Ranger
Beta- Use aircraft to reveal destroyer lanes first, then attack isolated ships or targets already under surfa…
- Avoid: Do not tunnel on damage and ignore vision or aircraft economy
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Ranger Community Stats
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Ranger Community Stats
Record History
Playstyle
Overview
Ranger is the Tier V American bomber carrier. HE dive bombers are her main battery, hitting for 4,600 per drop, so match impact comes from repeated bombing runs on broadside and angled targets rather than a single torpedo strike. Air torpedoes are a secondary option. The hull also tanks unusually well for a CV (44,900 HP, cohort-best), so she can stay in match longer than peer carriers. AA (587 DPS at 4.2 km) is heavy enough to make her the team's air-defense anchor; CV strikes route around her, not through.
Positioning
Use aircraft to reveal destroyer lanes first, then attack isolated ships or targets already under surface pressure. Ranger benefits from improved strike consistency, but she still needs safe approaches and preserved planes to matter late.
Potato Avoidance
Tunnel on damage and ignore vision or aircraft economy
Ranger’s balance history shows she depends on getting efficient value from each squadron; repeated bad drops leave her unable to spot or finish key ships.
Signature Traits
- Tough flight deck · 22500.0 HP
- Fast squadron restore · 32.0 s
44900.0 HP, best of T5 CVs.
- Burny · 9.0%
- Punch-through · 21.0 mm
587.0 AA DPS, best of T5 CVs (median 377.0).
- Slow acceleration
- Bleeds speed in turns · 53.0 hp
How to get Ranger
Ranger is available in the Bomber Carriers branch of the U.S. Tech Tree for 6,000,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 1,290,000 credits.
Show U.S.A. tech-tree branch diagram
Ranger sits in the Bomber Carriers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.S. tree.
U.S. aircraft carriers are all-rounders, effective with both dive bombers and torpedo bombers. However, they have a bias toward their powerful high-explosive bombs over torpedoes.
- Advantages
- Powerful HE dive bombers, Large hangars
- Disadvantages
- Poor torpedo performance
Builds Beta
Build for aircraft restoration, survivability, speed, and torpedo/bomb consistency. Current advice should reflect post-balance torpedo damage, aircraft speed, bomber accuracy, aircraft HP, and detectability changes.
Have a build you swear by? Open it in the Build Tool and hit Save build to share it here.
Cohort position
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Where Ranger sits among Tier V CVs (8 ships). Notable standouts are shown first; the rest of the cohort-ranked stats are in the expand below. Acquisition variants (Black Friday, Founders Edition) are counted once with their base ship, not as separate peers.
See 17 mid-pack stats
Not standouts for Ranger -- here's where she sits on every other ranked stat in the cohort. Stats tagged NORM are tied across more than half the cohort, so the value is the cohort default rather than a standout.
Stats & specs
Customize in the Build Tool →Shell ballistics chartƒ
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (42×3.5×1) + (106×3.5×0.95) + (25×3.5×1) = 587. Covers AA-only mounts plus dual-purpose secondaries (Bismarck 105mm, USN 5"/38 cruiser secondaries) and dual-purpose main batteries (Sumner-class 5"/38, Akizuki-line 100mm). Formula validated against in-game captures on California, Sumner, Manfred von Richthofen, Dante Alighieri (exact) and within +/-17% on the remaining verified ships.ƒ
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.ƒ
Includes 25 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.ƒ
Far 25 + Medium 42 = 67ƒ
Far 25 + Medium 42 + Near 106 = 173ƒ
Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.ƒ
4.5 km × 57 + 30 = 286.5 m.ƒ
Time to reach 90% of top speed (26.6 kt of 29.5 kt), from our in-house acceleration model.ƒ
Time to reach 99% of top speed (29.2 kt of 29.5 kt). 99% rather than 100% because true top speed is asymptotic (thrust meets drag), so the last fraction of a knot is never quite gained.ƒ
max(base sea detectability, gun-firing bloom range). Firing never pulls your detection closer than base concealment.
Automatic Damage Control Party∞ charges · 90 s reload · 60 s active
Automatic Fighter4 charges · 40 s reload · 150 s active · 5 km patrol radius ƒ
Derived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000):
See all derived stats
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All values are ship base stats with modifications and upgrade changes denoted inline.
Numbers the spec table cannot show directly: alpha-strike math, DPM, dispersion, AP penetration. Click the formula chip on any row to reveal how it is calculated.
AA defense
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (42×3.5×1) + (106×3.5×0.95) + (25×3.5×1) = 587. Covers AA-only mounts plus dual-purpose secondaries (Bismarck 105mm, USN 5"/38 cruiser secondaries) and dual-purpose main batteries (Sumner-class 5"/38, Akizuki-line 100mm). Formula validated against in-game captures on California, Sumner, Manfred von Richthofen, Dante Alighieri (exact) and within +/-17% on the remaining verified ships.Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.SUM over AA auras of (aura DPS x aura range km). A plane crossing the AA bubble is exposed to each aura for a time proportional to that aura's range, so long-reach DPS is worth more than the same DPS in a short bubble. Units: DPS*km; used to rank overall AA threat across the cohort.Secondary battery dispersion
Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.4.5 km × 57 + 30 = 286.5 m.Secondary battery firepower
Sum across all secondary families of (per-side barrels × 60 / reload_s × alpha), where per-side barrels = mounts × barrels-per-mount / 2 (the guns that bear on one broadside target). Per-family: 8×1 127 mm (4/side) × 60/4.5 × 1800 = 96,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1800 from the 127 mm family.Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 9% from the 127 mm family.Maximum HE armor penetration across secondary HE families (caliber × 1/6 for most nations; 1/4 for German/UK BBs). Shells whose pen falls under a plate's armor thickness shatter for 0 hull damage though fire chance still applies. Best on this ship: 21 mm from the 127 mm family.Armor Beta
Hull HP 43,700 → 44,900 with hull upgrade, distributed across 5 hull zones, each with its own plate thicknesses, saturation cap, and pen thresholds. HP caps are estimated from the standard WoWs damage-allocation model.
