Ranger

13.3

Aircraft Carrier | U.S.A. | Tier VI

Tech Tree Position

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Battle Levels

12345678910

VI

4,500,000

Ranger — American Tier VI aircraft сarrier.

USS Ranger was the first American ship designed and built as an aircraft carrier. The technical specifications called for an aircraft carrier with a smooth deck (no superstructure was planned initially), a speed of 32 knots, and a displacement of no more than 18,000 tons. USS Ranger carried an air group that was only slightly inferior in number to the air groups of her larger predecessors. Ranger continued her service until the end of the war in the Atlantic. She escorted the first Arctic convoys from America to Iceland and was subsequently used as an aircraft transport, facilitating the deployment of army units landing in Africa.

Modules

	Hit Points (HP)	Armor (mm)	Armor (mm)	Main Turrets (pcs.)	Secondary Gun Turrets (pcs.)	AA Mounts (pcs.)	Torpedo Tubes (pcs.)	Hangar Capacity (pcs.)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Ranger (A)	43,700	10	38		8	27/5/8				0	400,000
Ranger (B)	44,900	10	38		8	46/6				10,000	1,100,000

	Speed (knot)	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SQUADRON_MED_DAMAGE (HP/min)	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SQUADRON_AMMO_AMOUNT	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
F2A Buffalo	149			1,270		0	300,000
F4F Wildcat	153			1,340		7,000	750,000

	Maximum Torpedo Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
T4M	5,567	101	1,630		0	300,000
TBD Devastator	5,567	112	1,710		7,000	750,000

	Maximum Bomb Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
SBC Helldiver		116	1,720		0	300,000
SB2U Vindicator		117	1,810		7,000	750,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 53,500 hp	29.5		0	250,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4

Player Opinion

Performance

Ranger is the first taste of high-tier carrier play in the American carrier line. She has a hangar size of 73 planes when fully upgraded. This is excellent for the tier, because smart play will mean she always has planes available (unlike Tier VI). The jump from Tier VI to VII is huge; in most ship lines, this is the dividing line between pre-World War II and post-World War II designs. Ranger versus Tier VI ships is fairly brutal.

The Stock Build — a single squadron of each type — is recommended for balance. Ranger’s anti-aircraft suite is decent and will destroy a few planes out of a determined attack, but captains should trust their fighters more than their AA. Ranger is relatively slow for her tier, so captains must be always aware of their map position and try to remain near allied vessels but safely away from enemy guns. The fighter squadrons of her most common foe — Hiryu — are stronger due to having two or three squadrons available, so cunning captains must always attempt to engage them near friendly ships so their AA can assist. Strike Build Ranger is a highly controversial ship; carrier captains tend to like her, while their teammates generally don't (as she brings no fighters into a game). Air Superiority Build captains will likely be able to seize control of the skies, but will find themselves seriously lacking when attempting to deal damage to enemy ships; Ranger’s dive bombers still mount only 500 lb. bombs and are very prone to missing all bombs in a drop, even when the drop is done manually.

Ranger’s biggest weakness is her detection radius; once spotted, she doesn't have the armor to shrug off incoming shells. Even cruisers like Atlanta can get large amounts of damage into a Ranger because of the lack of armor near critical areas. Using terrain intelligently and remaining undetected is key; the only other recourse is to rely on teammates for defense. If Ranger is caught alone, it's a death sentence.

Pros:

Large amount of planes available: a total of 73 when fully upgraded.
Excellent anti-aircraft suite.
Strike loadout can devastate any ship when properly used.
TBF Avenger torpedo planes have higher damage, and are tougher than counter-part Tier VI Nakajima B5N from Hiryu.

Cons:

Detected very easily.
Practically no armor — only 25mm at the thickest point — allowing for easy citadel hits and breaking of modules.
Slower than most other ships at her tier, meaning she falls behind much more easily.
Extremely clumsy to maneuver, with a 15.9 second rudder turn time.
Dive bombers have somewhat questionable accuracy; auto-aimed squadrons will produce poor results. Manual bombing is recommended to improve damage output.
Even with perfect manual drops from the dive bombers, it is possible to still miss all bombs... even on big targets such as battleships or carriers.
Although dive bombs are listed as 7500 maximum damage, most of the time the average damage by each bomb doesn't exceed 2000 points.

Research

For captains who plan on remaining as Stock Build:

Upgrade to Grumman F6F-5 (fighter).
Upgrade to Hull (B) to increase anti-aircraft protection.

