The Paddle Wheel Aircraft Carriers

Four new photos - dauntless, wildcat and the USS Wolverine

2009-09-05T08:33:00.004-05:00

New photo found on E-Bay

2009-08-16T10:04:00.004-05:00

USN Grumman F6F Hellcat - USS Sable

This is the latest photo I found for the USS Sable and USS Wolverine

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

Video: Recovered Douglas SBD Dauntless

2009-04-26T09:16:00.001-05:00

Dripping water like a heavy sponge and riddled with quagga mussels, a World War II-era dive bomber was pulled from a channel off Waukegan Harbor Friday morning, some 65 years after being lost to Lake Michigan.
Click here for rest of the article.

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

TBM-3U Avenger

2009-03-27T22:37:00.004-05:00

General Motors TBM-3U Avenger

N325GT / 69325/T-88 (cn 2064) On display in the Olympic Flight Museum. Painted as an Avenger that operated off of the USS Wolverine, a side-wheeled aircraft training aircraft carrier that opeated in the Great Lakes during World War II.
Source: Airline.net

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

From Fourth Welland Canal Clippings

2009-01-23T23:43:00.004-06:00

Much of the region's attention, however, was focused on the harbor at Port Colbome and the aircraft carrier, USS Sable. The ship arrived on Saturday, after being towed from Chicago on its way to Hamilton. The Sable remained in Port Colbome for a month before it was towed down the Welland Canal. Its 102-foot wide top deck would not fit through the canal, so 18 feet had to be cut from each side before it could proceed. The steel which was removed went to the Steel Company of Canada yard in Hamilton. The Sable, which was converted to an aircraft carrier from a cruise ship named the Greater Buffalo during the Second World War, was scheduled to be transformed into another type of ship, but our reseach failed to verify exactly how the ship changed, if at all.

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

Rescued by the fish tug "The Energy"

2009-01-10T17:32:00.004-06:00

Read how the crew of the fish tug “The Energy” saved a downed pilot from the USS Wolverine.

“It was then that Detlaff yelled, "one of those planes just hit the water". Sure enough, as everyone looked they could see the airplane beginning to settle in the waves, the pilot exiting the cockpit with his bright yellow "Mae West" life jacket gleaming in the late afternoon sun.”

Click here to read the story.

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

New USS Sable photo

2008-12-06T09:37:00.003-06:00

A new photo of the USS Sable is being sold on E-Bay.
My Flickr photo collection for USS Sable and USS Wolverine

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

USS Sable Deck Log: 3 Jan. 1944

2008-09-27T21:50:00.002-05:00

1350 -- Plane S.B.D. #B2 crashed into sea of port quater, in 55 feet of water, bearing 080° (t): distance 7.6 miles from Chicago Harbor Light, in Latitude 41° 54.5’N., Longitude 87° 26.7’ W: pilot Maynard, Dale Leroy, Ens., USNR, sustained injuries as follows: laceration and contusion fo upper lip: shock due to cold

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

Fond memories of landing on the freshwater carriers?

2008-09-19T19:42:00.003-05:00

Comments about "Cornfields and Carriers" article:

... My [first carrier landing] came aboard the USS Sable on Nov. 28, 1944. Each fledgling aviator was required to complete eight successful landings. A successful landing meant that one didn't crash on the flight deck or land in Lake Michigan.

I flew upwind on the starboard side of the carrier with the canopy open to the freezing wind and my nerves stretched pretty thin (understatement). As I passed the Sable's bow, I snapped the aircraft into a hard 180-degree port turn. The wheels, flaps, and landing hook came down as activated and the aircraft flew downwind to the carrier's port bow. Next came the gentle turn into the landing groove to sight the landing signal officer (LSO), receive his "cut" signal, and make my first arrested landing on a carrier.

... Due to the sudden deceleration, when the hook engages the arresting wire, one must lock the canopy open, remove the hand from the throttle, and remove the feet from the brakes. I forgot all three. ... When my Wildcat hit the deck and grabbed the cable, the canopy slammed forward - my hand shoved the throttle to full power, and my feet applied the brakes! The Wildcat's nose went down and the tail went up. With luck, no damage was done.

The air boss was standing on the deck in the freezing wind in a full-length leather coat, was about 6 feet 4 inches tall, and looked as if he could eat ensigns alive - and very nearly did. Afterward he made his way to the next aviator to come aboard and was mumbling something about "idiots in airplanes."

This was the first of many hundreds of carrier landings [to come in] my naval service, but I will always remember that first on the USS Sable.

Lt. Cmdr. G. Vaughn, USNR-Ret.
Granbury, Texas

Rob Newell's article delighted us two old-timers and brought back many memories! George Cole was a plank owner of the USS Sable, serving as flight deck officer in 1943 and 1944, succeeded by Fred Durant, who served until decommissioning after V-J Day. Both the Sable and the USS Wolverine are enshrined in the Maritime Hall of Fame.

The article stated well the challenge of qualifying thousands of naval aviators to land on and take off from carriers. Both ships actively competed in a number of landings per day. When Sable arrived, 18 was the greatest number of pilots qualified in one day aboard Wolverine. With experience and the outstanding performance of LSOs and flight crews, this number doubled and redoubled. The Sable's record of 528 landings and takeoffs in one day still stands. Cole recalls that 28,000 landings were made during his tour. This number includes those made by young Ens. George H.W. Bush, USNR. But we were all young then!

Cmdr. F.C. Durant III, USNR-Ret.
Lt. George M. Cole, USN-Ret.
Jacksonville, Fla.

"Cornfields and Carriers" ... was fascinating. Of those 17,819 "other" pilots who received their pilot qualification for carrier duty on those two ships almost 60 years ago, I hope those still with us all read and enjoyed it as much as I did. We probably all have similar memories of those first terrifying landings, but if I may, I'd like to add mine to the list.

... On my last of eight landings required for qualification, I received a wave-off from the LSO for some minor infraction. No problem, but as I circled the ship in preparation for my next attempt, I was cold, so I opened my shoulder harness to close the canopy. As I passed the ship's island on my downwind leg, I could see my mates watching me, which ... didn't soothe my nerves a bit.

... [On my] second attempt, I was lined up perfectly in the groove and was shocked to receive a second wave-off because, thank God, the LSO noted that my canopy was not open. On top of that, I soon realized that I had forgotten to resecure my shoulder harness, completely essential for the sudden stop of carrier landings. Now I was really shaken up and considered flying back to Glenview, Ill., on my own but that would have been a real career shortener.

0K, calm down, follow your checkoff list, and set it down properly - but that was not to be. The LSO determined that I was too low and slow in the groove and gave a last-minute frantic wave-off. I shot the throttle to the fire wall and the war-weary engine faltered momentarily before my tail hook caught No. 9, the last arresting cable on the deck, just as I was banking off to my left.

This caused my nose to drop; the landing gear plus a good portion of the edge of the carrier deck were torn off, and the plane went straight down into an extremely cold and uninviting Lake Michigan. Fortunately it settled on its belly rather than its back, and I was able to dive overboard and inflate my life vest.

