Aerial view of USS Ranger (CVA 61) 3/4 bow, high oblique. Official USN photograph, USN 1039396, dated October 26, 1957. Released. From US Naval Photographic Center, US Naval Station, Washington DC.

Official US Navy Photograph, #USN-1030785, of an A4D-1 Skyhawk of VA-12 Squadron, the "Flying Ubangis" (also known as the "Kiss of Death" because of their insignia.) The aircraft, BuNo 142179, has just missed the wires while attempting to land aboard USS Ranger (CVA-61), during CARQUAL Operations near Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Photo is dated November 2, 1957.

The "Kiss of Death" was established as VBF-4 on May 12, 1945; redesignated VF-2A on November 15, 1946; redesignated VF-12 on August 2, 1948; and redesignated VA-12 on August 1, 1955. They received their new A4D-1 Skyhawks in April 1957. During this time, VA-12 was part of CVG-1.

An A3D-2 Skywarrior assigned to VAH-6 "Fleurs" approaches for a landing aboard the attack aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CVA-61), April 23, 1958. US Navy photo (DVIC id: DN-SC-88-06693.)

This particular aircraft, BuNo 142401, was converted to the KA-3B tanker version in 1967.

USS Ranger (CVA-61), circa June 1958, with Carrier Air Group 14.

USS Ranger (CVA-61) catapults four F8U Crusader jet fighters in quick succession from her bow and waist catapults, during operations in the eastern Pacific, circa 1958. An F4D Skyray fighter is partially visible in the foreground. Ship at left is USS Thetis Bay (CVHA-1).

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph (# NH 84337).

Official USN photograph, USN 1038750, from US Naval Photographic Center, US Naval Station, Washington DC. Caption on back reads: "Aerial oblique of the USS Rowan (DD 782) acting as plane guard for the USS Ranger (CVA 61) while enroute for California." It must have been taken sometime between 1958 and 1963.

Ponchatoula (AO-148) during an UNREP with Ranger (CVA-61), date and place unknown.

US Navy photo from All Hands magazine, April 1959.

USS Ranger (CVA-61) underway off Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 19 July 1959.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center (# NH 97685).

"Aerial view of USS Ranger (CVA-61)." From the NAVSEA Journal.

This photo seems to have been taken sometime in 1960-1963, before removal of forward 5" guns.

USS Ranger (CVA-61) at sea during her third deployment to the western Pacific, 26 August 1961. Among the planes parked on her flight deck are eight A3D twin-engine jet bombers assigned to VAH-6 "Fleurs," based at NAS Whidbey Island.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center (# NH 97686).

Firedrake (AE-14) replenishing Coontz (DLG-9) to starboard and Ranger (CVA-61) to port, during a WESTPAC deployment in the early 1960s. U.S. Navy photo.

Mess cook cleans "coppers" in the carrier's galley, during operations in the South China Sea in August 1964. Photographed by JOC R.D. Moeser.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph (# USN 1142206).

USS Ranger (CVA-61) maneuvers at high speed, sometime in the second half of the 1960s.

Mark 117, 500-pound and 750-pound bombs lined up on the carrier's flight deck, awaiting loading on aircraft for strikes on North Vietnam. Photographed in the South China Sea by JOC Robert S. Moeser and PH1 Jean C. Cote during February and March 1965.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph (# USN 1110198).

USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) steams past USS Ranger (CVA-61) in the South China Sea, 24 March 1965, during the early days of the air campaign against North Vietnam.

Aircraft in the foreground is a North American RA-5C Vigilante reconaissance plane (BuNo 149313) assigned to RVAH-5 "Savage Sons." Planes parked beyond it include McDonnell F-4B Phantom II fighters and Douglas A-1 Skyraider attack aircraft. Photographed by JOC R.D. Moeser, USN.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph (# USN 1110187-C).

Task Force 77 operating in the South China Sea, March 1965. It had recently launched strikes against North Vietnam. Carriers present are (clockwise from bottom): Ranger (CVA-61), Yorktown (CVS-10), Coral Sea (CVA-43) and Hancock (CVA-19). The guided missile cruiser Canberra (CAG-2) is in the center of the formation. The destroyer screen includes: England (DLG-22), Gurke (DD-783), Rogers (DD-876), Walker (DD-517), O'Bannon (DD-450), Somers (DD-947), Jenkins (DD-447), John A. Bole (DD-755), Higbee (DD-806), Buck (DD-761), Joseph Strauss (DDG-16) and Ernest G. Small (DD-838). This photograph was specially posed, and does not represent a normal operating formation.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph (# USN 1109915).

