The USS Ranger (CV-4) was an American aircraft carrier, the keel of which was laid in 1931, launched in 1933, and commissioned by the US Navy in 1934. The length of the ship - at the time of launching - was 222.5 m, width 33.4 m, and full displacement - 17,500 tons. The maximum speed of the USS Ranger aircraft carrier reached 29-30 knots, and its main armament was from 76 to 86 airplanes.
The USS Ranger was the first and only aircraft carrier of the type with the same name, and at the same time it was the first aircraft carrier built from scratch in the history of the US Navy. As the USS Ranger was built in accordance with the provisions of the Washington Treaty signed in 1922, its designers, trying to keep the displacement limit, gave up heavy weapons or armor in favor of the largest possible number of taken on-board aircraft. It was also assumed that the USS Ranger would not operate alone, but in strong teams with US Navy liners, which made it relatively slow. When the US joined World War II, the USS Ranger was in the South Atlantic, and the first major combat action in which it participated was supporting Operation Torch at the end of 1942. In September 1943, it was transferred to Great Britain, where it was part of the Home Fleet and took part in Operation Leader. In 1944, he returned to the USA, and in July that year he was transferred to the Pacific, but he did not take part in any major struggles in this reservoir, fulfilling transport and training functions until 1945. In October 1946 he was decommissioned.