... [A] Coast Guard cutter was by my side almost instantly and plucked me out. ... [O]n the ride back to Navy Pier, the cutter was notified to hold me at the pier until the ship came in as the skipper wanted to see me. Oh boy! What would he do? Would I have to pay for it? Was I now a seaman second class? Would he throw me back in the lake? The suspense was killing me.

Finally, after watching the carrier tie up at the end of the pier, I saw the skipper and his entourage walking toward me. Needless to say I felt like an idiot, and I'm sure I looked like a jerk standing there in my sweat suit and boots trying to throw a snappy salute. His big smile slowed my pulse rate a bit while he held out his hand holding a flight helmet with bent and broken goggles.

"Is this yours, Ensign?" he asked.

Certainly. There was my name stenciled in it. ... It seems that a sailor assessing the damage had found it on a catwalk under the severe overhang of the flight deck. The skipper and I (by now we were almost buddies ...) theorized that when the landing gear hit the edge of the deck, centrifugal force yanked the helmet off my head and snapped it outside the cockpit and down, still secured to the plane by its plugged-in radio cord. Trust me, my next carrier landings on the newly commissioned USS Princeton in an F6F Hellcat went much [more smoothly].

Thanks again for reviving the nostalgia, and I was glad to read that mine was only one of the estimated 200 Navy aircraft to hit the drink in Lake Michigan during those unique qualifications. Misery loves company.

Lt. J.G. R. Woodruff, USNR-Ret.
Merced, Calif.

Source

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

The pilots of the Paddlewheel Aircraft Carriers

2008-09-10T19:32:00.003-05:00

New pilots had to make eight successful landings and takeoffs to become carrier qualified, and many of them did so in a single day. Whether it was in the searing 100degree heat of a humid August pressure cooker or in the bitter minus40-degree gales of a freezing January, operations continued. Having completed flight school at Pensacola, Corpus Christi, or Gross lle, naval pilots received approximately 300 hours of flight time, They first practiced on a flight deck mock-up and then transited to the Carrier Qualification Training Unit at NAS Glenview. There the LSO put them through one day of classes, one day of practice landings, and the third day was the real thing,

At its commissioning, CQTU had 14 fighters, 14 scout bombers, and eight torpedo bombers at its disposal. The young naval pilots would use whatever tired aircraft were available - high-time Texans, Dauntlesses, Wildcats, and later Hellcats, Corsairs or Avengers.

The lightly seasoned pilots would take off from the station's criss-cross runways. Usually they were led by an experienced staff pilot who would guide the novices to their designated landmark - the Baha'i Temple in Wilmette called Point Obo - and then head out to "sea" making radio contact with one of the two mini-flattops. "Fox 28 this is Wolverine. Your bearing is 280 degrees." After sighting the ship, which would be flying two black balls to designate it was prepared to take on aircraft, flight operations would commence. The seasoned pilot would land first, not only showing the young pilots the way, but also bolstering their confidence enough to give them the edge needed to succeed in their own subsequent attempts.

An Ensign Harding logged the 1000th landing on 17 September, just 22 days from the beginning of flight operations... the first casualty occurred 21 October when Ens. Fred Morgan, flying an F4F Wildcat crashed into the deep. His body was never recovered. Most of the attempts, though, were successful. Indeed, on 11 June 1943, while the US 7th Division on the other side of the world landed at Attu in the Aleutian Islands, Lt. Roemer made the 10,000th landing on the Wolverine. Only 289 days had elapsed since operations had been inaugurated, By the time the venerable ship was decommissioned, there had been only 113 barrier crashes and 38 other deck crashes, with three fatalities recorded. However, photographer's mate Ulysses Buffington remembers that "we averaged about one fatality per month." On the USS Yorktown in Charleston, SC, there is an exhibit to honor pilots and crew that died on “all” US aircraft carriers. Why are not the pilots and crew, who died, from the USS Sable and USS Wolverine not honored in that exhibit?

The Sable, though she gets less press, was no slouch in the operations department either. She claimed a record for one day catches on 28 May 1944 with 488 landings in 531 minutes, qualifying 59 pilots, Not to be outdone, the Wolverine snatched 500 aircraft two days before the Normandy invasion (Long puts the figure at 633). James Paxton said, "Both ships were very competitive from the captains down to the apprentice seamen in their attempts to qualify the most pilots. There were many real dock fights between the crews and sometimes the officers, even the captains, over who was the best while waiting for the last liberty boat back to the ships at midnight." (Though the authors could find no final tallies for deaths on the Sable, a newspaper article dated 6 April 1944 states, "A naval aviator operating from the USS Sable was the eighth fatality out of thousands of flights... over a two-year period.")
Source: AirClassics

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... Paddlewheel .... Sidewheeler .... US Navy ..... Glenview NAS .... NAS .... Aircraft Carrier ..... Training Carrier .... Freshwater --- Great Lakes --- US military

The crew of the Paddlewheel Aircraft Carriers

2008-09-08T19:16:00.001-05:00

Anyone who has ever worked on a carrier flight deck in the dead of winter can understand the kind of hardships the officers and men endured. Again, Cdr. Alden in his article When Airpower Rode on Paddle Wheels -'A captain, who subsequently commanded Sable, recalled that although the winter of 1944-45 was the most severe in the history of the Chicago Weather Bureau, nevertheless the ships operated continuously seven days a week from first light to darkness. Snow remained on the ground in Chicago for 66 days, and Lake Michigan was frozen over as far as 15 miles out, With the help of Coast Guard icebreakers, operations were maintained. Although adventures were many, casualties were few. The overall accident percentage among the pilots was less than one half of one percent."

Not only were operations very successful, the duty for pilots and crew certainly was not bad. WE Barret reported, "Living conditions were tops, food was the best, we had laundry and a two-chair barber shop. Liberty ashore in Chicago and Milwaukee area was the best." He continued, "The ships had liberty every night, each person had liberty every other night. There was a Budweiser place in downtown Chicago that a lot of us would meet (at) before going on to other places. (The) people treated us great. They would not let us pay for anything drinks or food." And it wasn't just the food on shore; the Wolverine's First Anniversary Commissioning dinner included fresh Maine lobster cocktail, Southern fried chicken, Idaho baked potatoes - even watermelon!

There were two 40-ft liberty boats to transport crew from ship to shore. As mentioned, the weather on the Great Lakes can be bitterly cruel. Robert Tidrow remembers an incident with one of the liberty boats and some of that Windy City bluster that Chicagoans like to brag about so much. "One morning (1) was coming back from liberty. When the wind is out of the north it whips up the lake in the southern part. This morning it was so bad we could not get the liberty boat alongside. They rigged up a rope ladder and hung it from the fantail and the liberty boat ran in under if. The waves and ground swells were terrific. They dropped the ladder by me and the Exec says 'go ahead,' (rather than in ranking order). By the time he said this the ladder was nearly 20 ff above me. Then suddenly it was there. I grabbed and climbed, not looking down or back. As my feet left the liberty boat I was swaying in mid-air with full uniform and a heavy overcoat. If I didn't hang on I would be in the water and with all these heavy clothes on, to the bottom I'd go. I got aboard and never looked back for I did not care to watch the rest coming aboard. But they all made it; fortunately."
Source: AirClassics

The beginning of the Paddlewheel Aircraft Carriers

2008-09-04T19:32:00.002-05:00

On 7 August 1942, while Marines were landing at Guadalcanal, the Navy requisitioned the side-wheeler Greater Buffalo. Her skipper of 18 years, Capt. Lee C. DeNike, toasted her from the bridge on her last voyage, "Anything to win the war," he said of the old veteran about to metamorphose into a new ship with a new life and a new mission. The Greater Buffalo had been launched 29 October 1923 at Lorain, Ohio, also as a passenger steamer, having been built by the American Shipbuilding Company of Lorain and Great Lakes Engineering Works of Ecorse, Michigan. The vessel had an overall length of 519 ft, a beam of 58 ft 3 in and a draft of 15 ft 5 in. With the paddle wheels, she measured 92 ft 2 in total width. Like the Seeandbee before her, the Greater Buffalo was conscripted into the Navy.