James Shriver, PHCM, USN (Ret), notes: "The photo [...] was taken in an exercise we called 'Operation Candid Camera.' On day one it was tried by a Vigilante photo plane. They missed. So the next day it was tried again and the photos were taken with a hand held camera from a HS-8 helicopter. The photographer was PH1 Elvin C. Conarty (now deceased). I was there... I processed the film and printed the photos."

USS Ranger (CVA-61) underway during her second WestPac/Vietnam cruise, December 10, 1965–August 25, 1966. Carrier Air Wing 14 (CVW-14) deployed with the ship.

NS026144: an F-4B Phantom II of VF-142 "Ghostriders" about to catch the wire.

USS Ranger (CVA-61) underway, circa 1967, location unknown.

Paricutin (AE-18) and Ranger (CVA-61) during underway replenishment, circa 1967-69.

US Navy photo.

USS Ranger (CVA-61) launches a bomb-laden A-7A "Corsair II" attack aircraft from one of her waist catapults, during operations in the Gulf of Tonkin in January 1968. Photographed by PH1 Donald F. Grantham.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph (# USN 1130916).

Note on Ranger's Sixth WestPac Cruise:

According to DANFS: "Ranger spent the rest of the summer engaged in operations off the west coast, departing for her sixth WestPac cruise 27 September [1970]. She returned to Alameda 7 June 1971".

According to a former Ranger sailor these dates are incorrect: "we left on Tuesday, October 27, 1970. The cruise book even has that date. [...] We left Japan on June 7, 1971 and arrived home on Thursday June 17, 1971".

Images at left show (top to bottom):

• The 1970-71 Cruise Book, page 2.
• "Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons" (published by the Naval Historical Center), Vol. 1, Appendix 3, page 529.
• "United States Naval Aviation 1910-1995" (published by the Naval Aviation History Office), Appendix 26, page 713. [Contributed by Fabio Peña].

USS Ranger (CVA-61) underway in the Pacific Ocean, 1 May 1975. Photographed by PH2 Paul Burns. Note round helicopter spots painted on her flight deck.

Ranger was the last of the Forrestals to retain 5"/54 Mk.42 DP mounts. By the time this photo was taken there were only two of them, one on each of the aft sponsons. During a later period in dock (1977-1978) the 5" guns were replaced by three BPDMS launchers. Note that the number of arrester wires had been reduced to four.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center (# NH 97687).

(Thanks to Robert Hurst, who provided additional info).

USS Hull (DD-945) steaming alongside USS Ranger (CVA-61) in the Pacific Ocean, 25 June 1975.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph (# K-109550).

Hull was conducting tests of the Mark 71 8"/55 Major Caliber Lightweight Gun. Note 8" gun mount forward, and compare its size with that of the two 5"/54 Mark 42 gun mounts aft.

Underway at sea, circa 1978. This photograph was received by the Naval Photographic Center in May 1978.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center (photo # NH-97688).

A vertical view of the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-61) underway in the Pacific Ocean, 15 June 1981. US Navy photo (DVIC id: DNSN8506135).

A starboard quarter view of USS Ranger (CV-61). Sailors man the rails as the carrier enters Pearl Harbor, HI. Photo is dated March 1, 1982 but it might have been actually taken in April. US Navy photo (DVIC id: DN-SC-82-07170).

Aerial starboard bow view of part of Task Group 70 underway in the Philippine Sea, May 1982, during Exercise Readex '82. Ships are, left to right: a Knox-class frigate; the combat stores ship USS San Jose (AFS-7), see photo NS024159; the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-61); a Spruance-class destroyer; the guided missile destroyer USS Joseph Strauss (DDG-16), see photo NS024159; a Mispillion-class "jumboized" fleet oiler, possibly USNS Mispillion (T-AO-105) herself; the command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19); the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CV-41); a Leahy-class guided missile cruiser, possibly USS Reeves (CG-24); a Spruance-class destroyer; and a Knox-class frigate. US Navy photo by PH1 Barbante (DVIC id: DN-ST-82-07480).

Crew members form the words "Top Gun 25" on the flight deck of USS Ranger (CV-61), underway in the Pacific Ocean, August 1982, to commemorate the carrier's 25th Anniversary. "Top Gun" was Ranger's nickname. US Navy photo (DVIC id: DN-SC-94-00447).

25th Anniversary Program, August 10, 1982.

