Her first orders were in Atlantic waters where she trained and was stocked prior to journeying to the Pacific to join the Pacific Fleet in 1957. The warship was deployed in peacetime throughout the Pacific Theater and was on station when the American involvement in Vietnam grew. She arrived just after the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August of 1964 and ensured protection of American interests there for the interim.
In time, her warplanes were called into action on a consistent basis and they carried out a multitude of sorties including Combat Air Patrol (CAP), direct-attack and escort against NVA targets. In December of 1967, USS Ranger hosted the Bob Hope Christmas Show and this was followed by another presentation had in December of 1969. Ranger then took part in Operation Linebacker II in December of 1972, an intense bombing campaign from the 18th until the 29th marking one of the last major commitments of the American military to the Vietnam War. The war ended with a cease-fire in January of the following year.
Due to her constant presence in the war zone, Ranger and her crew had little downtime so a major refit and overhaul was in order during the post-war period. She returned stateside to Long Beach, California in August of 1973 and shakedown cruises then followed to put her through her paces. She returned to Vietnam waters to help in the post-war drawdown and move men and machines about. There was a humanitarian effort had in the Philippines following devastating flooding where supplies were brought in and thousands were rescued. She arrived in Bremerton, Washington for a much-needed overhaul.
For her service in the Vietnam War (1955-1975), USS Ranger was awarded 13 total Battle Stars.
During this downtime, the warship was upgraded extensively with all-modern sensors, communications and processing systems to help extend her service life. Her command center was upgraded as was her propulsion scheme and the "Sea Sparrow" air defense missile system added (this was an offshoot of the air-to-air medium-ranged missile already used on American naval warplanes). She was put to sea for trials once more, following the work, in March of 1976. In 1979, she undertook what became her 14th cruise in the Pacific and spent additional time in the Indian Ocean as a regional deterrent to matters related to instability in Yemen. However, a collision with a Liberian tanker forced her to Subic Bay (and then Yokosuka) for repairs.
In March of 1983, USS Ranger was the proud recipient of an all-female flight crew when a Grumman C-1 Trader transport landed on her deck. In November of that year, six crew were killed in an onboard fire which also disabled her propulsion. In 1985, the warship served as a stage for the Hollywood motion picture "Top Gun". The following year, the vessel stood in for the USS Enterprise for the film Star Trek IV.
Ranger then took part in Operation Desert Storm in early 1991 which resulted in a complete dismantling of Iraqi military capability. One of Ranger's A-6 intruders fell to enemy anti-aircraft fire killing two aviators. Her other warplanes found success in destroyer both sea and aerial targets as they presented themselves. In 1992, the warship marked her 21st, and final, Pacific Theater deployment. Before the end of the year, she supported Operation Restore Hope in Somalia.
Ranger was not selected for modernization so the ship fell to budget cuts and efforts to save her as a floating museum ship fell to naught. She was formally decommissioned on July 10th, 1993 and her name was struck from the Naval Register on March 8th, 2004. She was given up for scrapping and her official end arrived on November 1st, 2017.
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