USS ''Leyte Gulf'' (CG-55) is a

guided missile cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

in the

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. She was named in memory of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Battle of Leyte Gulf in the

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. She is powered by four large gas-turbine engines, and she has a large complement of guided missiles for air defense, attack of surface targets

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and ashore, and

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

(ASW). In addition, she carries two "Seahawk" LAMPS multi-purpose helicopters, whose primary mission is ASW. On 14 October 1996, ''Leyte Gulf'' collided with the , while conducting operations off the coast of North Carolina. The incident occurred as the carrier, without prior warning, reversed her engines while ''Leyte Gulf'' was behind her and slammed into the cruiser's bow. There were no personnel casualties or injuries reported, and damage to the Leyte was only $2 million. In 2002, she won the

Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award The Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award is presented annually by the U.S. Navy's Chief of Naval Operations to one ship in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and one in the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Generally the recipient is the ship with the highest score in ...

for the Atlantic Fleet. In late 1992 ''Leyte Gulf'' was assigned to Carrier Group 2. In March 2003 ''Leyte Gulf'' was assigned to Carrier Group Eight. On 15 September 2007, there was a fire aboard ''Leyte Gulf'' as she underwent an extensive modernization program in BAE Systems Shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia. Initially the fire received national attention due to the possibility that it was a terrorist incident, however, it was quickly revealed to be an industrial accident. Five shipyard workers were injured in the incident, one seriously, but no naval personnel were involved. In February 2011, ''Leyte Gulf'' was involved in an incident with

Somali pirates Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Somali, ...

after they captured the United States flagged

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''Quest''. US Navy 040501-N-7586B-122

The cruiser returned to Norfolk on 15 July 2011. During her deployment, she had participated in operations which had captured 75 Somali pirates and had missile strikes by her carrier strike group against the Libyan government. In January 2015, ''Leyte Gulf'' returned from a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. The ship served as flagship of

Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) standing maritime immediate reaction force. SNMG2 consists of four to six destroyers and frigates. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational resp ...

for much of the deployment. In August 2022 ''Leyte Gulf'' was again deployed to the Mediterranean Sea. She returned to Norfolk on 09 June 2023.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leyte Gulf (CG-55) Ticonderoga-class cruisers Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi 1986 ships Cold War cruisers of the United States Cruisers of the United States

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