USS Ranger (CV-61)
USS Ranger in August 1961
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | Ranger |
Namesake | Ranger |
Ordered | 1 February 1954 |
Builder | Newport News Shipbuilding |
Cost |
|
Laid down | 2 August 1954 |
Launched | 29 September 1956 |
Sponsored by |
|
Acquired | 1 August 1957 |
Commissioned | 10 August 1957 |
Decommissioned | 10 July 1993 |
Reclassified | CV-61 |
Stricken | 8 March 2004 |
Identification |
|
Fate | Scrapped, 1 November 2017 |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Forrestal-class aircraft carrier |
Displacement |
|
Length | 1,046 ft (319 m) |
Beam |
|
Draft | 37 ft (11 m) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) |
Complement | 3,826 officers and men. |
Sensors and processing systems | |
Electronic warfare & decoys | Mark 36 SRBOC |
Armament |
|
Aircraft carried | 70–90 |
The seventh USS Ranger (CV/CVA-61) was the third of four
Commissioned in 1957, she served extensively in the Pacific, especially the Vietnam War, for which she earned 13 battle stars. Near the end of her career, she also served in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf.
Ranger was decommissioned in 1993, and was stored at Bremerton, Washington until March 2015. She was then moved to Brownsville for scrapping, which was completed in November 2017.
Construction and trials
Ranger was the first American
Ranger joined the
Service
The carrier spent the remainder of 1958 in pilot qualification training for
With Carrier Air Group 9 embarked, she departed Alameda on 6 February 1960 for a second WestPac deployment and returned to Alameda 30 August. From 11 August 1961 through 8 March 1962, Ranger deployed to the Far East a third time.[4]
The next seven months were filled with intensive training along the western seaboard in preparation for operations in Southeast Asia. Ranger departed Alameda on 9 November for brief operations off Hawaii, thence proceeded, via Okinawa, to the Philippines. She steamed to the
In May 1964, Ranger was deployed near French Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean to monitor the French nuclear tests on Moruroa, a task made possible by launching and recovering a Lockheed U-2 from its flight deck. Work on modifying the U-2 for carrier landing and take-off started in late 1963, and one accident occurred during the carrier landing operation when the aircraft piloted by test pilot Bob Schumacher crashed.[5][6]
Vietnam War service
Ranger again sailed for the Far East on 6 August 1964. This deployment came on the heels of the
General William Westmoreland, commanding Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, visited Ranger on 9 March 1965 to confer with Rear Admiral Miller. Ranger continued air strikes on enemy targets inland until 13 April when a fuel line broke, ignited and engulfed her No. 1 main machinery room in flames. The fire was extinguished in little over an hour. There was one fatality. She put into Subic Bay 15 April and sailed on the 20th for Alameda, arriving home on 6 May. She entered the San Francisco Naval Shipyard 13 May and remained there under overhaul until 30 September 1965.[4]
Following refresher training, Ranger departed Alameda on 10 December 1965 to rejoin the 7th Fleet. She and her embarked
Ranger departed the Gulf of Tonkin on 6 August for Subic Bay, then steamed via Yokosuka for Alameda, arriving on the 25th. She stood out of San Francisco Bay 28 September and entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard two days later for overhaul. The carrier departed Puget Sound on 30 May 1967 for training out of San Diego and Alameda. On 21 July 1967, she logged her 88,000th carrier landing.[4]
From June until November, Ranger underwent a long and intensive period of training designed to make her fully combat ready. Attack Carrier Air Wing 2 (CVW-2) embarked on 15 September 1967, with the new
Ranger departed Alameda on 4 November 1967 for WestPac. Arriving at Yokosuka on 21 November, she relieved
Arriving on station on 3 December 1967, Ranger commenced another period of sustained combat operations against North Vietnam. During the next five months, her planes hit a wide variety of targets, including ferries, bridges, airfields, and military installations. Truck parks, rail facilities, antiaircraft guns, and SAM sites were also treated to doses of Air Wing 2's firepower. Bob Hope's Christmas Show came to Ranger in the Gulf of Tonkin on 21 December. Another welcome break in the intense pace of operations came with a call at Yokosuka during the first week of April. Returning to Yankee Station on 11 April, Ranger again struck objectives in North Vietnam.[4]
