Found this photo of what's said to be CV-4 "Ranger" Air Group 4, on a snowy flight deck. I generally associate US aircraft carriers with Pacific ops, so seeing a picture with winter weather was a nice surprise. Avengers, Dauntlesses, and Wildcats here.
In September 1943 the aircraft carrier was sent to the Great Britain where she became the part of the Home Fleet. In October CV-4 "Ranger" participated in "Leader" operation. The pic seems to be taken just at the period of her service at the North Atlantic.
Ranger spent most of her war in the Atlantic, including a spell with the Home Fleet off Norway in late 1943 as noted above. But the markings (some aircraft are carrying national insignia on the top surface of the starboard wing while some are not) would indicate the early part of 1943 rather than the later part. The markings changed Feb 1943. And no bars to the insignia suggests pre June.
From Feb-Aug 1943 she was training pilots off the US coast but sailed as far north as Halifax, Nova Scotia, which could account for the snow.
Right, right. I did that many times, mostly in North Pacific.
Hard work and in certain weather conditions it's a race for survival when ice grows faster than you can clear it out. Any extra object on the deck is an "ice magnet". More ice, higher your centre of gravity. You try to escape to the higher temperature zone but the ocean disagrees and gives you a head-on wind, slowing you down and spraying your deck, which means even faster icing... I still see it in bad night dreams.
Of course, they have a lot of hands on the aircraft carrier compared to the merchant/fishing ship.