''Ranger'' was an ocean-going tugboat commandeered by the United States Navy during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

History

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

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

on 2 December 1941 when she was ordered to return to Manila with the

Asiatic Fleet 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 Februar ...

Yangtze Patrol 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 ...

river gunboat USS ''Mindanao''. She was loaded with 800 rounds of 3-inch shells and split 250,000 rounds of .30 caliber cartridges with ''Mindanao''. The gunboat left in advance of her and was nearly lost to harsh seas. ''Ranger'' made Manila soon after ''Mindanao''. On 10 December 1941, the United States Navy commandeered ''Ranger'', and assigned her to the

16th Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

. She was assigned to the Inshore Patrol under Captain Kenneth M. Hoeffel.Gordon, p.120 The Inshore Patrol was a rag-tag assemblage of vessels tasked with moving supplies and personnel and patrolling

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phi ...

and the east coast of the besieged

Bataan Peninsula Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the ent ...

. 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 (, '' Maryann'', ''

Fisheries II Fisheries II (a.k.a. "Fisheries Two") 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. World War II service ''Fisheries II'' was in ...

'', and ''Perry''), and the submarine rescue vessel . 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 Patrol torpedo boat ''PT-41'' was a of the United States Navy, built by the Electric Launch Company of Bayonne, New Jersey. The boat was laid down as Motor Boat Submarine Chaser ''PTC-21'', but was reclassified as ''PT-41'' prior to its launch o ...

'') 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 . On 30 December 1941, ''Ranger'' landed a raiding party at

Naval Station Sangley Point Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, th ...

to secure generators for the troops for

Corregidor Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historicall ...

. ''Ranger'' was abandoned and grounded just north of

Fort Hughes Fort Hughes was built by the Philippine Department of the U.S. Army on Caballo Island in the Philippines in the early 1900s. The fort, which part of the Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays, was named for Major General Robert Patterson Hug ...

, off

Caballo Island Caballo Island (which means "Horse Island" in Spanish) is a bluff, rocky island located at the entrance to Manila Bay in the Philippines. It is about long with the highest elevation at 381 feet high. Caballo, along with the larger Corregidor (2 ...

. Her ultimate fate is uncertain. Naval records indicate that they lost record of her on 28 February 1942, although other sources indicate that she escaped Manila Bay on 6 May 1942.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranger 1940 ships Ships built in Hong Kong Ships built by the Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Company