In March of 1942, the American Shipbuilding Company removed the Seeondbee's superstructure down to the main deck. This was done in Cleveland. On 10 May, four days after the fall of Corregidor, the conversion of the paddle-wheeler began in Buffalo. With a deadline of 120 days to completion, 1200 men worked around the clock... with patriotism at a nationwide high, the project took only three months and two days. The shipyard won the coveted Army-Navy “E" for Excellence award.

A coal burner, the Wolverine's four stacks were moved to the starboard side, According to George C. Long, writing in American Heritage Magazine: "Her machinery was so sound that no mechanical changes were necessary." A small island was added to hold the navigation bridge and observation tower, and a steel framework was added to support the three-inch thick Douglas fir flight deck. There were no catapults for launching aircraft or hangar deck for storage and workshops. The mini-flattop had an eight-wire arresting system and, of course, a cable barrier for those aircraft which failed to catch any of the wires. The complete flight deck was only 26 ft off the water perhaps a bit too close for Naval pilots as ocean-going carriers had decks about 70 ft above the waves. Long continued, "This proved a little disturbing to the young pilots, since a slight dip after takeoff is a common characteristic of carrier aviation, probably the result of the abrupt transition from over-the-deck to over-water, and a drop of only 26 feet could bring disaster."

Initial cost of the ship was $756,000 and the conversion ran $1,935,343, Renamed the USS Wolverine, the new flattop was rushed to Chicago to start flight operations on 22 August 1942. Mr. James Christopher was freshly assigned to the Wolverine when she was commissioned. I ... arrived in Buffalo from Midshipmen's School, i.e. Columbia University (90-day wonder which actually took 120 days), found the uniform for commissioning was white - had no white shoes - took a fast ride into city on rear of a policeman's bike purchased cheap pair at Thom McAn store and made the commissioning exercise. Then after a trial cruise we left for a cruise through Lake Erie - Detroit River (people lined on both sides cheering us on), Lake Huron, then to Lake Michigan - tied up to Navy pier - Chicago."

Meanwhile, the Greater Buffalo conversion had started at Erie, Pennsylvania. by the American Shipbuilding Company, On 19 September 1942, renamed the LISS Sable, phase two began. A small island holding the navigation bridge and observation tower was added to the starboard side along with the relocation of the smokestacks - the original three were combined into two. At the last minute it was decided to try out two new steel flight decking designs along with eight different non-skid coatings. This made the Sable the first US carrier with a steel flight deck. The Sable was commissioned 8 May 1943.

Interestingly, both ships had rudders in their bows as well as their sterns to enable greater maneuverability in tight spots since the paddle wheels ran off of the same shaft, they could not operate independently, The Wolverine displaced 7200 tons while the Sable displaced 8000 tons. According to Cdr. John D. Alden in When Airpower Rode on Paddle Wheels, "Their coal-fired reciprocating engines had low pressure cylinders a full eight feet in diameter, connected by a walking beam to paddle wheels which could only turn in the same direction at the same speed." Both ships, the only coal burning carriers in the Navy, could produce a speed of 18 knots. There was going to be a third carrier built from the conversion of the Greater Detroit, but the program was canceled.

The Navy had two training ships, each carrying 300 officers and men, They were just what the Navy needed to not only teach novice pilots how to land on a moving deck, but also to train ships' crews, deck crews and LSOs in the operations of aircraft carriers. This was of great importance; as an example of the dire straits the Navy was in at the beginning of the war, Long recounts in his article The SideWheel Carriers that the Wolverine's 'LSO came down with appendicitis and had to be taken ashore for emergency surgery, The fragility of this whole operation is suggested by the fact that his illness brought all training to a halt for two weeks."

Source: AirClassics

USS Sable Deck Log: 10 Aug. 1943

2008-08-29T21:26:00.006-05:00

TDNs (Twin-engine Navy drone) were tested near Traverse City, Mich.

1000 -- Sounded flight quarters.

1008 -- Engines back full astern; c/c to 325° (t) and pqc

1026 -- Launched plane TDN-2

1027 -- Plane TDN-2 crashes in water on starboard quarters, distance 1000 yards

1028 -- stopped engines

Would you go backwards full speed to launch planes off an aircraft carrier? The USS Sable hadn’t yet gotten a typewriter yet. And while some of the handwriting in the Deck Log is bad, the order is clearly written as full astern not full ahead.

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

Finally able to catch my breath

2008-08-23T21:43:00.002-05:00

This is part of a story told at a 2000 reunion by Lloyd Sime- VAN Team #13.

On a clear, cold day in March, after making several field carrier practice landings on the previous day, four of us nuggets left NAS Glenview headed for the USS Wolverine. By sheer luck or the Grace of God, we found the ship sailing along on Lake Michigan. I looked down at the ship's flight deck with a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was not a large deck, but we made a sharp break over the ship and began our practice approaches.

The pre-flight briefing had emphasized that we would make several practice approaches with wave-off's until the landing signal officers were confident that each of us would make safe arrested landings. I was making my fourth "practice" approach, confident of another wave off when on final I saw the "cut" signal. My left hand immediately cut the power as my heart leaped into my throat. Fortunately, the tail hook caught an arresting wire and I came to a stop. When I was finally able to catch my breath, I realized I was standing on the brakes and a deck hand was frantically giving me a brake release signal. This began another frightening experience. About 20 sailors manned the wing and pushed me aft as far as possible. Remember there were no catapults on the ship, so it was necessary to make a deck launch. At this time I saw the Flight Deck Officer giving me a frantic full power signal. When I reached maximum power, the flight deck officer made a motion pointing towards the bow of the ship and I released the brakes and was rolling forward. The bow of the ship seemed to be directly in front of me and still holding my breath I tentatively raised the nose of my Wildcat and it flew off the deck.

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

Wish you could try landing on the USS Wolverine?

2008-08-16T10:32:00.006-05:00

Do you wish you could try landing on the USS Wolverine?

Do you have the Combat Flight Simulator 2 program?

I found a web site that has created a virtual USS Wolverine.

Combat Flight Center

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... Combat Flight Simulator 2 .... Combat Flight Center .... US Navy

USS Sable Deck Log: 18 Aug. 1944

2008-07-18T23:26:00.006-05:00

15:50 -- TBF (T-3) Ens. F. Tomaszak, A-V(N), USNR made landing 32,000.

