Ranger (1940)

Last updated

History
US flag 48 stars.svg United States of America
Flag of the Philippines (1946-1998).svg  Commonwealth of the Philippines
NameRanger
OwnerLuzon Stevedoring Company Ltd.
Builder Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Company Ltd.
Launched1940
Acquiredcommandeered by the United States Navy, 10 December 1941
Homeport Manila
Fateunknown
General characteristics
Class and type tugboat
Tonnage545 long tons (554 t) [1]
Length130 feet 2 inches (39.67 m) [1]
Beam32 feet 1 inch (9.78 m) [1]
Draught11 feet 7 inches (3.53 m) [1]
Propulsionoil-fueled, twin-screws, 229 nhp [1]

Ranger was an ocean-going tugboat commandeered by the United States Navy during the Second World War.

History

She was laid down at the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company Ltd. for the Luzon Stevedoring Company Ltd. Inc of Manila. [1]

She was in Hong Kong on 2 December 1941 when she was ordered to return to Manila with the Asiatic Fleet's Yangtze Patrol river gunboat USS Mindanao. [2] She was loaded with 800 rounds of 3-inch shells and split 250,000 rounds of .30 caliber cartridges with Mindanao. [2] The gunboat left in advance of her and was nearly lost to harsh seas. [2] Ranger made Manila soon after Mindanao. [2]

On 10 December 1941, the United States Navy commandeered Ranger, [3] and assigned her to the Asiatic Fleet, 16th Naval District. She was assigned to the Inshore Patrol under Captain Kenneth M. Hoeffel. [4] The Inshore Patrol was a rag-tag assemblage of vessels tasked with moving supplies and personnel and patrolling Manila Bay and the east coast of the besieged Bataan Peninsula. [4] Other ships of the Inshore Patrol included three gunboats, three minesweepers, three Navy tugs, two commandeered tugs under US Navy control (Ranger, Trabajador), four converted yachts (Isabel, Maryann , Fisheries II , and Perry), [5] and the submarine rescue vessel Pigeon. [4] The Inshore Patrol was complemented by ships of the Offshore Patrol consisting of six US torpedo boats (PT-31, PT-32, PT-33, PT-34 , PT-35, PT-41 ) and five Filipino-crewed boats consisting of 3 torpedo boats ( Q-111 Luzon , Q-112 Abra , Q-113 Agusan), and two converted motor launches serving as gunboats (Q-114 Danday, Q-115 Baler), all serviced by the submarine tender Canopus. [6]

On 30 December 1941, Ranger landed a raiding party at Naval Station Sangley Point to secure generators for the troops for Corregidor. [7]

Ranger was abandoned and grounded just north of Fort Hughes, off Caballo Island. [8] [9] Her ultimate fate is uncertain. Naval records indicate that they lost record of her on 28 February 1942, [3] although other sources indicate that she escaped Manila Bay on 6 May 1942. [10]

Related Research Articles

The Offshore Patrol (OSP) also known as the Mosquito Fleet was a small naval branch of the United States Army, intended for inshore defense of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. It was active from February 9, 1939 to June 30, 1946. The OSP became part of the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) on July 26, 1941, with General Douglas MacArthur as Commander. During the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, the Patrol engaged in limited naval operations along the coastlines of Bataan and Corregidor, against the tight enemy blockade, to bring much-needed provisions to the beleaguered Filipino and American troops during the battle. Undaunted by enemy superiority, the ubiquitous patrol boats fought with zeal, courage and heroism, hitting Japanese warships with torpedoes when given the opportunity. The unit relied on speed and surprise to attack larger vessels at close range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Asiatic Fleet</span> Military unit

The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by February 1942, after which it was dissolved, and the remnants incorporated into the naval component of the South West Pacific Area command, which eventually became the Seventh Fleet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River gunboat</span> Gunboat adapted for river operations

A river gunboat is a type of gunboat adapted for river operations. River gunboats required shallow draft for river navigation. They would be armed with relatively small caliber cannons, or a mix of cannons and machine guns. If they carried more than one cannon, one might be a howitzer, for shore bombardment. They were usually not armoured. The fictional USS San Pablo described in Richard McKenna's The Sand Pebbles is an example of this class of vessel, serving on the US Navy's Yangtze Patrol. Stronger river warships with larger guns were river monitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three</span> Military unit

Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three was a United States Navy squadron based at Cavite, Philippines, from September 1941 to mid-April 1942. It was commanded by Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley and made up of six motor torpedo boats: PT-31, PT-32, PT-33, PT-34, PT-35, and PT-41, the last as the squadron flagship. The other six boats of the squadron remained at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and were there when war broke out, eventually being shipped to the Solomons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yangtze Patrol</span> Naval operation to protect Americans interests in China, 1854–1949

The Yangtze Patrol, also known as the Yangtze River Patrol Force, Yangtze River Patrol, YangPat and ComYangPat, was a prolonged naval operation from 1854–1949 to protect American interests in the Yangtze River's treaty ports. The Yangtze Patrol also patrolled the coastal waters of China where they protected U.S. citizens, their property, and Christian missionaries.

