USS Ranger was the first purpose-built American aircraft carrier and tested the idea of building numerous small, light carriers. She displaced about 14,576 tons yet normally carried seventy-six aircraft, with a maximum of eighty-six, supported by a large hangar, three elevators, and three accelerators. Her funnel arrangement may help explain the design's poor reception. Ranger entered service without torpedo storage or a torpedo-bomber squadron, and a 1941 refit corrected that omission. She later supported Operation Torch and attacked German shipping off Norway during Operation Leader. Her Atlantic employment matched an experimental carrier to a theater where the German fleet was judged less dangerous than Japan's.
Chapter · 7:38-11:08
USS Ranger tests the small purpose-built carrier
Ranger paired a light hull with a large air group, then found a useful Atlantic role despite design and aviation-support limitations.