17:52 -- SBD (B-18), pilot Ens. W.F. Martin, A-V(N), USNR landed on deck damaging gear and propellor. Shark, Paul Levern, S.2/c, 940 81 96, USNR was hit by left landing gear which broke off from (B-18) and was pronounced dead by Comdr. C.W. Letcher (MC), USNR immediately upon his arrival at the scene of the accident. The diagnosis as to the cause of death was a broken neck. ... The death was not a result of negligence.

When I visited the USS Yorktown, they had an exhibit honoring all the men that have died on all US aircaft carriers except the USS Sable and the USS Wolverine. Those pilots and crewmembers like Seaman Shark that died should also be honored as part of that exhibit.

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... World War II .... Great Lakes ... paddlewheel .... USS Yorktown .... Glenview .... Naval Air Station

Piece of history for sale

2008-07-04T20:12:00.009-05:00

I found a USS Sable item being sold on E-Bay. When the bid was $9.99, I considered buying it. With one hour left, the bid is $89.99. Since I don’t really have a place to show it, I am skipping this USS Sable item.

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

General Motors FM-2 Wildcat at Pima

2008-06-13T22:26:00.005-05:00

Many Wildcats also served as trainers throughout the war. One of the Navy’s largest training centers was located near Chicago. Two Great Lakes paddlewheel steamers were converted into aircraft carriers. The USS Wolverine and USS Sable sailed from Chicago’s Navy Pier each day to let new aviators practice landing and taking off from ships. The combination of new pilots and the inherently dangerous activity of landing on a moving ship resulted in many aircraft littered across the bottom of southern Lake Michigan. Fortunately for future historians Lake Michigan has just the right combination of depth, cold and fresh water to preserve these aircraft.

Pima Air Museum

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

Navy Pier 1941-1945

2008-05-09T19:41:00.004-05:00

Up to 12,000 sailors at a time were housed at the Pier, stacked in triple bunks. In all, about 60,000 men received their training on the Pier. The school also provided support for two aircraft carriers that had been converted from paddlewheel passenger cruisers, the USS Wolverine and USS Sable, which the Navy used for training aircraft carrier pilots. Flying from Glenview Naval Air Station, pilots would meet the carriers out on Lake Michigan for landing and take off practice. Among those who trained on these ships was future President George H.W. Bush. The Pier functioned as a Naval Training School until 1946, when the Navy turned control of the Pier over to the City of Chicago and the University of Illinois.

Click link for more about Navy Pier and the complete photo abve.

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

PO Valley then what happened?

2008-03-11T17:41:00.003-05:00

My father never really talked about his WWII military service. He did say he was in field artillery in Italy. When he passed away last November, we got his military discharge papers. From those, I know he saw enough action in the PO Valley campaign to get a bronze battle star for his MiddleEast ribbon.

I filled out the SF180 form but was told his military records were destroyed by the fire.
I posted some of his photos at the Ft. Sills FA OCS school web site but I want to know more about his PO Valley experience. I am trying to figure out which field artillery unit he was with.

In the 1980s, my father and I went on a bus tour. It started in Frankfurt. It went to Austria and Switzerland. For Italy, we drove thru Cortina D’Ampezzo. As we drove from Villach to Innsbrook via Cortina D'Ampezzo, he mentioned serving in Northern Italy and seemed aware of Cortina so his FA unit must have been near.

If you click on the map, you will see the order of battle map at the end of the PO Valley campaign. There are three units that go right after Verona. I hope he was attached to one of this units but don’t know where they went after this map. Nor am I good in reading the markings on the map to know exact which units are shown. Can anybody help?

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy .... US Army .... WWII .... Italy .... PO Valley

A Look Back: Forty Years of Reminiscing

2008-02-17T10:45:00.001-06:00

Richard A. "Chick" Eldridge describes the beginnings of his naval history. Click link for a Look Back He describes what he thought were problems with the Great Lake carriers.

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

Video: History of the Great Lakes Carriers

2008-02-17T10:37:00.000-06:00

Source: Blip TV

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

Field Artillery Pin

2007-11-17T17:54:00.001-06:00

My father was in the field artillery in WWII. I found this pin going thru his things. I am posting the picture here so I can post in on other forums in an attempt to identify it.

Update: The pin is from the Field Artillery OCS school. Still not sure whether students were issued the pin.

Model of the USS Wolverine

2007-09-22T13:09:00.000-05:00

Source: Model of the USS Wolverince

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

TDN taking off from deck of USS SABLE 1943

2007-07-21T16:11:00.000-05:00

TDN - Twin-engine Navy drone manufactured by Brunswick-Balke

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

Loss of SBD-3 #06624

2007-07-21T15:54:00.001-05:00

Pilot was flying on standpipe reserve and after exhausting the fuel in the left tank, he shifted to left main instead of shifting to right main. Then engine caught and functioned normally, finally quitting after exhausting the fuel in the leftmain line.

The engine quit as he received a “wave-off”. Instead of maknig a water landing, he tried to land short aboard as there was another plane in fly three. He managed to get aboard but failed to hook a wire. The plane went over the starboard side midway between the island and the ramp.

100% PE (50% judgement 50% carelessness)
19 Sept. 1943

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

YouTube video: USS Yorktown (CV-10)

2007-07-06T19:10:00.000-05:00

USS Yorktown (CV/CVS-10) was an Essex-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, and is now a museum ship at Patriot's Point , Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

The first Yorktown was a 16-gun ship sloop commissioned in 1840 that sunk in 1850 after hitting a reef in the Cape Verde islands.

The second Yorktown was a gunboat, launched in 1888, commissioned in 1889 and decommissioned in 1921.

The third Yorktown (CV-5) was an aircraft carrier commissioned in 1937, and a major combatant in World War II until she was sunk at the Battle of Midway in 1942.

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy .... USS Yorktown .... CV-5 .... CV-10

Dauntless SBD3 BuNo 06624

2007-06-16T18:31:00.000-05:00

This photo montage shows various views of a SBD Duantless.

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

YouTube Video: Model of USS Wolverine

2007-06-15T23:16:00.000-05:00

tags : USS Sable ... USS Wolverine .... aircraft carrier .... training carrier .... World War II .... US Navy

Personal story of Lt. J. M. DeVane Jr. and SBD BuNo 06624

2007-06-14T17:27:00.000-05:00

Some people travel to frigid Greenland to retrieve aircraft from beneath 250 feet of glacial ice. Others go to the sweltering jungles of New Guinea to bring them back. The National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Fla., went to the bottom of Lake Michigan to recover a Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless, and the Michigan-based Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, along with the national Guadalcanal Memorial Museum, are the beneficiaries. After years of fundraising and negotiation, this aircraft was brought to the "Air Zoo" in early November 1993. This type of dive-bomber is probably most noted for its work in the Pacific, especially during the Battle of Midway where its type sank three major Japanese aircraft carriers and damaged a fourth.

Aircraft BuNo. 06624 was one of a number of SBDs lost during training in the Great Lakes aboard the paddlewheel carriers Wolverine and Sable. It was stricken on September 19, 1943 when the pilot trainee accidentally switched to a dry fuel tank, lost power on landing, boltered and went over the side into the lake.

