USS Ranger: The Navy's First Flattop from Keel to Mast, 1934-1946USS Ranger (CV 4) was the U. S. Navys first aircraft carrier to be built as such from the keel up. The Ranger helped maintain FDRs Good Neighbor Policy, served as a platform for the development of new methods for the operation of carriers and carrier aircraft, pioneered director controlled antiaircraft fire, and trained many naval aviators. During World War II, the Ranger occupied center stage in Operation Torch (against the Vichy French positions in