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Starr, R. B., artist.

[U.S. Naval Certificate of Passage Into The Arctic Circle.]

[Arctic Circle]: 1943. Color printed map, 18.125” x 14.75” plus narrow margins, filled out in manuscript. CONDITION: Good, some toning, light foxing and other stains, light creases.

A delightful WWII-era U.S. Naval certificate in the form of a pictorial map, commemorating the passage of the U.S.S. Ranger into the Arctic Circle, with lively illustrations. 

Designed as a scroll hung up on the riveted steel wall of a ship, this map serves to “certify that C. W. Bloomburg while serving on board the U.S.S. Ranger crossed the Arctic Circle on 8 November in the Year 1943 A.D. to enter the Northern Domain of the Polar Bear,” and is signed by commanding officer Andrew Rowe U.S.N. Iceland appears at the center of the map and features a volcano spewing smoke and fire, while Greenland appears at the upper left. A menacing polar bear looms large at the upper right, staring in the direction of the destroyer cruising between Greenland and Iceland. A spouting whale, a viking ship, and a seal poised on a sheet of ice are also depicted. Featured in the lower-right corner is an emblem of Great Britain, which is indicative of joint naval operations. 

The U.S.S. Ranger (CV-4) was commissioned at Newport News, Virginia on June 4th, 1934 and served in the Atlantic and Pacific, taking part in Neutrality Patrols in the Atlantic before America’s entry into World War II in December, 1941. In early 1942, she transported aircraft to West African bases and then took part in Operation Torch that November. After undergoing overhaul at Norfolk, Virginia from December 1942 to February 1943, she again transported Army pursuit planes to Africa. Assigned to the British Home Fleet from August to November 1943, Ranger participated in Operation Leader on October 4th, 1943, during which her aircraft assaulted German shipping along the Norwegian coast. Ranger returned to Scotland on October 6th. In the company of the British 2nd Battle Squadron, Ranger patrolled Iceland’s waters for about a month and a half (the period during which this certificate was awarded), and then departed Hvalfjord, Iceland for Boston, arriving on December 4th. In early 1944, she was overhauled and sent to the Pacific, spending the rest of the war preparing air groups for combat operations. Decommissioned in October 1946, she was sold for scrap in January 1947.

Remarkably well-printed and very attractive, this map has the freshness of an original watercolor about it.

A delightful pictorial map certificate issued to a member of the crew of the U.S.S. Ranger, featuring colorful illustrations of the marvels of the polar regions.

REFERENCES: “USS Ranger (CV-4)” at Naval History and Heritage Command online; “USS Ranger (CV-4)” at National Museum of the U.S. Navy online.

Item #8219

Price: $650.00

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