Divers retrieved SBD BuNo 06624 from Lake Michigan where it crashed near Naval Air Station Glenview, Ill. After sustaining damage in the landing accident and being underwater for 50 years, the Dauntless was in very poor condition. To prevent further corrosion, power sprayers were used to remove muck and silt from the aircraft, which was then completely disassembled. All of the parts were cleaned and oiled to preserve them.

From John M. DeVane III (USN/Vietnam Vet):

The SBD3 pulled from Lake Michigan -#06624 - was my father's assigned aircraft aboard the USS Ranger, CV-4, during Operation Torch. It was he - Lt. J. M. DeVane Jr. - who dropped one of two 1.000 lb. bombs on the bow of the Jean Bart. The other was Lt.(jg) McReynolds. Lt. R. A. Embree had a near miss in the water on the port beam.

In May, 2002, after 50,000 hrs. and nine years of restoration, SBD3/06624 was dedicated. My son and I attended, representing my Father. (See the photo above).

Dad also scored a direct hit on the bridge of the light cruiser Primaguet, disabling command and control. He was awarded the Navy Cross for valor for his actions in Torch.

Thanks to Mr. DeVane for allowing me to share his father's story.

Click here from more information on Operation Torch.
Click here from more information on USS Ranger, CV-4.
Click here from more information on the Jean Bart.
Click here from more information on the Primaguet and the battle.

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Japanese Silhouettes

2006-12-31T08:05:00.000-06:00

Source: USS Wolverine Google Translation

Source: USS Sable Google Translation

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Crash Landing - May 1945

2006-12-23T18:02:00.000-06:00

General Motors FM-2 Wildcat fighter (licence-built Grumman F4F Wildcat) comes to a most spectacular standstill after a barrier crash on board USS Sable (IX-81), during pilot training in the Great Lakes, May 1945.

Another FM-2 can be flying past in at the top edge (center) of the photo.

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U.S.S. Sable Construction

2006-12-17T09:34:00.000-06:00

When World War II began, pilots capable of landing on aircraft carriers were desperately needed. The great ship, Seeandbee, also a coal-fired side-wheeler, and the Greater Buffalo were requistioned to become what was called the "Great Lakes Navy." As seen above, the Greater Buffalo's superstructure has been removed and steel supports are being added before the 3-inch Douglas fir flight deck can be installed. The conversion work for the Greater Buffalo was performed at Buffalo's Erie Plant of the American Ship Building Company (formerly Buffalo Drydock). The conversion schedule was intense for both ships. The Seeandbee's conversion consumed around $2 million dollars, 1200 workers on around-the-clock shifts, and three month's time.

Source: WNY Heritage Press

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U.S.S. Sable Deck Log: 5th June 1944

2006-11-26T10:21:00.000-06:00

1233 - SNJ (J-13) piloted by Ens. Uhrik, A-V(N), USNR crashed into barier on landing. Pilot uninjured.

1519 - TBF plane (T-6) piloted by Ens. Harley C. Rush, A-V (N), USNR crashed into water 1 1/2 mile ahead of ship. pilot uninjured. Crash due to engine failure.

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U.S.S. Sable Deck Log: 14th April 1944

2006-10-15T09:47:00.000-05:00

1136 - S.B.D.-4 with Ensign Richardson as pilot spun into the waterr off port quarterrs, distance one (1) mile. Pilot not recovered: Latitued 41°55’1”N. Longitute 87°21’4”W. c/c to 317 (t) pgc.

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Personal Story: Will Arburn

2006-10-07T20:35:00.000-05:00

On 31 May 1945 , in an FM-2, I qualified on the Sable. I lead a division out from NAS Glenview to Point Oboe and was vectored out to the Sable. I made a perfect approach and was given a cut, but failed to take my hand off of the throttle quadrant. I caught the first wire and was dragged to a halt but my hand pushed the throttle wide open. A seaman finally climbed up on the wing and shouted at me to cut the throttle. I did, and heard the skipper on the bull horn shouting to get that g da----- pilot up to the bridge. They parked my plane on a small platform off of the deck and went up to the bridge. I was chewed out beautifully for a few minutes and then he calmed down and said, "That was a perfect approach. Now get back in that plane and give me some more just like it". I did.

Hopefully, Mr. Arburn doesn’t mind my posting the email he sent me. Thanks.

At 1520 on 31 May 1945, the 55,000th landing was made on the USS Sable.

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Deck Log: USS Sable - Thursday 6th April 1944

2006-08-26T18:01:00.000-05:00

10 55 - Went to Flight Quarters.

1152 - F4F-18, piloted byJ.R. Hedgecock, went over bow and crashed into water. ENGINES STOPPED. WHEELS STOPPED. Plane scraped along starboard of ship. No sight of pilot being clear or getting clear of plane. Postion of crash: LATITUDE 42° 6.6’, LONGITUDE 87°25’, BEARING 082° 45’ from Pt. Oboe, distance 19 3/4 miles: BEARING 044° from CHICAGO HARBOR LIGHT, distance 21 3/8 miles, depth of 228 feet.

1155 - COAST GUARD CRASH BOATS searched vicinity of crash. Reported no sight of pilot. C.G. 83477 (plane gaurd boat) reported parachute caught in screws.

1157 - Ensign J.R. Hedgecock, USNR died as a result of a plane crash into LAKE MICHIGAN in latitued and longitude indicated.

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End of one journey - start of another

2006-08-06T08:05:00.000-05:00

This is a scan of a photocopy of a printed page of the USS SABLE on her way to being scrapped. The paddle boxes and island have been removed and piled on the flight deck in order to fit through the locks on the Welland Canal. Sad and ignoble end to such a fine vessel.

In 1995, my college roommate and I started a little desktop publishing company called Time Rover Press. We have been doing reprints of out of print military history books. I am currently working on a collection of civil war stories pulled from 19th century magazines. Today, I just finished the chapter on the Gettysburg battle from the southern point of view.

Somewhere along the way, we got microfiche copies of the deck logs of the USS Sable and USS Wolverine. Even through the daily entries are mainly routine, I found them fascinating. I thought of writing a docudrama book. It would have been a fictional character that would be a crewman on one of the training carriers.

At the Glenview Museum, I watched the “Top Gun of 43” again. It talks about the crewmen sneaking off the ship and going to Chicago. On a regular basis, entries of the log of the USS Sable has list of crewmen that were AWOL. If you get a chance to see the documentary, it is worth watching.

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Other paddlewheel passenger steamers

2006-08-03T20:02:00.000-05:00

Thanks to DB Wilde and anyone who wishes correct and add information to this web site. One problem with the internet is that errors or deliberate falsehoods get propagated. The information about the creation of the USS Sable and USS Wolverine posted here is what is posted in a dozen or more web sites. One of DB Wilde's comments say the original shipbuilder is incorrect. Which is correct? In trying to verify which is correct, I found the Marine Historical Society of Detroit web site. Picture is of the Western States.

The Greater Buffalo and Seeandbee (C&B) were not the only ships the navy could find to convert to training carriers. And before World War II and the Interstate Highways, going accross the Great Lakes was quicker than going around. There were other paddlewheel passenger steamers making those trips. There are still some passenger/car ferries crossing the Great Lakes.

