USS Henderson (DD-785), USS Cimarron (AO-22), and USS Leyte (CV-32), somewhere off the coast of Korea, December 11, 1950 | Photo, Leyte, Historical photos

USS Leyte (CV/CVA/CVS-32, AVT-10) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during and shortly after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the third US Navy ship to bear the name. Leyte was commissioned in April 1946, too late to serve in World War II. She spent most of her career in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean, but also saw service in the Korean War, in which she earned two battle stars. She was reclassified in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), then as an Antisubmarine Aircraft Carrier (CVS), and finally (after inactivation) as an aircraft transport (AVT).

Unlike most of her sister ships, Leyte received no major modernizations, and thus throughout her career retained the classic appearance of a World War II Essex-class ship. She was decommissioned in 1959 and sold for scrap in 1970.