Overmatched by 90+ guns across the bracket. Can’t reliably bow-tank; gets bow-citadelled and overpenned.
Thin belt: battleship AP citadels straight through it broadside. Rely on angle, speed and concealment, never sit flat.
Superstructure and extremities take HE pens and AP overpens from nearly any gun: steady chip damage. Fire resistance 23%, fires burn 60s. Range-by-range in the ballistics tool →
| Section | Plates | HP cap | Threats | Tactic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bow | 19 mm primary (range 16–30 mm) | ≈ 2,245 (~5% of HP) | Overmatched by 283mm+ (Moltke, Graf Spee)Angle bounces 203mm19 mm: HE pens from 127mm+ | Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP. |
| Hull (midship) | 30 mm primary (range 19–51 mm) | ≈ 33,675 (~75% of HP) | Overmatch not possible in its bracketAngle bounces 410mm30 mm: HE pens from 203mm+ | Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest. |
| Stern | 19 mm | ≈ 2,245 (~5% of HP) | Overmatched by 283mm+ (Moltke, Graf Spee)Angle bounces 203mm19 mm: HE pens from 127mm+ | Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation. |
| Citadel | 51 mm primary (range 13–51 mm) | no cap | Citadel pen: full damageOver-pen: ×0.10 damage | Effectively no cap; citadel pool sits at ~165k HP on every ship. An AP citadel penetration deals the shell's full damage, the biggest single hit available; only over-penetrations are damped, to ×0.10. |
| Superstructure | 6 mm primary (range 6–51 mm) | no cap | Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damage | Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damage. HE-spam target, and the section saturates fast (often only a few thousand HP). |
Saturation cap = HP a section can absorb before further damage to it is reduced (the "bow-tank" effect). Citadel pool is ~165k on every ship (effectively no cap); damage is gated by pen/over-pen multipliers instead. Superstructure saturates fast but HE always pens regardless of the plate thickness. Rudder (and other module HPs) are a separate pool from ship HP: damaging a module doesn't drain ship HP. Incapacitated modules like the rudder and engine are restored by DCP, but secondary and AA mounts destroyed at 0 HP stay out for the rest of the battle.
3D armor viewer
Acceleration and Ballistics Chart
Balance History
Balance updates affecting Ranger. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.
Ministry of Balance: Aerial Adjustments
- Torpedo.
- Stock torpedo bomber restoration time increased from 30 to 39 s.
- Stock torpedo bomber base speed reduced from 111 to 105 kts.
- Upgraded torpedo bomber restoration time increased from 30 to 39 s.
- Upgraded torpedo bomber base speed reduced from 123 to 112 kts.
- Stock dive bomber restoration time increased from 26 to 36 s.
- Stock dive bomber base speed reduced from 128 to 116 kts.
- Upgraded dive bomber restoration time increased from 24 to 32 s.
- Upgraded dive bomber base speed reduced from 128 to 116 kts.
Ministry of Balance: Carriers 2.0 – First Wave
- Aiming speed increased (aiming circle shrinks faster).
- Aiming time reduced from 8 to 7 seconds.
- Dive bomber accuracy (likelihood of an individual bomb hitting the inner circle) increased from 25 to 50%.
- Bombs per aircraft increased from 1 to 3.
- Number of aircraft in squadron increased from 6 to 8.
- Maximum HP per aircraft reduced from 2,500 to 1,700 (squadron HP reduced from 15,000 to 13,600).
- Base speed increased from 97 to 128 knots.
- Maximum flight range set to 33 kilometers.
- Maximum hangar aircraft increased from 10 to 16.
- Starting hangar aircraft increased from 10 to 12.
- +4 more official change lines in the source post.
Ministry of Balance Reports: Carrier Changes
- This ship has had her ups and downs, and right now, she’s at the bottom of the damage board for Tier V carriers. We’ve decided to help her out with improvements to her torpedo aircraft:
- Stock torpedo damage increased from 6,033 to 6,367.
- Upgraded torpedo damage increased from 6,400 to 6,600.
- Upgraded torpedo arming time decreased from 3.66 to 3 seconds.
- Upgraded torpedo speed increased from 47 to 49 knots.
Halloween Update: New Friends, Old Foes
- Surface detectability range changed from 12 to 13 km; air detectability range changed from 8.4 to 9.1 km.
- Stock dive bomber HP changed from 2,450 to 2,500; stock torpedo bomber HP changed from 2,350 to 2,420.
- Upgraded dive bomber HP changed from 2,600 to 2,650; upgraded torpedo bomber HP changed from 2,450 to 2,525.
Halloween Update: Double the Fun, Double the Trouble
- Detectability range by sea increased from 10 to 12 km.
- Detectability range by air increased from 7.7 to 8.4 km.
Skins & permanent camouflages
Every custom exterior Ranger can equip, from in-game data.
DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior
Primary official WG sources
Filtered to official World of Warships: Legends pages where this ship is a focus, reward, line member, or high-context variant mention.