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Deck Log: USS Sable - Monday 20 March 1944

2006-07-29T20:57:00.000-05:00

Three view of SBD Dauntless

1437- Qualified 2000th pilot Ens. G. W. McAdoo, USNR.

1717 - SBD-7 with Ens. F.A. Westhal, USNR. made #17000 landing aboard.

1725 - Results of day’s flight operations: 405 landings made.
51 pilots qualified.

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Deck Log: USS Sable - Sunday 19 March 1944

2006-07-23T08:49:00.000-05:00

0755 - Went to flight quaters. Plane Guards CG83476 and YF538
took stations 500 yards astern. Ave. RPM 7.6 Ave. Steam 150 lbs.

0822 - SBD, B-5, Ens. Kenneth Stevenson, USNR. crashed into port catwalk. No injuries to personnel.

0904 - YF538 came alognside port side to remove SBD B-5.

1708 - TBF-6 with Ens. Norman A. Smith, USNR. crashed barrier. Pilot was uninjuied.

1712 - Results of day’s flight operations: 238 landings made.
26 pilots qualified.

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Deck Log: USS Sable - Sunday, 5 March 1944

2006-07-15T14:08:00.000-05:00

16 to 18. --- Steaming as before.
1657 ---- SBD Plane #B21 crashed off port side. Engines stopped. Plane sank in 65 feet of water, position bearing 135.5°, 21.5 miles from Wilmette Coast Guard Station, 110.5 ° from Chicago Harbor Light and in LAT. 41° 49.2N, LONG. 87° 20.6’ W. No injuries to personnel. CG 83478 rescued and returned uninjuried pilot to Naval Armory.
1739 ---- Results of day’s flight operations: 10 pilots qualified.
83 landings made.

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The NAS Glenview Museum and the Glen Town Center

2006-07-11T20:26:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, I visited the NAS Glenview museum. It was the day after their grand opening. It is a little museum only open on the weekends. That is because there are mainly two older gentlemen that man the museum. They have plans for a bigger museum so they can spread out. If you are interested in naval aviation, these gentlemen will walk you around the museum telling you stories about the exhibits.

If you exit RT 41/I94 at Lake St, travel west. After a mile or so, you will pass under a railroad track and a street. The street is Lehigh which is the street the museum is on. After you go around a curve, turn right (north) on Patriot Dr. You will eventually come to Glen Town Center shopping center. The NAS Glenview building that contained the airport tower was kept as part of the shopping center. The two parking decks are called
Sable and Wolverine. Take the street just south of Glen Town Center to the east. Just before the train tracks, turn left (north). This is an industrial area. You will see a building marked 2032 and there should be a flag on the sign for the NAS museum. The entrance to the museum is the last door, up against the fence.

I think there are some nice restaurants at Glen Town Center so you could make a nice outing out of visiting the museum. And the Von Mur department store apparently has a plane in their store.

Hanger One Foundation

NAS Glenview Museum
2040 Lehigh Avenue
Glenview, IL
Sat. 10am to 5pm
Sun. Noon to 5pm

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Deck Log: USS Sable - 14 Jan. 1943

2006-07-08T22:08:00.000-05:00

0808 Got underway for flight operations.
0900 Cleared extensive ice flows extending approx. 8 miles from Chicago Harbor.
1130 Plane F6F-F24 crashed nto island and barrier. SPENSER, George W., S.lc., USNR. recieved lacerations in the face from flying splinters. No injuries to pilot.
1739 Results of day’s flight operations: 150 landings made. 19 pilots qualified.

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Deck Log: USS Sable - 14 Dec. 1943

2006-07-01T13:18:00.000-05:00

1225 Commenced flight operations.
1228 F4F-F2 crahsed into barrier, plane damaged, no injuries to personnel.
1328 Plane F4F-F3 crashed into sea off port bow, plane sinking in 46 feet feet of water. No injuries to personnel. Position bearing 291° (T) from Wilson Ave. crib and 219°30’ from Chicago Harbor main light in Lat. 42°57’ N Long. 87°31’45” W. Engines stopped.
1343 Plane Guard YP-533 released from duty assigned and returned to base with pilot.
1714 Results of days operations: 8 pilots quallified, 91 landings made.

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Deck Log: USS Sable - 3 Dec. 1943

2006-06-24T14:55:00.000-05:00

12 to 16 1215 U.S.S. Wolverine got under way and stood of of the harbor.

1410 Recieved the follwing fresh provisions for use in the general mess, inspected as to quantity by Lieut. P.A. Hunt (SC) USNR, and to quality by Lieut. Comdr. C.W. Letcher (SC) USNR, from U.S. Navy Pier;

grapefruit 210 lbs.
potatoes (Irish) 1600 lbs.
cheese 30 lbs.
yeast 50 lbs.
celery 50 lbs.
onions 100 lbs.
grapes 112 lbs.
squash 80 lbs.
radishes 60 lbs.
carrots 100 lbs.
beef 1132 lbs.
salomi 27 lbs.
corned beef 151 lbs.
luncheon meat 50 lbs.
franks 120 lbs.
pork loins 213 lbs.
oranges 210 lbs.
butter 256 lbs.
eggs 240 doz.
cauliflower 105 lbs.
cabbage 200 lbs.
lettuce 148 lbs.
potatoes (sweet) 200 lbs.
tomatoes 196 lbs.
apples 210 lbs.
peppers 35 lbs.
pork sausage 80 lbs.
beef liver 107 lbs.
liver sausage 30 lbs.
veal 179 lbs.
balogne 55 lbs.
bacon 98 lbs.
ham 200 lbs.

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Deck Log: USS Sable - 15 Sep 45 (Last Landing)

2006-06-18T08:25:00.000-05:00

09:30 - commenced flight operations. c/s to standard.
09:45 - c/s to 2/3.
10:32 - Ensign C.E. Gillette, (A-1), USNR made landing #63,438 the last qualification aboard this ship.
10:40 - Secured from flight operations.
Results of today's operations: Five (5) pilots qualified. Total landings 41.

Deck Log: USS Sable - 21 Sep 43

2006-06-17T22:38:00.000-05:00

12:53 - commenced flight operations.
13:05 - TBF #5 crashed into sea on take off. No injuries to personel.
Engines Stopped. Depth of water 70 feet. Bearing 051 degrees (T).
Distance 7 8/10 miles from Winnetka Coust Guard Station.
13:42 - YP533 departed USS Sable for Naval Armory with pilot of TBF #5.

Deck Log: USS Sable - 3 June 1943

2006-05-20T20:34:00.000-05:00

16 to 18 1612 engines ahead full 1615 Plane B-5 crashed into arresting barrier, damaged landing gear, propellers, etc., extend of damage not know, unable to take off. Pilot uninjured. 1616 c/c to 260 degrees. 1630 secured from flight quarters

Deck Log: USS Sable - 29 May 1943 (first landing)

2006-04-29T14:48:00.000-05:00

0706 Ensign L.O.Brown in J8 made first landing aboard USS Sable. 0743 Engines ahead standard. 0749 Ensign Z.A. Litovsky piloting J10 qualified as first pilot qualifing on USS Sable.

