The US "Early War " Ladies (mostly in the Pacific) of WW2

The striking power of the WWII US (Pacific) Fleet was built around the US carrier force. In the early war (before the mass produced Essex and light Independence class dominated the Pacific arena) these unique almost experimental ships faced by the equally bespoke IJN flat-tops (see below):

The battle wastage in these craft was high (only USS Ranger, USS Saratoga and USS Enterprise survived the war), Going from left to right:

• USS Ranger
• USS Saratoga
• USS Lexington
• USS Wasp
• USS Yorktown
• USS Hornet
• USS Enterprise

Notably the USS Ranger is noted spent her active life in the Atlantic versus the Pacific, her capabilities (she was the first US "as designed" carrier and was part of a (steep) learning curve) deemed better suited

Next stop: Basing the Flat-Tops