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Naval History and Heritage Command

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USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55)

Please see below for item level images and donated collections containing photographs of USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55)

USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) was named in memory of the World War II Balttle Leyte Gulf in the Pacific. 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 at sea and ashore, and anti-submarine warefare (ASW). In addition, USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) carries two  "Seahawk" LAMPS multi-purpose helicopters, whose primary mission is ASW.

On 14 October 1996, USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) collided with the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt while conducting operations off the coast of North Carolina. The incident occurred as the carrier, without prior warning, reversed her engines while USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) was behind her and slammed into the cruiser's bow. On 15 September 2007, there was a fire aboard USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) as she underwent an extensive modernization program in BAE System 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.

In February 2011, USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) was involved in an incident with Somali pirates after they captured the United States flagged yacht Quest. 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, USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) returned from a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. The ship served as flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 for much of the deployment.