USS Ranger CV-61

Date	Where	Events
November 10, 1958	Off San Francisco, Calif.	USS RANGER suffers an explosion in the magazine area seven decks below the waterline while off San Francisco, Calif., killing two. A careless act by two crewmen trying to obtain gunpowder from the magazine to fuel a miniature jet engine they had built caused the explosion. The Navy said the two men were known rocket enthusiasts and were not authorized to be in the magazine area at the time of the explosion. The "relatively minor" damage takes about a month to repair due to the location of the accident.
April 1, 1959	Pacific	Because of a short circuit there was a fire aboard the carrier. During this fire an explosion of fuel gases occurred. Two crewmen died and 15 were injured.
July 1, 1962	Off California	An F8U Crusader aircraft crashed into the USS RANGER, injuring two.
April 5, 1963	Off Japan	Boiler uptake explosion while going between Japanese ports.
September 1, 1964	Off Vietnam	Boiler explosion on Yankee Station. 51 days repair.
April 13, 1965	Off Vietnam	During a fire in the main machinery room, one crewman died. During the incident the carrier was on station off Vietnam.
March 6, 1971	Off Vietnam	While on Yankee Station a member of the carrier's flight deck force was blown over the side during launching operations. USS TOWERS DDG-9, providing plane-guard service for RANGER, quickly sped to the scene, rescued the sailor, and returned him to his ship.
July 18, 1972	Pacific Ocean	Sabotage of engine during routine sea duty.
December 13, 1972	Off Vietnam	USS RANGER suffers a fire in the main machinery room while the ship operates off Vietnam. The fire takes two hours to control.
1976	Subic Bay, Philippines	USS RANGER suffered a serious fire (class delta, aircraft flare) in the O3 level while in port at Subic Bay, no fatalities. Information by Alan Bedard, former USS RANGER crewmember who helped fighting the fire.
July/August 1976	Indian Ocean	While responding to the Entebbe/Uganda incident USS RANGER suffered a class Bravo fire in one of her shaft allies that disabled her port outboard shaft for 4 days until replacement parts could be flown in and installed. Sabotage was suspected. Information by Alan Bedard, former USS RANGER crewmember.
February 20, 1977	Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Wash.	USS RANGER experiences a Class Alpha fire in the anchor machinery room while drydocked at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Wash.
December 6, 1978	Off Baja, Calif.	USS RANGER experiences an explosion and flash fire during fleet exercises which result in minor burns to nine crewmen.
March 29, 1979	Subic Bay Area, Philippines	USS RANGER suffers a main engine turbine casualty requiring extensive repair while training in the Subic Bay operations area.
April 5, 1979	Near the eastern approaches to the Straits of Malacca	USS RANGER collided with the Liberian tanker FORTUNE suffering substantial damage but no injuries while the tanker is holed in the port side from the main deck to the waterline. Following the collision USS RANGER's CO was relieved by Capt. Roger E. Box, USN.
August 6, 1981	San Diego, Calif.	Fire in Pri-Fly area while at San Diego dock.
July 18, 1983	100 miles off San Diego, Calif.	RANGER collides with USS WICHITA AOR-1 during refueling. RANGER's flight deck elevator is damaged, but no injuries are reported. USS WICHITA damages its refueling capability. The port fueling riggings are put out of commission, including the loss of all fuel hoses. Also part of Wichita’s aft superstructure is crushed on the starboard side.
August 18, 1983	Off Nicaragua	Crewman blown overboard by jet exhaust.
November 1, 1983	Arabian Gulf	A fire breaks out aboard USS RANGER while deployed in the Arabian Gulf, killing 6 and injuring 35. The fire is in one of the four main machinery spaces and reportedly is extinguished within an hour although there is one re-flash which is extinguished. USS RANGER continues operations in the area.