Synopsis
USS Ranger (CV-4) was the US Navy's first aircraft carrier to be built as such from the keel up. The Ranger helped maintain the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration Good Neighbour Policy, served as a platform for the development of new methods for the operation of carriers and carrier aircraft, continued the navy's work in cold-weather flight operations, pioneered director-controlled anti-aircraft fire and trained many naval aviators. During World War II, the Ranger occupied centre stage in Operation Torch (against the Vichy French positions in North Africa in 1942) and Operation Leader (against German shipping in 1943), which was the navy's only carrier operation above the Arctic Circle during the war. In both instances, the ship's air group faced the requirement to hit legitimate military targets while minimizing civilian casualties, a problem the US would confront again in later conflicts. Whether in peace or war, Robert J. Cressman's emphasis on the human element reinforces his observation that carriers, like people, have multi-faceted personalities, represented by not only the ship and its company, but also the air group for which it serves as home.
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