At the end of January 1968, Pueblo was seized by North Korea. Ranger turned north and proceeded at full speed from the tropical waters off Vietnam to the frigid waters off North Korea as part of Operation Formation Star. The ship had been on the combat line in Vietnam for one month and was due to for rest and recreation. At the conclusion of the North Korea deployment, the ship had been at sea for 65 days. The carrier stopped at the small Japanese port of Sasebo for several days, then proceeded back to combat operations.[citation needed]
After five months of intensive operations, Ranger called at Hong Kong on 5 May 1968 and then steamed for home. There followed a shipyard availability at Puget Sound that ended with Ranger's departure 29 July for San Francisco. Three months of leave, upkeep and training culminated in another WestPac deployment 26 October 1968 through 17 May 1969.[4]
She departed Alameda on yet another WestPac deployment in October 1969 as the flagship for Rear Admiral J.C. Donaldson, Commander, Carrier Division Three, and Captain J.P. Moorer as commanding officer,[7] and remained so employed until 18 May 1970. During this time, the ship spent at least two extended periods on Yankee Station, the longest being 45 days, due to mechanical problems with the carrier that was to relieve her. A pleasant break in the lives of Ranger's crew came with the arrival of the Bob Hope show on 24 December 1969. Upon leaving Yankee after one tour and on the way to Sasebo, Ranger was ordered to stand off the coast of Korea for three days due to North Korea forcing down a US C-130 and holding the crew. Initially, Ranger was to leave the line on Yankee Station for a week of R&R in Subic Bay while offloading supplies, then to Japan and on to Australia and home. A day before Ranger was to leave the line she was ordered to hold on station and fly the first sorties on Cambodia. Finally leaving Yankee Station, Ranger made a fast three-day offload in Subic Bay and a two-day port call in Sasebo and back to Alameda, arriving 1 June. Ranger spent the rest of the summer engaged in operations off the west coast, departing for her sixth WestPac cruise in late October 1970. On 10 March 1971, Ranger, along with USS Kitty Hawk, set a record of 233 strike sorties for one day in action against North Vietnam.[8] During April, the three carriers assigned to Task Force 77 – Ranger, Kitty Hawk, and USS Hancock – provided a constant two-carrier posture on Yankee Station. Hours of employment remained unchanged, with one carrier on daylight hours and one on the noon to midnight schedule. Strike emphasis was placed on the interdiction of major Laotian entry corridors to South Vietnam. She returned to Alameda 7 June 1971, and remained in port for the rest of 1971 and the first five months of 1972 undergoing regular overhaul.[8]
On 27 May 1972, she returned to West Coast operation until 16 November, when she embarked upon her seventh WestPac deployment. This had been delayed four months when one of the engines was disabled after Navy fireman E-3 Patrick Chenoweth was accused of dropping a heavy paint scraper into a main reduction gear, one of around two dozen acts of sabotage Ranger suffered between 7 June 1972 and 16 October 1972.[9] Chenoweth was charged with "sabotage in time of war", and faced 30 years imprisonment, but was acquitted by a general court-martial.[10]
On 18 December 1972, the Linebacker II campaign was initiated when negotiations in the Paris peace talks stalemated. Participating carriers were Ranger, Enterprise, Saratoga, Oriskany, and America. In an intensified version of Operation Linebacker, bombing of North Vietnam above the 20th parallel and reseeding of the mine fields were resumed, and concentrated strikes were carried out against surface-to-air missile and antiaircraft artillery sites, enemy army barracks, petroleum storage areas, Haiphong naval and shipyard areas, and railroad and truck stations. Navy tactical air attack sorties were centered in the coastal areas around Hanoi and Haiphong, with 505 Navy sorties were carried out in this area. These operations ended on 29 December when the North Vietnamese returned to the peace table; on 27 January 1973, the Vietnam cease-fire came into effect, and Oriskany, America, Enterprise, and Ranger, on Yankee Station, cancelled all combat sorties.[8]
Post-war service in the 1970s
