USS Ranger (CV-4)

Design

Ranger was the first American carrier built down from the keel as a carrier design. The previous ships Langley was converted from a merchant collier, and Lexington and Saratoga were converted to carriers from battlecruisers due to the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922- under which the Ranger was built. Despite having an island superstructure, Ranger’s smokestacks were on her deck and rotated when conducting carrier operations since the superstructure was added in the middle of construction. Ranger was too slow for Pacific operations and served in the Atlantic against the Kriegsmarine, a weaker opponent.

History

Ranger conducted training operations in the Atlantic in 1934 and in April 1935 she went for training in the Pacific for four years and took part in the Fleet Problem exercises. In 1939 she returned to the Atlantic for more exercises. In the fall of the year, she commenced Neutrality Patrols. In December 1941, Ranger was sailing to Norfolk from Atlantic patrols when Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbour.

In 1942, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill requested USS Ranger and USS North Carolina to reinforce the Eastern fleet in the wake of the Indian Ocean Raid, however the American President Franklin Roosevelt and Admiral Ernest King stated that the only assistant providable by the Navy was USS Ranger ferrying aircraft to reinforce American air forces in the Far East.

On 8th November 1942, Ranger fought Operation Torch, an Allied invasion of French North Africa. Ranger’s aircraft provided necessary air cover for the Allied landings, attacked hostile naval targets and some of the planes attacked and disabled the French battleship MNF Jean Bart, which was under construction. Ranger played a key role and was instrumental for the Allied victory of the landings. At the end of the year, Ranger was requested to replace HMS Victorious in the British Home Fleet.

The following year, Ranger underwent an overhaul at Norfolk. On 25th April, German radio reported that Ranger was sunk by a submarine (specifically U-404), however in reality this was a deceptive terror news, and the carrier was still afloat. In August 1943, Ranger was assigned to the British Home Fleet until November and conducted Operation Leader, an attack on German shipping lanes in Norwegian waters in 2nd-4th October. She returned to America by sailing to Boston on 26th November to 3rd December.

In early 1944, Ranger underwent an overhaul and was sent to the Pacific. In February 1944, Ranger’s commander radioed the denial of Ranger’s sinking back in April 1943, additionally hinting that Ranger was involved in searching for Tirpitz. She spent the rest of the war preparing air groups for combat, including carrier operations training. After the war’s end, Ranger became a training carrier at Pensacola, Florida until her role was relieved by USS Saipan. In 1947, Ranger was sold for scrap.