as "CVS-32" ("Anti-Submarine Carrier").

During reconstruction, the warship was damaged by an explosion that killed 37 people and injured another 28.

After work was completed in January 1954, she served as the flagship of "CARDIV 18" and spent the next decade working towards a new anti-submarine warfare role - mainly in Caribbean waters and along the US East Coast. Reclassified as "AVT-10" ("Aircraft Transport"), the ship was officially decommissioned on May 15, 1959, assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet for the foreseeable future, and finally cut in September 1970 in Virginia Sapeak is scrapped and scrapped.