Aboard was a complement of up to 3,448 personnel. Up to 100 aircraft could be carried and these made up of different makes and models to accomplish various mission roles. As the propeller age gave way to the rise of the jet, so too did the aircraft types fielded by Leyte change as a result.
Installed armament was purely self-defensive in nature: 4 x 5" guns in twin-gunned mountings, 4 x 5" guns in single-gunned mountings, 8 x 40mm Bofors AA guns in quadruple-gunned mountings, and 46 x 20mm Oerlikon AA guns in single-gunned mountings. Armor protection reached 4" at the belt with hangar decks protected over in up to 2.5". Armored decks were covered up to 1.5" in armor and the conning tower followed suit with 1.5" of protection.
Relatively well-armed and armored, the warship would still rely heavily on its combat aircraft load as well as accompanying ships of the fleet.
As Leyte arrived too late to see combat service in World War 2, she was operated in a peacetime manner for the beginning of her service at sea, making stops across South America and the Caribbean. Fleet exercises then followed before Leyte was called to battle duty for the Korean War (1950-1953). She began her tenure there in October of 1950 and, before the end, her warplanes accounted for nearly 4,000 combat missions against North Korean elements. She remained on station into January 1951 before returning stateside for an overhaul. For her exploits in the conflict, Leyte was awarded two Battle Stars.
In 1952, she was redesignated to "CVA-32" ('Attack Carrier') and returned stateside from Mediterranean waters in February 1953 to face deactivation. Her service life was extended in August and the warship was reclassified "CVS-32" ('Anti-Submarine Aircraft Carrier'). During her reconstruction, the warship suffered damage due to an explosion - claiming the lives of thirty-seven men and injuring a further twenty-eight.
With the work completed in January of 1954, she went on to serve as flagship of "CARDIV 18" worked her way into her new ASW role for the remainder of the decade - mainly taking place in Caribbean waters and along the American East Coast. Reclassified as "AVT-10" ('Aircraft Transport'), the vessel was formally decommissioned on May 15th, 1959, assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet for the foreseeable future and, from there, was given up for good and sold for scrap in September 1970 at Chesapeake, Virginia.
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