Glenview Airbase

2006-04-08T14:19:00.000-05:00

On August 1, 1942, the Carrier Qualification Training Unit (CQTU) officially began operations. Brainchild of Commander Richard F. Whitehead of the Ninth Naval district, the CQTU fulfilled the need for carrier operations training in the safety of the Great Lakes, beyond the reach of German & Japanese submarines operating in coastal waters. Under Commander Whitehead's direction, two coal-burning Great Lakes paddlewheeled excursion ships, the Seeandbee and the Greater Buffalo, were converted into flattops. Refitted with a wooden flight deck on a steel structure, they were renamed the USS Wolverine (IX-64) and the USS Sable (IX-81). They were to be the only inland aircraft carriers ever commissioned by the U.S. Navy
and became part of a fleet familiarly known as the "Corn Belt Fleet".
The two carriers, based at Chicago, trained pilots & flight deck personnel seven days a week, year round, throughout the war. Together they logged over 135,000 landings and qualified over 15,000 Navy & Marine Corps pilots, among them a young aviator named George Bush who would later become President. The Naval Air Primary Training Command was established by the Secretary of the Navy on October 1, 1942, and Glenview was placed under its command. Approximately 9,000 men received their primary flight training at Glenview during the war years, flying 786,928 daylight hours & 27,425 night flight hours. A total of 15 outlying airfields were used by Glenview, from Volo and Grays Lake down to Schaumburg (some with names like Melody Farm, Murphy's Circus and Prall's Pit). The cadets logged over 2,225,000 takeoffs & landings.
Manning the outlying fields could be a lonely job at times, particularly in bad weather. The January 8, 1943 issue of the Exhaust (NRAB Glenview's original newspaper) printed a report from Site 8, Schaumburg Field in Roselle, that included: "The wind sure does howl & blowout this way and loneliness sometimes gets you, but we overcome this by holding discussions, on current events, with the field mice."

In Search of Sunken Warbirds: A remote sensing survey of Lake Michigan

2006-03-25T13:06:00.000-06:00

From the NOAA Ocean Expolrer

On October 21, 1942, the pilot of an F4F-3 Wildcat spun into the water after takeoff from Wolverine. The plane sank with the pilot into 85 feet of water, and neither his body nor the plane was ever recovered. This was the first of many accidents to occur on board these ships.On May 29, 2004, a U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Area Search Detachment team, under the guidance of Wendy M. Coble, an underwater archaeologist from the Naval Historical Center (NHC), began a week-long remote sensing survey of the southern portion of Lake Michigan looking for these sunken historic World War II vintage aircraft. The project was funded by a small grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Exploration (NOAA-OE).

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WAR-TIME ACCOMPLISHMENTS

2006-03-18T21:41:00.000-06:00

From the Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s Anchor News (Fall 2003)

As the war came to a close in 1945, the Wolverine and Sable had provided the United States and her allies with 17,820 carrier qualifiedpilots. Those pilots had completed 65,000 landings aboard Wolverine and 51,000 aboard Sable. During flight operations, only 21 pilots had been killed and none due to shipboard related activity. The two "freak" ships, as Manley called them, had faithfully served their country and helped bring on the final victory in the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters. The last log entry was for Tuesday Sept. 18, 1945, and simply states "Flight operations completed." The Navy decommissioned both ships on November 7, 1945.

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Before and After pictures

2006-03-12T09:31:00.000-06:00

Here are before and after pictures showing the conversion of these side paddlewheel steamers.

WAR-TIME STORIES

2006-03-09T19:05:00.000-06:00

From the Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s Anchor News (Fall 2003)

There are many stories of high seas "hi jinks" involving the Great Lakes carrier fleet.According to Ensign Sam Sturgis, who qualified on the Sable during World War II, an Army Air Corps pilot assigned to Chanute Field near Chicago was giving his new co-pilot an airborne tour of Chicago one day aboard a Douglas C-47 transport plane.

The pilot spotted the Wolverine and decided to have some fun. He maneuvered the C-47 out into the landing pattern, lowered his wheels and flaps, and headed down toward the Navy flattop. Being a large transport, the C-47 was much too big to land on the Wolverine's deck. As he approached, the pilot never saw so many signal flares and lights come on at one time. At the last moment, the pilot hauled up his plane's landing gear, pulled back on the throttles, and headed back to Chanute.

Aside from the C-47 visit, the Wolverine also had the privilege of temporarily being the flagship of the U.S. Navy. On Oct. 27, 1942, the ship flew the four-star flag of the Commander-in- Chief of the United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Ernest J. King. If for only a few hours, the Wolverine became the only Great Lakes naval vessel to be flagship of the United States Navy.

The Sable, however, won the fame competition in the end. A young 20-year old lieutenant from Texas made his carrier qualifications aboard the ship on Aug. 24, 1943. That pilot, now former President George Bush recalled his training experience: "I remember those Great Lakes flights very well in the open cockpit that winter. Coldest I ever was in my life."

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A SAILOR'S LIFE IN CHICAGO

2006-03-06T18:10:00.000-06:00

From the Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s Anchor News (Fall 2003)

In spite of the hazards of carrier training, service aboard the two ships wasn't particularly hard duty. A Navy radioman who served aboard the Wolverine in 1944-1945 recalls: "Liberty in Chicago was terrific, especially for an 18-year-old. Girls were plentiful. We'd meet them in
Grant Park at Buckingham Fountain, at roller skating rinks, at movie theaters, at the USO, and every other place imaginable. And many taverns did not check ID cards too carefully, so we could get beer and booze without too much trouble." William E. Barrett, another Wolverine crewman recalls: "There was a place in North Chicago that was Polish. You could
go there and dance with the Polish girls, and try to do the Polish hop. These people treated us great. They wouldn't let us pay for anything, drinks or food."

The Wolverine's crew also published a semi-monthly newsletter called the "Wave Off", and was provided with good meals. For example, the menu from the Wolverine's First Anniversary Commissioning Dinner on Aug. 12, 1943 shows fresh Maine lobster cocktail, Southern fried chicken, potatoes, vegetables, and apple pie-a-la-mode.

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FLIGHT OPERATIONS

2006-03-05T07:28:00.000-06:00

From the Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s Anchor News (Fall 2003)

Flight operations, however, went on year round so the crew and pilots had to endure both the intense one hundred degree heat of summer as well as the below zero temperatures of a Chicago winter. During the winter, Coast Guard ice breakers keep the lower lakes clear
for both the carriers and freighters. But sometimes, bad weather, high winds and pounding waves would cancel flight operations.

On April 13, 1943, a sudden snow squall enveloped the two carriers as a flight of SBD's was inbound from shore. The captain radioed the aircraft to land immediately with the first two landing safely. Then trouble developed when the third plane crashed upon landing forcing the crew to clear the deck for the other three aircraft. As this happened, Ensign Arthur Phillips raced for shore crashing his plane 200 yards off Sherwin Avenue beach. Phillips was fortunate to be rescued by two men in a row boat. The remaining two pilots were not as lucky having to crash their planes in the lake, both were killed and one man's body was never found.