Ranger returned to Alameda in August 1973. She was ordered immediately to refit and repair at Long Beach Naval Base where she was prepared for her next WESPAC Cruise over the next ninety days. Her air wing was lifted aboard by giant crane in Long Beach. She spent two weeks shaking down active duty and Reserve pilots. She returned to Alameda. There were two more two-week shake down cruises between January and April 1974. On 7 May 1974 she deployed again to the western Pacific. During this cruise, Ranger was again deployed to Yankee Station to participate in operations significant to the withdrawal of forces involved there. She returned to homeport on 18 October. On 28 May 1976, while on deployment, helicopter crews from HS-4 aboard Ranger, detachments from HC-3 on Camden, Mars and White Plains, and helicopters from Naval Air Station Cubi Point, Republic of the Philippines, assisted in Philippine disaster relief efforts in the flood ravaged areas of central Luzon. Over 1,900 people were evacuated; more than 370,000 pounds (170,000 kg) of relief supplies and 9,340 US gallons (35,400 L) of fuel were provided by Navy and Air Force helicopters.[8]
On 12 July 1976, Ranger and her escort ships of Task Force 77.7 entered the Indian Ocean and were assigned to operate off the coast of
In February 1977, Ranger departed
On 21 February 1979, Ranger deployed for her 14th WestPac cruise, tentatively scheduled to cross the Indian Ocean to present a show of force during the
1980s
In September 1980, Ranger departed her homeport of San Diego for the 15th WestPac cruise and again crossed into the Indian Ocean via the
On 20 March 1981, under the command of CAPT Dan Pedersen, Ranger rescued 138 Vietnamese boat people from the South China Sea and brought them to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Manila, Philippines. In the same year, following the refugee rescue in 1981, Pedersen was given a nonpunitive letter of censure by Vice Adm. Robert F. Schoultz, commander of the Naval Air Force, United States Pacific Fleet, (COMNAVAIRPAC), after a three-week investigation into the 14 April 1981 death of Airman Paul Trerice, 20 years old, of Algonac, Michigan. Trerice had died after being on a bread-and-water diet for three days, then taking part in punitive exercises in the correctional custody unit. According to The Washington Post, "Trerice became abusive in the Ranger's correctional custody unit and had to be subdued in a struggle shortly before his death."[15] The ship was just completing a successful WestPAC/Indian Ocean deployment and was at Subic Bay at the time.[16] The Navy reported the airman faced disciplinary action for leaving his post and for leaving the ship twice without permission in Hong Kong.[17]
A federal court dismissed criminal charges brought by the Trerice family against Pedersen and other officers on the Ranger, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal.[18]
On 26 February 1983, she received an official visit from Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, who were on a West Coast tour to visit San Diego.[19][20][21]
Ranger entered the history books on 21 March 1983 when an all-woman flight crew flying a
On 1 November 1983, a fire broke out in #4 Main Machinery Room due to a fuel spill during fuel transfer operations while Ranger was deployed in the North Arabian Sea east of Oman. Six crewmen were killed as a result of the fire,[22] which knocked out one of the ship's four engines and disabled one of her four shafts.[citation needed]Ranger returned to the Philippines after 121 consecutive days at sea.[citation needed] One enlisted man was imprisoned for two months of a three-month sentence for dereliction of duty relating to the fire, but the Navy released him early and reprimanded four officers after an investigation in 1984. The report blamed the fire, which resulted in $1.7 million ($4.99 million today) in damages in addition to the deaths, on engineering officers and their superiors.[23]
In early 1985, Ranger was used to film some interior scenes for the film Top Gun. In 1986, the ship stood in for USS Enterprise (CVN-65) for scenes filmed for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.[24]
On 14 July 1987, Ranger started her "Pearl" Anniversary Cruise. During this cruise, Ranger relieved Midway and her carrier group in the Indian Ocean. During this period, Ranger took part in Operation Earnest Will under which the Kuwait tankers were reflagged under US colors.[25]
On 24 July 1987, Tactical Electronics Warfare Squadron 131 (
On 19 October 1987, Ranger took part in Operation Nimble Archer, an attack on two Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf by US Navy forces. The attack was a response to Iran's missile attack three days earlier on MV Sea Isle City, a reflagged Kuwaiti oil tanker at anchor off Kuwait. The action occurred during Operation Earnest Will, the effort to protect Kuwaiti shipping amid the Iran-Iraq War. Air cover was provided by William H. Standley, two F-14 Tomcat fighters, and an E-2 Hawkeye from Ranger.[25]
On 3 August 1989, Ranger rescued 39 Vietnamese refugees, adrift for 10 days on a barge in heavy seas and monsoon rains in the South China Sea, about 80 miles (130 km) from NAS Cubi Point.
