Seen off West Seattle: USS Ranger under tow to scrapyard

| Seen at sea | West Seattle news

(Added 4 pm: Texted photo – thanks!)
Like the Constellation last year, the mothballed aircraft carrier USS Ranger is now under tow from Bremerton to a Texas scrapyard. MarineTraffic.com shows it off south Bainbridge with tugboats including the 155-foot oceangoing tug Lindsey Foss; it should be visible from north West Seattle. Here are details from the Kitsap Sun, which reports the USS Independence will be next to make the same, final journey.

ADDED: Thanks to Gary Jones for the photo added above this line.

skeptic March 5, 2015 (5:39 pm)

A storied career for a ship that server for nearly 50 years:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ranger_%28CV-61%29

Go Navy!

John on Vashon March 5, 2015 (9:09 pm)

Fascinating story. 6 months to its burial site. Nice gig for the crew though!

A Navy Brat March 5, 2015 (11:25 pm)

Farewell to the Ranger. My Dad flew A-3’s during the Vietnam War off that slanted deck. As much as I hated that war, I was proud of my Dad and his skills. And I was so glad that he came home from all of his cruises, because not all of them did. Thank you all for your service. Go Navy!!!

Dennis McEwen March 6, 2015 (4:54 am)

I served onboard from 67 to 69. Great memories.

GRGardner March 6, 2015 (7:40 am)

It would be nice to read the article in the Kitsap Sun, but it is one of those papers who only allow subscribers to read their online version…

WSB March 6, 2015 (7:48 am)

Sorry, it came up for me and I’m not a subscriber, so I linked it. We are no fan of paywalls ourselves – TR

Jenni March 6, 2015 (8:30 am)

The link you posted says you have to be a subscriber to read it :-(

WSB March 6, 2015 (8:34 am)

Like I said earlier, it worked for me, and I have no special privileges nor a subscription. I’ll see if I can find an alternative – Navy Times had a short preview and perhaps has since done more.
- WSB March 6, 2015 (8:37 am)
  
  Short but http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/tech/2015/03/05/uss-ranger-towed-from-bremerton-next-stop-texas-scrap-yard/24460015/
  
  Sun’s photo gallery, which shows for me but I can’t guarantee it’ll show for you: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/uss-ranger-departs-bremerton

Clayjustsayin March 6, 2015 (8:40 am)

Kind of lame compared to someone with real experience, I had a Revelle model of the Ranger. That was 55 years ago. It had little scale F7 Cutlass aircraft on it, and Skyhawks I think they were. Seeing the Ranger being towed out to sea yesterday brought back those childhood memories.