Ranger (CVA 61) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 9 text:

lffbove leftj The first Ranger, commanded by John Paulfones, engages the enemy in a fierce broadside exchange. fflbovej The first U.S. 'vessel designed from the keel up as an aircraft carrier, USS Ranger, CV-4, glides through the 'waters of the North Atlantic. lBelo-wj The steam and sail powered yacht Ranger, built in 1876, and converted to training and patrol use around the turn of the century.

Page 8 text:

1. - ,s 4' 1 ..,,,,,,, . .. ,W LH, ' ww.. , l , e Q 4 I h. W ' 3' N 0 6 X - N 2 -r It , ,X K Q A ' A I t.lv 'L N! , 1 i .- la, - X 1 J .l l 1 '- R' 5 -'I Q' 2 ' ' 3 , .P ' 1. Q ' ' Q K- .7 .' , , 1 ' 4 , U , I f I J' 5 2 ' 1 2 1 4 rf , - b l 3 ,I , 1 X Q Q . I 5 Q ,. . J 5 K' .I 'L ., . .t Q' it 1 Q I 'Y . Q x rx rv it 1 - 1 L , i N A 1 , ln g sf . V X 'U A K eg ll A X Q X ni 'Q N I. xx . .1 J .pg - A ' r - J . .f X pil' I 4 I, , X 1 . ', ff' J. Wi Q , x 5 , . I1 cr en - . f . A f I ' 1 I i .' I ' , . JR-'. il if i-i k . 0 V i 1 'iff' A iff -0 'ri v i r. , .4, . 5 -1..- .ir ,A ' gf ',... ,.,,. A - ... 'X--A-xJ.' 1 Ji P .. i , . -as A .1 - ' 1 ' M d A , iq .- i . t'-5 -fflqq ' f , ,, - ri , , . Ur, ' ' '6l', 'g,q.'ff,',, 5'-gg, ., iw f ri' Ranger is rather a special name for a ship, a name which carries hints of the l700's as well as the realities of the l970's. Portsmouth, New Hampshire was the birthplace of the first Navy shipito bear the name Ranger. She was a three-masted frigate, and holds a place in American history for several reasonszf she was the first major command for john Paul Jones, she was one of the few U.S. ships captured by the British during the Revolutionary ,War, and most importantly, she was the first vessel flying the U.S. colors to be given recognition by a foreign power when she was saluted by a French fleet off the coast of France in the year 1778. The next five Rangers were not famous, but performed well for the Navy. They were, in order of service: Ranger U: A patrol brigantine in the Great Lakes Fleet during the War of l8lZ. Ranger III: An armed schooner which patrolled Chesapeake Bay in the year 1815. Ranger IV: A steam-and-sail yacht used for oceanic survey work and later used for teaching seamanship to Navy midshipmen. Ranger V: An all-steel craft used for coastal patrols, and Ranger' Vl: An early minesweeper which was retired after only a year's service on patrol. U And then, in 1933, -a new Ranger was born . . . and anyone who saw her could tell that she was something new in fighting ships. Ranger Yll was the first ship in the LIS. fleet to be designed specifically as an aircraft carrier. - Her clean lines . . . from the broad expanse of her flight deck to the sweptback lines of her six deck-edge stacks .. . were soon to become a familiar sight on the convoy routes of the Atlantic. Ranger Vll, or CV-4 as she was officially designated, saw her first wartime service off the African coast while ferrying Army aircraft to aid in the Allied invasion of North Africa. Next, Ranger Vll went to work for the British, leading task forces which provided protective cover for the ever vulnerable convoys at sea. It was during this time that a Vichy French submarine attempted to torpedo CV-45 in fact, he Nazi: even announced Range demise . .. but she went on to sink over 40,000 tons of Nazi shippingf Ranger VII was sent to Hawaii toward the end of th-2 war. There she was used to train pilots in carrier aviation tecliniquesuntil 1946. She ended her career as scrap mfs? late that year. . . .A..-...........,-..--.1mfsvn'-fi-'zfrfvj-jig-gg 1 f N , .7 he . . . Q., V, Tw-' - Q. 1, , . , -. ,

Page 10 text:

The preceding Rangers were all, as has been indicated, good ships and true .. . and the newest of the long line of U.S.S. Rangers is certainly bent on following in the family tradition. Ranger VIII was born at the shipyards in Newport News, Virginia more than 20 years ago. She is one of the Forrestal class of super- carriers, which were created in order to meet the expanding needs of the U.S. Navy's modern aircraft. Ranger VIII, CVA-61, is quite a massive ship . . . an epic poem told in welded steel and haze- gray paint she chronicles what has been learned from 200 years of United States fighting ships She has travelled much since her launching in 1956 and she inspires awe and respect among those who have viewed her mighty form Among those who have visited Ranger VIII through the his USO troupe General Westmoreland former Philippine President Garcia several members of the Japanese Royal Family and many high ranking officers from other nations In her initial peacetime cruises, first in the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and then in the Bay Area and onward to WestPac, she also has been toured by thousands of children, all of whom seemed enthralled by the experience of seeing this floating Ranger City. eRanger's initial cruises to WestPac were during the early l960's, and as is the case with almost any new warship, she spent a good deal of the time as a sort of showboat of American strength and support for the nations of the South East Asian Treaty Organization. And when trouble threatened in the ,area Ranger was on hand to help patrol the Taiwanese coastline thus helping to avert open warfare between Taiwan and Mainland China After this flare up Ranger VIII continued to perform her usual peacetime duties as well as visiting such ports as Pearl Sasebo and Yokosuka These locales were new to some of the men and familiar to others places where Navy men have gathered since the United States began operating in Pacific v -ll' 1579+ , 'n 'A .J- 3 .PP f' ww f -u ,. , M V, Q, , J '-.n , . ri ai Kangrfr ww , D vi waters. The environment was A nearly idyllic for Ranger's crew.. . N And then, in 1964, Ranger went to war and the routine became much different. Wartime service at sea is like no other experience .. . it is at composed of long hours of labor E with very little sleep in between fa jobs, day after day with no land r in sight, and the constant noise of hundreds of aircraft launches and recoveries per day. , , Yet, despite the hardships of war, Ranger's crews always came through . thus it was ' that Ranger earned her nick--f -A I 4. n,' name of Top Gun of Pacific Fleet during her 19655 deployment During Ranger VIII s t deployment to WestPac, she a'Tso showed how readv ship and crew could be for extensrve acfxt. 1 and she was ursefwaf the factors w ich mfaqtle is-H4 X, ,Nh Honor or than. ji t Pri has always b 1 a family tradition vi ith Rangers in Q, the Navy steepeu tory 1 w 1' flakes newest Ranger tri.. 3 1 olgf H J Bar None ,GM -o ' I i ' ' sa - t':f.,',5' X . . . . . .i . I. df 1.31.1 W X D M' ,453- . , . . . , V . P . ffm-Y. Y X ' ' ' n m' -:gg . :yr ea. years have been Bob Hope and Harbor, Subic Bay, Hong Kong, campaign proniise. I 'fy Q .. I ! . V ml '- ff., I. R,-gn ' V' ' v y . . . D 1 ' in . R E ' .v Y , , l n his ' K3 I. lin? fl' - , Ml!-aura gs, . Mft - 4.5 ' '