1990s
President
An
On 26 January, an
On 6 February, an F-14A Tomcat of Fighter Squadron 1 (
On 21 April 1992, in harmony with other World War II 50th-anniversary festivities, Ranger participated in the commemorative re-enactment of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, Japan. Two World War II-era B-25 bombers were craned on board, and over 1,500 guests (including national, local and military media) were embarked to witness the two vintage aircraft travel down Ranger' flight deck and take off. In June, Ranger made an historic port visit to Vancouver, British Columbia, in conjunction with her final phase of pre-deployment workups.[8]
Fully combat ready, Ranger began her 21st and final western Pacific and Indian Ocean deployment on 1 August 1992. On 18 August, she entered Yokosuka, for a six-day port visit and upkeep. Ranger entered the Persian Gulf on 14 September by transiting the Straits of Hormuz. The next day, Ranger relieved Independence in an unusual close-aboard ceremony and along with her embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing 2, immediately began flying patrol missions in support of the United Kingdom and United States-declared "No Fly" zone in southern Iraq: Operation Southern Watch.[8]
While in the Persian Gulf, former Cold War adversaries became at-sea partners as Ranger, British, and French naval forces joined with the Russian guided missile destroyer Admiral Vinogradov for an exercise involving communication, maneuvering, and signaling drills. During joint operations, a Russian Kamov Ka-27 "Helix" helicopter landed aboard Ranger. It was the first such landing on a US Navy aircraft carrier.[8]
Ranger left the Persian Gulf on 4 December 1992 and steamed at high speed to the coast of
On 19 December 1992, Ranger was relieved on station by Kitty Hawk and began her last journey homeward to San Diego.[8]
Decommissioning and fate
After the late 1980s defense cuts, Ranger did not undergo the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) modernization process as did her three sisters and the later Kitty Hawk-class ships, and by the early 1990s, her material condition was declining. Both the outgoing Bush and incoming Clinton administrations recommended cuts to the defense budget, so the retirement of Ranger, along with her sisters Forrestal and Saratoga, was put forth. Ranger was decommissioned on 10 July 1993 after 36 years of service, and was at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, Washington. This decommissioning came instead of a refit scheduled for the same year. Such an extension would have extended Ranger's life into 2002, requiring a reauthorization in 1994.[27] In September 2010, the not-for-profit USS Ranger Foundation submitted an application to Naval Sea Systems Command proposing the donation of Ranger for use as a museum ship and multipurpose facility, to be located on the Columbia River at Chinook Landing Marine Park in Fairview, Oregon.[28][29] However, in September 2012, NAVSEA rejected the foundation's proposal, and redesignated the ship for scrapping.[30] Preparations for disposal Ranger were completed 29 May 2014.[31]
In August 2014, a new attempt began to convince the Navy not to scrap the ship. A petition on Change.org attracted over 2500 signatures. The hope was that Ranger could be located in Long Beach harbor as a museum. However, when asked by the Long Beach Press-Telegram, NAVSEA stated that Ranger was no longer available for donation and was slated to be scrapped in 2015.[32]
On 22 December 2014, the U.S. Navy paid one cent to International Shipbreaking of
On 7 April 2015, ex-Ranger was seen anchored about three miles offshore at Panama City, Panama, attracting a lot of wild speculation as President Obama was scheduled to arrive two days later, for the 7th Summit of the Americas. Newspapers went so far as to repeat the local speculation that the ship was there to provide security for President Obama.[34] On 12 July 2015, Ranger arrived at Brownsville for scrapping. The scrapping process was completed on 1 November 2017, though more than five tons of historic items from the ship were preserved for display at the USS Lexington Museum.[35]
Both of Ranger's anchors were reused on the 2003 commissioned, USS Ronald Reagan.[36]
Awards and decorations
Ranger earned 13 battle stars for service during the Vietnam War.[4]
Joint Meritorious Unit Award | Navy Unit Commendation with two stars | Meritorious Unit Commendation with four stars |
Navy E Ribbon with two Battle "E" devices |
Navy Expeditionary Medal | National Defense Service Medal with one star |
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with seven stars |
Vietnam Service Medal with ten stars |
Southwest Asia Service Medal with three stars |
Humanitarian Service Medal with one star |
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with ten stars |
Republic of Vietnam Meritorious
Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross) |
Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal | Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) | Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) |
References
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
- ISBN 0-7924-5626-2.
