USS Ranger Museum Foundation

[Chief]

http://www.ussrangercv61.org/

Our mission is to preserve the Aircraft Carrier USS Ranger as an educational, civic and cultural center in Portland Oregon where she will become the world’s largest floating museum; a must-see tourism destination in the Pacific Northwest. Still serving her country as an emergency communications and disaster response center, she will be the centerpiece of a complex to honor those men and women who have served the cause of freedom in the USA and around the world.

The Foundation's vision is to produce a venue that will honor the history all the ships that bore the name USS Ranger from John Paul Jones’ to the current Super Carrier. In doing so, we will also honor and preserve the memory of all her sister carriers, including those already scrapped or sunk; those targeted for sinking and those nuclear powered ones protecting our freedom on all the seas of the world today.

Indulge yourself and enjoy our website as you learn about the USS Ranger Foundation and the effort that is being done to preserve her memories for generations to come.

Stop by the Ship's Store and browse through our gift shop. You are sure to find something to delight the sailor in your life. Log into the Message Board and join the conversations. Coming soon is our Blog! Above all join us with your support to save our “Top Gun of the Pacific Fleet”.


This is near and dear to my crusty old heart, because USS Ranger (CVA-61) was my first Command. I was assigned to the Air Department, V-2 Division, working in the Waist Catapults, the Aircraft Arresting Gear, and eventually the Divisional Maintenance Office.

I think back on those days, compared to serving in my last ship, USS George Washington (CVN-73) and the difference is just stark. It was usually so hot in our berthing compartment that overseas we all took our matresses out onto the catlaks along the port side and sleep there. Lots of memories from those days, and I'd love to tour the ship again.

Anyway, take a look at their site, and start getting familiar with Ranger, because this group wants to bring the ship to Portland if suitable moorage on the Willamette can be found. Lots of interesting ideas are floating about for what purposes she could serve, and I'll link those as the opportunities arise.

Many thanks are due to Councilman Larry Smith for hooking me up with the links and contacts on this project.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/cv61.jpg

[Waterbuffalo]

"Many thanks are due to Councilman Larry Smith for hooking me up with the links and contacts on this project."

Next time he comes up for re-election if he does, remember this one Chief...

As to the Ranger coming to Portland, don't think it would ever happen. The Anti-war and other Frothers would just do every thing in their power to force it from coming here. Reminds me of all the stuff going on with City of Portland and its new taxes on Water bills to for po(r)thole repair...

[Chief]

We'll see. There are a lot of groups who are interested in this project for a number of reasons. If done properly, that hull could do a lot more than sit there taking up dock space. The flight deck could be made air worthy for all sorts of missions, and it might be possible to renovate portions of the crew berthing for emergency housing. Who knows?

This will largely be a Portland issue since there are bridge height and hull width restrictions with moving a hull like this. Not to mention that cleaning the hull and keeping it clean will be a major challenge. Maintenance on a carrier hull doesn't come cheap, and you can't just drydock it anywhere for repairs...

Things to consider, but it's a great idea...

[Waterbuffalo]

Could one park this off the Port of Vancouver? :-) And offer Cheap tours?

[Chief]

No. The channel is far too narrow by the Port to do much other than give people a place to watch from as the ship passes by. If they can secure a place to moor her on Swan Island though, those tours you speak of could become a reality.

I should note here too, that the Ranger was built in the Brooklyn NY Navy Yard, and in order to get her out of there to the open ocean, Ranger was built with a hinged mainmast, the last ship to have one like that. It took some doing, but you could pivot the entire mast down onto the flight deck to get under bridges, then re-erect it once the ship was clear.

Even with the mast down though, I don't think she would get much further up river than Swan Island...

[Waterbuffalo]

Sounds like with her mast and many other things, another deep water port than Portland would be a better spot to keep her. Add to it they would have to drag her around the South American cape and bring her up river across a dangerous Columbia River Bar.

Probably better to find some place where she'd fit without a bunch of added costs and dangers of having to rebuild her mast where all the Navy's officers watch over the flight deck.

Though with a lot of gumption and brains that some old Navy coots have, ANY thing is possible. Reminds me of the old Army fliers that are restoring old World War 2 bombers into great show pieces and working pieces of history.

DARN YOU CHIEF! :-) You got me interested.......

[Chief]

She is in layup up in Bremerton WB, so they would have to tow her out of the Puget Sound, and South into the Columbia river Bar, and then on up river to Portland.

[Waterbuffalo]

Dan you #2.. Now you HAD to tell me she is docked where the USS Missouri used to be..

Bad Boy! Now I'll have to have more than just placated interest!!!!!!!!!!

Reminds me, maybe I need to go over to Bremerton to see if they have any tours over there.

[Chief]

There is an inactive ships facility up there in the area of the shipyard, and I doubt it's open for tours. They normally seal the ships up tight, and keep them as climate controlled as possible on the outside chance that the Navy might reactivate it.

The thing is that the Ranger is a Forrestal class hull, conventially powered, and could not handle today's aircraft, so the chances of reactivating it are somewhere between slim and none.

When I was onboard, the F-4 Phantom was the weapon of choice, and the ship was barely able to operate with them. The catapults were underpowered for those jets, and the arresting gear was barely able to stop a Phantom. As it was, one trap counted as two on the life of the arresting gear cable, so we ended up replacing a lot of those on a regular basis.

Fond memories, and a few that are not so fond...

[Waterbuffalo]

Sounds like what they did with the Missouri for a time. Basically mothballed ships in case of huge disaster that would take out normal ship.

These ships could be put back into service to defend the country if there was an attack or problem or there was a need for a certain type of ship for a specific mission, one of the ships could be pressed back into service.if needed.

Its good to know that there is a mothball facility near Bremerton in case of a national crisis and some thing is needed from it.

You can also add a couple shipyards up that way that do handle Navy contracts for repair of old vessels to make them brand spanking good lookin' like a wife for sore eyes...

[Chief]

Well......the hull is pretty well preserved in the case of Ranger, but I have no doubt that the insides would require extensive cleanup work, mainly to remove tons of asbestos insulation. Since ranger was a conventionally powered steam vessel, and had miles of steamlines to support not only hotel services but four catapults, there is a lot of asbestos-lagged piping in her from one end to the other.

Ships like the Iowa class battlewagons were put into a much more sophisticated climate controlled preservation system, but even then it cost hundreds of millions to put each one of them back into service in the 80's.

[Waterbuffalo]

So your saying we should get Sen. Patty and Cantwell to start another superfund and pig trough project to bring them back to life? ;-)

[Chief]

If this ever happens it will be done wity private donations. There may be a state of Federal Grant or two, but most of the cash will be private donations.

[Waterbuffalo]

If this ever happens it will be done with private donations. There may be a state of Federal Grant or two, but most of the cash will be private donations.

With Washington and Oregon having one of the biggest collection of Military veterans amongst our two states, don't think raising this type of money should be too hard if its phrased in the right way.