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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Maui (ARG-8)
ex
 USS Leyte (ARG-8) (1944 - 1945)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Papa - Zulu - Yankee
 NPZY
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal
Luzon Class Internal Combustion Engine Repair Ship:
  • Laid down, 20 January 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (EC-2-S-C1) hull under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2595) at Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard, Inc., Baltimore, MD
  • Launched, 18 February 1944
  • Acquired by the Navy in February 1944 from the Maritime Commission and converted to an Internal Combustion Engine Repair Ship at Maryland Drydock Co, Baltimore, MD.
  • Commissioned USS Leyte (ARG-8), 17 August 1944. CDR. Elder Paul Johnson in command
  • During World War II USS Leyte was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Renamed USS Maui (ARG-8), 31 May 1945
  • Decommissioned, 30 August 1946, at San Diego, CA.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego, CA.
  • Maui was transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 13 June 1961, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Permanent custody assumed by the Maritime Administration, 1 September 1962
  • Struck, 1 September 1962, from the Naval Register in September 1962, custody transferred to MARAD
  • Reacquired by the Navy briefly in 9 February to 19 April 1967
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 3 October 1972, to Levin Metals Corp. physical delivery 2 November 1972
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,023 t.(lt) 14,350 t.(trial)
    Length 441' 6"
    Beam 56' 11"
    Draft 23' (lim)
    Speed 12.5 kts. (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 31
    Enlisted 552
    Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    one 3"/50 gun mount
    two twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    twelve single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Ship's Service Generators
    three 350Kw 450V A.C.
    two 60Kw 120V D.C.
    Fuel Oil Capacity 19,540Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Machine Corp. vertical triple expansion reciprocating steam engine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers 220psi 450°
    single propeller, 2,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed By/Source
    USS Leyte (ARG-9)
    Lingayen Gulf
    NS0312601    		 39k
    Namesake
    Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching 35 miles. It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Balili River drain into Lingayen Gulf.
    At 09:30 on 9 January 1945, the U.S. 6th Army conducted an amphibious landing in Lingayen Gulf, landing 68,000 troops the first day, and a total of 203,608 in following landings along a 20 mile. The American forces, despite their success in driving out the Japanese at the Gulf, suffered heavy losses on the naval forces in the Gulf due to Japanese kamikaze suicide attacks. From 13 December 1944 through 13 January 1945, a total of 24 ships were sunk and 67 damaged by kamikaze planes. Following the amphibious landings, Lingayen Gulf was turned into a vast supply depot for the rest of the war to support the American and Filipino assaults on Manila and the rest of Luzon, and thence to Okinawa. (Wikipedia)
    Map courtesy of Google
    Anti-aircraft fire from ships of the U.S. Navy task force in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. Taken from USS Boise (CL-47) on 10 January 1945 (US National Archives 80-G-304355).    		 Tommy Trampp
    Lingayen Gulf
    1018152827    		 538k
    Luzon 54k Leyte (ARG-8) immediately after launching at Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard, Inc., Baltimore, MD., 18 February 1944 David Nixon
    Luzon 69k USS Leyte (ARG-8) underway in the Hampton Roads, off Norfolk, VA., 1 October 1944. Leyte's camouflage is Measure 31, Design 6Ax.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-280750 from the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Luzon 99k USS Leyte (ARG-8) underway in the Hampton Roads, VA., 1 October 1944.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-280745 from the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Luzon 63k USS Leyte (ARG-8) underway in the Hampton Roads, VA., 1 October 1944.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-280746 from the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    LST-451
    1016045124    		 250k USS Leyte (ARG-8) with USS LST-451 alongside, date and location unknown. Bob Martin Jr.
    USS Leyte / Maui (ARG-8)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Johnson, Elder Paul17 August 1944 - ?
    02LCDR. Bullard, Billie Barton, USN22 April 1946 - 30 August 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Photo Index Back To The Internal Combustion Engine Repair Ship (ARG) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 14 January 2022