- ^ "CV-59 FORRESTAL class". Globalsecurity.org.
- ^ "United States Naval Institute Proceedings July 1958". www.jackcoggins.info.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Ranger (CVA-61) X". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 16 September 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ Scott, Jeff (28 October 2001). "U-2 Aircraft Carrier Operations". aerospaceweb.org. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-393-05383-8.
- ^ USS Ranger Cruise book 69-70
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "USS Ranger (CVA-61)". US Navy Legacy. 15 June 2009.
- ^ "Sailor aboard Ranger charged with Sabotage". Observer-Reporter. Washington, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. 20 November 1972.
- ^ "Ranger Sabotage Trial". sirnosir.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2007.
- ^ "US carrier, oil tanker in collision". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 April 1979.
- ^ "Fortune". Atomized Jr. blog. 7 July 2009. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014.[unreliable source?]
- ^ "Oil Spill incidents in Malaysian Waters". Marine Department Malaysia. Archived from the original on 4 September 2003.
- ^ "Salvors Pump Oil from Crippled Tanker". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. Reuters. 9 April 1979.
- ^ "Death of Sailor, Disciplinary Incidents on U.S. Aircraft Carrier Being Probed".
- ^ "A Sailor's Death". TIME. 25 May 1981. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008.
- ^ Zurawik, David; Volgenau, Gerald (29 April 1981). "Seaman's Death under Investigation". Boca Raton News. Boca Raton, Florida.
- ^ "Trerice v. Pedersen". United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. F2d (769): 1398. 28 August 1985.
- ^ "A look back at Queen Elizabeth II's San Diego visit". FOX 5 San Diego. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
- ^ The Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II on The USS Ranger in San Diego 1983, retrieved 10 September 2022
- ^ Remembering Queen Elizabeth II's Visit To San Diego In 1983, retrieved 10 September 2022
- ^ "Navy cites officers after shipboard fire". The Courier. Prescott, Arizona. UPI. 22 November 1984.
- ^ "Officers blamed for fire; sailor released from brig". Chronicle. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. 24 November 1984.
- ^ "Aircraft carrier USS Ranger, used in movies 'Top Gun' and 'Star Trek IV', heading for Texas scrap yard". Q13 Fox. Associated Press. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Deployments of USS Ranger CV-61". The unofficial US Navy Site.
- ^ ISBN 0313310246.
- ^ Congress of the United States of America, Congressional Budget Office (November 1987). "Naval Combat Aircraft: Issues and Options" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 71. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ "Timeline". USS Ranger Foundation. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
- ^ Bjork, Nick (26 September 2011). "Aircraft carrier could become museum in Fairview". Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
- ^ Hottman, Sara (4 October 2012). "Fairview's bid for USS Ranger fails; Navy selling carrier for scrap instead". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon.
- ^ "NAVSEA Inactive Ship Inventory" (PDF). NAVSEA. 25 August 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2014.
- ^ Bradley, Eric (16 August 2014). "Former sailor wants to bring 'Top Gun' star USS Ranger to Long Beach". Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California.
- ^ LaGrone, Sam (22 December 2014). "Navy Pays Texas Ship Breaker a Penny to Dismantle Carrier Ranger". USNI News.
- ^ "Includes a photo of her anchored off Panama City". Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
- ^ "Iconic USS Ranger Dismantled". MarineLink. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ "NAVY'S NEWEST ANCHORED IN HISTORY". Daily Press. 24 February 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
External links
- U.S. Navy websites:
- Naval Vessel Register – CV-61
- history.navy.mil: Navy photos of Ranger Archived 17 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- USS Ranger from navsource.org
- NAVSEA – Historic Significance Evaluation, USS Ranger, 30 November 2010.
- Navy Awards Contract for Ranger Dismantling, 22 December 2014