USS Ranger (CV-4)
History of the USS Ranger Aircraft Carrier
The USS Ranger was ordered for the U.S. Navy on November 1, 1930 – the first U.S. Navy ship designed and built as an aircraft carrier. Her keel was laid down by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Virginia on September 26, 1931. She was launched on February 25, 1933 and commissioned on June 4, 1934 under the command of Captain Arthur L. Bristol.
For her shakedown cruise, USS Ranger departed Norfolk, Virginia on August 17, 1934 to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Montevideo. After her return to Norfolk in October, she proceeded to the Pacific, arriving in San Diego, California on April 15, 1935. Over the next four years, she took part in the annual Fleet Problems and West Coast operations that ranged from Seattle, Washington to Peru.
On January 4, 1939, the USS Ranger headed for winter fleet operations in the Caribbean. She then sailed north to Norfolk, Virginia, where she arrived on April 18. She operated along the East Coast and the Caribbean before commencing Neutrality Patrol along mid-Atlantic trade routes in the autumn.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, USS Ranger was returning to Norfolk from her patrol. She patrolled the South Atlantic before entering Norfolk Navy Yard for repairs. Once her repair work was completed, the aircraft carrier served as the flagship of Commander Carriers U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
In April 1942, the USS Ranger headed to Naval Air Station Quonset Point in Rhode Island to embark men and aircraft for the Gold Coast of Africa. She returned to Rhode Island on May 28, patrolled up to Naval Station Argentia, and headed back to Africa with more planes and men. Upon her return home, the aircraft carrier conducted battle practice and training first off Norfolk then out of Bermuda.
USS Ranger, the largest aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Fleet, led her task force during Operation Torch in November, the amphibious assault of French Morocco. She destroyed numerous enemy aircraft and damaged enemy ships and shore batteries during the 496 combat sorties of the three-day operation. After Casablanca capitulated on November 11, the carrier departed for home the next day.
From December 1942 until February 1943, the USS Ranger underwent overhaul at Norfolk Navy Yard. On February 23, she delivered 74 Army aircraft to Casablanca. Back at home, she conducted patrols and pilot training along the coast of New England.
On August 11, USS Ranger sailed from Nova Scotia to join the British Home Fleet at Scapa Flow in Scotland. She patrolled the approaches to the British Isles until October 2, 1943, when she headed to Norwegian waters to attack German shipping as part of Operation Leader. The aircraft carrier returned to Scapa Flow four days later, extending her patrol to Iceland until she sailed for home, arriving in Boston, Massachusetts on December 4.
The USS Ranger became a training carrier at Quonset Point in January 1944. Her training duties were interrupted in April so she could transport men and aircraft from New York to Casablanca. She carried with her some military passengers for transportation back to New York City. From there, she proceeded to Norfolk Navy Yard in Virginia to for upgrades and overhaul.
Once her yard work was completed, USS Ranger sailed for San Diego via the Panama Canal, embarking a few hundred U.S. Army passengers at Balboa. After those passengers disembarked in California, she picked up nearly 1,000 U.S. Marines along with other men and aircraft for transport to Hawaii, where she arrived on August 3. While in Hawaii, the aircraft carrier conducted flight training operations.
USS Ranger returned to San Diego, California in October 1944 to train new U.S. Navy pilots for combat duty. She continued her training operations for the remainder of the war, making her the only American aircraft carrier that existed prior to the start of the war but never engaged the Japanese in combat.
On September 30, 1945, the USS Ranger departed San Diego, California, picking up passengers at Balboa for transport to New Orleans, Louisiana. She celebrated Navy Day there before heading to Pensacola, Florida. The carrier sailed to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Pennsylvania via Norfolk. She operated along the East Coast until she was decommissioned on October 18, 1946. The aircraft carrier was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on October 29, 1946 and sold for scrap on January 28, 1947. She was awarded two battle stars for her service in World War II.
The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma .
Sources include:
John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed, "Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences," Ulster Med. J. 77(3):191-200 (Sep 2008) Naval Historical Center, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships—USS Ranger