USS Napa (AT-32), originally Yucca, was a Bagaduce-class fleet tug of the United States Navy. The ship was laid down as Napa on 5 March 1919, at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Washington; launched on 24 July 1919; and commissioned on 5 December 1919.

USS <i>Tanager</i> (AM-5) Minesweeper of the United States Navy

USS Tanager (AM-5) was an Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS <i>Pigeon</i> (ASR-6) Minesweeper of the United States Navy

The first USS Pigeon (AM-47/ASR-6) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper of the United States Navy. She was later converted to a submarine rescue ship. She was named for the avian ambassador, the pigeon.

USS <i>Tulsa</i> (PG-22) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Tulsa (PG-22), nicknamed the Galloping Ghost of the South China Coast, was an Asheville-class gunboat of the United States Navy that was in commission from 1923 to 1946. She was named after the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the county seat of Tulsa County.

USS <i>Whippoorwill</i> (AM-35) Minesweeper of the United States Navy

USS Whippoorwill (AM-35) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Luzon</i> (PG-47) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The first USS Luzon (PG-47) was laid down 20 November 1926 by the Kiangnan Dock and Engineering Works, Shanghai, China; launched 12 September 1927; sponsored by Miss Mary C. Carter, daughter of Commander Andrew F. Carter, USN; and commissioned 1 June 1928.

USS <i>Mindanao</i> (PR-8) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The first USS Mindanao (PR‑8) was a river gunboat in the service of the United States Navy before and during World War II.

Trabajador was a 111 foot (33.8 m) tug launched in 1931 by Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Co., Ltd. for Visayan Stevedore-Transportation Company and registered as a United States vessel in Iloilo, Philippines.

Maryann, sometimes seen as Maryanne or Mary Anne, was a yacht requisitioned and converted by the United States Navy during the defense of the Philippines in World War II and destroyed 5 May 1942 at Corregidor to prevent capture. The yacht was "in service" and not commissioned.

Fisheries II was a vessel requisitioned by the United States Navy during the defense of the Philippines during World War II. The vessel was "in service" and not commissioned.

Patrol torpedo boat <i>Q-111 Luzon</i> Torpedo boat of the United States Navy

Q-111 Luzon was a motor torpedo boat of the United States Army during World War II as part of the Offshore Patrol based at Manila.

Q-112 Abra was a motor torpedo boat of the United States Army during World War II as part of the Offshore Patrol based at Manila.

YP-97 was a converted fishing vessel which served as an auxiliary patrol boat in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Base Manila</span> Former Major United States Navy Base

Naval Base Manila, Naval Air Base Manila was a major United States Navy base south of the City of Manila, on Luzon Island in the Philippines. Some of the bases dates back to 1898, the end of the Spanish–American War. Starting in 1938 civilian contractors were used to build new facilities in Manila to prepare for World War II. Work stopped on December 23, 1941, when Manila was declared not defendable against the Empire of Japan southward advance, which took over the city on January 2, 1942, after the US declared it an open city. US Navy construction and repair started in March 1945 with the taking of Manila in the costly Battle of Manila ending on March 2, 1945. Naval Base Manila supported the Pacific War and remained a major US Naval Advance Base until its closure in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">US Naval Base Philippines</span> Former Major United States Navy Base

US Naval Base Philippines was number of United States Navy bases in the Philippines Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Most were built by the US Navy Seabees, Naval Construction Battalions, during World War II. The US Naval Bases in Philippines were lost to the Empire of Japan in December 1941 during the Philippines campaign of 1941–1942. In February 1945 the United States Armed Forces retook the Philippines in the Battle of Manila in 1945. Before the captured US bases on Luzon were retaken the US Navy Seabees built a new large base, Leyte-Samar Naval Base, on the Philippine Island of Leyte, starting in October 1944.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Steamers and Motorships under 300 tons, Trawlers, etc" (PDF). Lloyd's Register of Ships. 1941.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Gordon, John (15 February 2017). Fighting for MacArthur: The Navy and Marine Corps' Desperate Defense of the Philippines. Naval Institute Press. p. 27. ISBN   978-1682471869.
  3. 1 2 "B-142345, APR. 25, 1960". United States Government Accountability Office. 25 April 1960.
  4. 1 2 3 Gordon, p.120
  5. Williams, Greg H. (11 May 2018). The Last Days of the United States Asiatic Fleet: The Fates of the Ships and Those Aboard, December 8, 1941-February 5, 1942. McFarland. p. 50. ISBN   9781476672489.
  6. "They Were Expendable Too: The Torpedo Boats of the Off-Shore Patrol". The Bataan Campaign. 22 February 2014.
  7. Cressman, Robert J. (15 October 2016). The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Naval Institute Press. ISBN   978-1591146384.
  8. Gordon, p.260, 307-308
  9. Radigan, Joseph M. "Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive: Quail (AM 15)". navsource.org. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  10. Bertke, Donald A.; Smith, Gordon; Kindell, Don (31 May 2014). World War II Sea War, Vol 6: The Allies Halt the Axis Advance. Bertke Publications. p. 174. ISBN   978-1937470098.