Ranger (CVA 61) - Naval Cruise Book

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1Or1 ATake Off 193

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TAKEMOFF OI A GREAT LAKES BOMBE.RcE3GW1,'i17 MARCH 1937 RANGERMEN--OF CV-4 OR CVA-61. . . SIMILAR IN STRENGTH, SIMILAR IN PURPOSE But what of the men of the Ranger? How did the life of the crew in the Thirties differ from that of today? ln most respects, of course, there were simi- larities, but it is still safe to assume that few sailors of the modern Ranger would enjoy their stay if they had suddenly found themselves aboard CV-4. When the Ranger first joined the fleet in 1933, the men who manned her fell fairly predictably into certain catagories. A high number were the peace- time professionals who planned to make the Navy their life's workg much of the airwing was youngsters fascinated by the novel opportunities of aviation, and a fair number were men who felt more secure in the service than they did in the unsettled economic conditions of the Depression. Of course, there was the usual scattering of kids who just plain wanted to See the world. Later, during the Forties, the draft encouraged a more diverse sample of the nation's youth to join the Navy. Nevertheless, the new seaman apprentice toting his seabag up the brow remained largely similar to his pre-war counterpart in certain res- pects. Generally, he had received less education than today's sailor, who is usually a high school graduate and has often spent time in college. More- over, he would appear astonishingly innocent to the television-bred and somewhat cynical young seaman of the 1960's: rarely having left his hometown before going to boot camp. The World War ll sailor held opinions about the world and .its inhabitants that were sometimes startling in their naivete. His day started with reveille at 0545, and during wartime steaming he promptly slipped into his dungarees and General Quarters at 0600. Breakfast would be served after G.Q., which, according to a plan of the Day for August 2, 1942, would last two hours. Since this was a Sunday, Holiday Routine was declared, and continued uninterrupted except by working parties and unreps. Air Defense watches were a continuous part of the watch bill, and no one was free from the nagging thought that a raider, below, on or above the surface, could strike at any time. Living conditions aboard the old Ranger were cramped, to say the least. She rode poorly, and the Atlantic never let her forget it. Mess cooks slept in hammocks across the mess decks. Air conditioning did not exist, there were no phones or public radios.

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i From Anti-Sub Patrol Ending A Long Mediterranean Cruise-1943 The air wing was relieved at the end of six months, the World War ll carrier, however, stayed away for far longer periods without any relief. Liberty... liberty. . .what's that? Months went by in the early stages of the war before the crew got any liberty whatsoever. Even then, it was in the form of a ship's company party with rations of warm beer. Later on in the conflict, port calls in England-although many Rangermen wished they could have been more fre- quent. True Ranger ingenuity, then,as now, came through to make life at sea as interesting as possible. Inter- divisional Volley Ball took place in the hangar deck on available days: competition, particularly during the tournaments, was murderous. After the time allotted for the games C1600 to 18005, chairs were set up to watch such features as Dangerously They Live with Nancy Coleman or ln Old California with John Wayne and Binnie Barnes. Supplementing such rare fare were occasional ship shows whose raw talent was drawn directly from the crew. A Bull Horn or Ranger magazine for July, 1942 contains an article called What l liked best about the July Jollities . Listed as favored sketches are the Old Time Ump Ump Band , 0ricco's imitations of the First Lieutenant, and the parody of the parody, l exercise My Liver and Each Important Part. There is, we of the 1969 cruisebook staff believe, a value in this comparison of two ships, identically named and designed for the same purpose, sepa- rated from one another's births by a quarter of a century. Most of us realize by now that a ship is an intangible and individual personality besides the sum of her metal pieces. Today's Ranger is the logical extension of CV-4 as a strategic concept-that of a portable, high-impact thrust of air power-despite the vast differences between the wars in which they serve. It is also the extension of the spirit which made the Ranger launched 36 years ago a true fighting ship. And perhaps it is only this spirit passed onward in time that really matters. This spirit is the unique creation of the men who man her, and it becomes that much easier for them to realize when they are able to gather it around the solid core of heritage contained in the name Ranger . photographs courtesy of Naval Photographic Center, Washington, D.C