For captains who plan on going with an Air Superiority Build:

Upgrade to Mk7 mod. 3.
Upgrade to Grumman F6F-5 (fighter).
Upgrade to Hull (B) to increase anti-aircraft protection.

For captains who plan on going with a Strike Build:

Upgrade to Mk7 mod. 2.
Upgrade to Hull (B) to increase anti-aircraft protection.
Upgrade to Grumman F6F-5 (fighter).

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

All Ranger captains should equip Air Groups Modification 1 in Upgrade Slot 1 and Damage Control System Modification 1 in Upgrade Slot 4. Upgrade Slot 5 is captain's choice between Damage Control System Modification 2 and Steering Gears Modification 2.

Upgrade Slot 2 depends on which build captains intend to play their Ranger as. Strike Build captains will want Flight Control Modification 1 while Air Superiority Build captains will want Air Groups Modification 2. Stock Build captains can go either way, though Air Groups Modification 2 provides more utility in ensuring dominance of the air in order to get strike squadrons in on high priority targets.

Commander Skills

The Dogfighting Expert skill is not generally recommended; however, captains who are frustrated by their performance versus enemy Saipan captains may wish to invest points there. Additionally, due to dive bombers having over 100% chance of causing fires, Demolition Expert is not a recommended skill.

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Endurance		Attack		Support		Versatility
1	Priority Target Situational Awareness indicator will show the number of opponents currently aiming at you with main battery guns. ★	Preventative Maintenance -30% to the risk of incapacitation of main turrets, torpedo tubes, steering gear, engines.	Expert Loader -50% to reload time when shell type is switched.	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time. ★★★	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to carrier fighter squadrons or catapult fighters.	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time.	Incoming Fire Alert Indicator of long-range enemy artillery fire.	Last Gasp Completely restores the engine boost for the last attack flight of the carrier's planes.
2	High Alert -10% to reload time of Damage Control Party consumable. ★	Jack of All Trades -5% to reload time of all consumables.	Expert Marksman +2.5 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber up to 139mm. +0.7 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber above 139mm.	Torpedo Acceleration +5 knots to torpedo speed. -20% to torpedo range. ★★★	Smoke Screen Expert +20% to the radius of the smoke screen.	Improved Engines +2.5% Squadron speed.	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% to reload times of all types of armament for each 1% of total health lost. +0.2% squadron speed for each 1% of total health lost.	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated.
3	Basics of Survivability -15% to time of repair, fire extinguishing, and recovery from flooding. ★	Survivability Expert +350 ship HP for each ship tier. +15 aircraft HP for each ship tier.	Torpedo Armament Expertise -10% to reload time of torpedo tubes. ★★★	Aircraft Armor Reduces continuous damage to aircraft in all AA defense zones. -10% continuous damage.	Basic Firing Training -10% to reload time of main battery guns with a caliber up to and including 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +10% to continuous damage from AA guns. ★	Superintendent +1 additional charge to all consumables mounted on a ship.	Demolition Expert +2% chance of HE shells causing a fire on target. +1% chance of rockets causing a fire on target. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire on target.	Vigilance +25% to detection range of enemy torpedoes.
4	Manual Fire Control for Secondary Armament Tightens dispersion of shells from secondary batteries. -15% for Tier I-VI ships. -60% for Tier VII-X ships. Manually selected target only.	Fire Prevention -10% to the risk of fire. The maximum number of fires on a ship is reduced to three.	Inertia Fuse for HE Shells +30% to the armor penetration capacity of HE shells. -1% chance of fire on target caused by shells <=139mm. -3% chance of fire on target caused by shells >139mm.	Sight Stabilization Speeds up the aiming of a carrier's aircraft. +5% attack aircraft aiming speed. +5% torpedo bomber aiming speed. +10% dive bomber aiming speed.	Advanced Firing Training +20% to firing range of main battery guns with a caliber up to 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +15% damage/sec. within the explosion radius of shells fired from long-range AA defenses.	Massive AA Fire Instantaneous Damage +100%. Priority AA sector cooldown +50%.	Radio Position Finding Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken.	Concealment Expert -10% to the detection radius of all ships and aircraft. ★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Meh Χ - Not recommended

Consumables

As a carrier at Tier VII, Ranger has access to only Damage Control Party.

Camouflage

Type 1, 2, or 5 camouflage can be equipped for credits; Types 1 or 5 are recommended at a minimum to reduce detectibility range.