Vice President George Bush and VADM Crawford Easterling visit the bridge of the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-61) during a tour of the ship, May 14, 1983. Photo by PHC T. Mitchell, available from the Defense Visual Information Center, id.: DN-SN-83-10202.

On November 1, 1983, a major fuel and oil fire broke out in an engine room while the ship operated in the North Arabian Sea. Six crewmembers were killed and 35 injured. The fire was reportedly extinguished within an hour and the ship continued operations.

USS Cook (FF-1083) and USS Ranger (CV-61) underway, January 1987. Airborne is a H-3 Sea King helicopter.

U.S. Navy photo (DVIC id.: #DN-SC-05-06694).

USS Ranger (CV-61) departing San Diego, California, in February 1987. Photographed by PH3 Wimmer.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center (# NH 97689-KN).

Crew members form the phrase "We The People" on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-61), May 1987, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the signing of the constitution of the United States. The Constitution was formally signed on 17 September 1787. The guided missile cruiser USS Long Beach (CGN-9), bottom, and the guided missile frigate USS Lewis B. Puller (FFG-23) were accompanying Ranger.

U.S. Navy photo by PH3 Ron Wimmer (DVIC id.: #DNSC8706761).

Crewmembers man the rails by the carrier's island, as she departs Naval Air Station, North Island, California, on 24 February 1989 to begin a western Pacific deployment. Photographed by PH1 Michael D.P. Flynn.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center (# NH 97691).

Marines and Sailors of the carrier's crew man the rails as she leaves Honolulu, Hawaii, on 10 March 1989, en route to the western Pacific. Photographed by PH3 Bos. Tug at left is Niantic (YTB-781).

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center (# NH 97690-KN).

USS Ranger (CVA-61) was commissioned at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Aug. 10, 1957, CAPT Charles D. Booth II, in command. Here, three Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 14 (HS-14) SH-3H Sea King helicopters fly in formation past Ranger (then CV-61) as the ship leaves San Diego to begin her WestPac '90 (Gulf War) cruise, Dec. 8, 1990.

US Navy photo by PH2 Henry (available from the Defense Visual Information Center, id.: DN-SC-93-05041).

A port bow view of the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-61) as the vessel heads out of San Diego Channel en route to the Pacific Ocean, 17 March 1991, to take part in anti-submarine warfare exercises with USS Ford (FFG-54). The guided missile frigate is astern of Ranger in the channel.

U.S. Navy photo by PHAN Rich (DVIC id.: #DNSC9400475).

Waxahachie (YTB-814) alongside Ranger (CV-61) in preparation for assisting the aircraft carrier while docking at Naval Supply Center Pearl Harbor, HI., June 1, 1991. Ranger was stopping off at Pearl Harbor while enroute to her home port after returning from deployment in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm. US Navy photo by PH3 Bos (DVIC id: DN-SC-93-04709).

(See the Waxahachie and Niantic pages for more photos.)

Crew members man the rails aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-61) as commercial harbor tug Cheryl Anne maneuvers the vessel into port. Ranger was returning to Naval Station, North Island after being deployed in the Persian Gulf area during Operation Desert Storm. San Diego, California, June 8, 1991.

US Navy photo by PH1 Paul Shaw (available from the Defense Visual Information Center, id.: DN-ST-92-00354.)

Her 24th and final deployment, August 1, 1992 through January 30, 1993 saw Ranger's planes (Carrier Air Wing Two, CVW-2) in action over Iraq (Operation Southern Watch, September-December) and Somalia (Operation Restore Hope, December).

An aerial port side view of Ranger (CV-61), with her Sailors manning the rails and aircraft of Carrier Air Wing 2 (CVW-2) on her deck, as she is nudged into position by harbor tugs Waxahachie (YTB-814), Niantic (YTB-781) and Neodesha (YTB-815), at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, HI, March 8, 1993. US Navy photo by PH3 Bos (DVIC id: DN-SC-05-10867).

(See the Waxahachie and Niantic pages for more photos.)

Bremerton, Wash., 2006. Four aircraft carriers (left to right): USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), ex-USS Ranger (CV-61), ex-USS Constellation (CV-64) and ex-USS Independence (CV-62). Also visible in this photo are a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, a Knox-class frigate and the fast combat support ships ex-USS Sacramento (AOE-1) and ex-USS Camden (AOE-2).

Ex-USS Ranger (CV-61) moored at Bremerton, Washington, on 28 August 1998. In the background is ex-USS Midway (CV-41). The photograph was taken from the stern of USS California (CGN-36), which was being formally deactivated.