Players who wish to spend doubloons can equip Ranger with Type 17 camouflage that lowers her detection radius, reduces the accuracy of incoming shells, reduces her repair costs, and increases the amount of experience she earns.

Signals

As a carrier, Ranger can only mount at most four signals at a time and has no risk of detonating. Players should mount Equal Speed Charlie London (for faster XP grinding / increased XP gain per battle), Zulu Hotel (when coupled with Equal Speed Charlie London greatly helps increase commander (re)training), November Echo Setteseven (for better bomber self-defense against fighters and increased AA DPS), and Juliet Whiskey Unaone (to have a better chance at causing flooding and dealing damage via flooding). Players can also choose to equip the Dragon Flag for faster commander (re)training.

Gallery

Ranger with Type 1 camouflage.
Ranger with Type 2 camouflage.
Ranger with Type 5 camouflage.
Ranger with Type 6 premium camouflage.
Ranger with Type 17 permanent premium camouflage.

Ships of U.S.A.

Destroyers	II Sampson • II Smith • III Wickes • IV Clemson • V Nicholas • V Hill • VI Farragut • VI Monaghan • VII Mahan • VII Sims • VII Sims B • VIII Benson • VIII Kidd • IX Fletcher • IX Benham • IX Halford • IX Black B • IX Black • X Gearing • X Somers • X Forrest Sherman • ★ Joshua Humphreys
Cruisers	I Erie • II Chester • II Albany • III St. Louis • III Charleston • IV Phoenix • V Omaha • V Marblehead • V Marblehead Lima • V Rattlehead • VI Pensacola • VI Dallas • VII Atlanta • VII New Orleans • VII Helena • VII Indianapolis • VII Atlanta B • VII Boise • VII Flint • VIII Baltimore • VIII Cleveland • VIII Wichita • VIII Anchorage • VIII Congress • VIII Rochester • VIII San Diego • VIII AL Montpelier • IX Buffalo • IX Seattle • IX Vallejo • IX Alaska • IX Tulsa • IX Alaska B • X Des Moines • X Worcester • X Puerto Rico • X Salem • X Austin • ★ Annapolis
Battleships	III South Carolina • IV Wyoming • IV Arkansas Beta • V New York • V Oklahoma • V Texas • VI New Mexico • VI Arizona • VI W. Virginia '41 • VII Colorado • VII Florida • VII West Virginia '44 • VII California • VIII North Carolina • VIII Kansas • VIII Nebraska • VIII Alabama • VIII Massachusetts • VIII Alabama VL • VIII Constellation • VIII Massachusetts B • VIII Alabama ST • VIII North Carolina CLR • IX Iowa • IX Minnesota • IX Delaware • IX Missouri • IX Kearsarge • IX Illinois • IX Kearsarge B • IX Georgia • X Montana • X Vermont • X Louisiana • X Ohio • X Rhode Island • X Wisconsin • ★ Maine
Aircraft Carriers	IV Langley • VI Independence • VI Ranger • VIII Yorktown • VIII Lexington • VIII Enterprise • VIII Saipan • VIII Hornet • VIII Saipan B • X Essex • X Midway • X Franklin D. Roosevelt • ★ United States

Aircraft Carriers

Japan	IV Hōshō • VI Ryūjō • VIII Shōkaku • VIII Kaga • VIII Kaga B • X Hakuryū • ★ Sekiryu
U.K.	IV Hermes • VI Furious • VI Ark Royal • VIII Implacable • VIII Indomitable • VIII Colossus • X Audacious • X Malta • ★ Eagle
France	VI Béarn
U.S.S.R.	IV Komsomolets • VI Serov • VIII Pobeda • VIII Chkalov • VIII Chkalov B • X Admiral Nakhimov
U.S.A.	IV Langley • VI Independence • VI Ranger • VIII Yorktown • VIII Lexington • VIII Enterprise • VIII Saipan • VIII Hornet • VIII Saipan B • X Essex • X Midway • X Franklin D. Roosevelt • ★ United States
Germany	IV Rhein • VI Weser • VI Erich Loewenhardt • VIII August von Parseval • VIII Graf Zeppelin • VIII Graf Zeppelin B • X Manfred von Richthofen • X Max Immelmann
Pan-Asia	VIII Sanzang
Spain
Europe
Netherlands
Italy	VIII Aquila
Commonwealth
Pan-America

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Compatible Upgrades