Ulyss Buffington, a photographer's mate aboard Wolverine recalled: "On one occasion a TBF (torpedo bomber), the largest plane we could accommodate, missed his landing and peeled off to the wrong side of the deck heading directly toward my position aft of the island. At the time I was using a movie camera and simply went on filming." "At the last possible moment the hook caught and the plane came to a stop in the catwalk on its side
with the prop whirling within feet of me. It happened so fast there wasn't time to be scared. Later I found myself trembling when I realized how near I had come to reaching my end of World War II."

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TRAINING FOR PILOTS AND CREWS

2006-03-04T10:52:00.000-06:00

From the Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s Anchor News (Fall 2003)

On average, both the Wolverine and Sable each handled about 300 landings and takeoffs per day. However, it was not uncommon to see them complete as many as 600 per day. And there was a great deal of competition between the crews of the two ships, to see who could
launch and recover the most aircraft in one day. The Sable set a record on May 28, 1944 when 498 landings occurred in 531 minutes, which qualified 59 pilots. Not to be outdone, the Wolverine recorded 633 landings on June 4, 1944. American pilots were not the only ones to get their carrier training on the decks of the Wolverine and Sable during World War II. In 1942, eleven British Royal Navy pilots also trained on the Great Lakes.

The carriers also provided a practice area for landing signal officers (LSO's) who controlled flight deck operations on the newer carriers. In addition to pilot and LSO training, the two ships also provided training for carrier deck crew members. Every two to four weeks, a new class of 15 enlisted men was trained onboard in flight deck procedure and arresting gear operation.

The Wolverine and Sable were also equipped with radar for both navigation and for use by men at the radar school located at Navy Pier. The two ships were so successful in their training roles that there had even been talk of converting from the Sable's former sister ship, the Greater Detroit, into a third carrier.

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The Variety of Planes Trained

2006-03-02T19:30:00.000-06:00

From the Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s Anchor News (Fall 2003)

The Wolverine and Sable both operated from dawn to dusk usually anchoring in Chicago Harbor at night. Each day, the ships would pickup their hooks around 3 am and proceed north out into the lake for landing training. They would sail up and down the lake sometimes sailing all night if they ventured too far north.

During their training, pilots needed to become familiar with the variety of planes that were used by the Navy in carrier operations. As a result, a wide variety of aircraft were used to train pilots on the Great Lakes, many aircraft that had seen combat action.

Among the aircraft used aboard the Wolverine and Sable were the Grumman F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat fighters, the SBD Dauntless dive bomber, the TBF Avenger torpedo bomber, and the trainer AT6 North American Texan.

One of the pilots who trained aboard the Wolverine, Leonard Watson, later recalled: "My experience was limited to qualifying in an SBD-4 #10442 on October, 1943 - a stripped down (all guns and armor plate removed) plane that was a joy to fly and because of its light weight could have made a great fighter plane. We all had a ball wringing it out after qualifying on the flight back to Glenview."

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Their Freeboard and "Pocahontas coal"

2006-03-01T22:11:00.000-06:00

From the Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s Anchor News (Fall 2003)

The U.S.S. Wolverine and U.S.S. Sable, both former Great Lakes passenger steamers, were a unique part of World II history in many ways.

The ships were powered by two side paddlewheels which turn in the same direction. The U.S. Navy had not used paddlewheel vessels in the active fleet for many years. In addition, the steamers used special brand of coal called "Pocahontas coal" in their boilers. Pocahontas coal was supposedly used to produce less exhaust smoke, which would hamper flight operations. However, both ships continued to trail heavy dark plumes off Chicago during training exercises.

The Wolverine and Sable also had a much lower "freeboard" than their ocean going counterparts. The freeboard, or distance between the top of the water and the top of the
flight deck, on most World War II carriers was between 60 and 70 feet. The Sable and Wolverine had only 28 feet of freeboard. A lower freeboard could make takeoffs difficult from the vessels since aircraft tend to drop several feet when they leave a carrier's deck. However, no such takeoff accidents relating to freeboard were recorded on either ship during the war.

When the Sable and Wolverine sailed out onto Lake Michigan they were joined by a small "task force" of support vessels. The freighter Commerce served as a ferry for personnel, carried supplies, and was equipped with a crane, which was used to take some crippled
planes to shore and to try and salvage ones that ended up in the water. The small cabin cruisers Lark and Peregrine, along with U.S. Coast Guard cutters, were stationed around the ships to recover pilots from downed planes. These were referred to as the "crash boats."

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President George H.W. Bush

2006-02-25T09:40:00.000-06:00

A young 20-year old lieutenant from Texas made his carrier qualifications aboard the USS Sable on Aug. 24, 1943. That pilot, now former President George Bush recalled his training experience: "I remember those Great Lakes flights very well in the open cockpit that winter. Coldest I ever was in my life."

USS Wolverine

2006-02-25T09:17:00.001-06:00

The USS Wolverine (IX-64) was a freshwater aircraft carrier of the US Navy during World War II. She had been converted from a paddlewheeler coal-burning steamer to be used for advanced training for naval aviators in carrier takeoffs and landings.
With her sister ship, the USS Sable, she was based in Chicago.
The Navy used two old paddle wheel coal-burning steamers (USS Sable (IX-81) and USS Wolverine (IX-64) which had been converted into aircraft carriers of a sort. The USS Wolverine (IX 64) commissioned 12 August 1942 at Buffalo, NY, and USS Sable (IX 81), commissioned May 1943, were Great Lakes excursion ships converted for aviation training. Sailing Lake Michigan, they provided flight decks on which hundreds of student aviators qualified for carrier landings and many flight deck crews received their first practical experience in handling aircraft aboard ship.
The second Wolverine (IX-64) —- a side-wheel excursion steamer built in 1913 —- was originally named Seeandbee, a euphonious name based upon her owners' company name — the Cleveland and Buffalo Transit Co. She was constructed by the American Shipbuilding Co. of Wyandotte, Mich. The Navy acquired the sidewheeler on 12 March 1942 and designated her an unclassified miscellaneous auxiliary, IX-64. Conversion to a training aircraft carrier began on 6 May 1942; and the name Wolverine, commemorating the first ship of the name, was approved on 2 August.

Fitted with a 550-foot flight deck, Wolverine began her new job in January 1943, to be joined by her sister Sable in May. Operating various aircraft out of NAS Glenview, the two paddle-wheelers afforded invaluable training not only to pilots, but to smaller numbers of Landing Signal Officers (LSO) as well. As the Navy's first side-wheeled aircraft carrier, Wolverine was equipped to handle plane take-offs and landings, a vital duty that she performed for the duration of World War II. She contributed to the winning war effort in World War II by training hundreds of pilots in basic carrier operations.
The Sable and Wolverine were a far cry from combat carriers but were suitable for accomplishing the navy’s purpose-that of qualifying naval aviators fresh out of operational flight training in carrier landings. The two carriers had certain limitations such as having no elevators or a hangar deck. When barrier crashes or other flight deck crashes used up the alloted spots on the flight deck for parking dud aircraft, the day’s operations were over and the carriers headed back to their pier in Chicago.
Another problem they had to contend with was wind over the deck (WOD). Certain WOD minimums were required to land aircraft such as F6Fs, F4Us, TBMs and SBDs. When there was little or no actual wind on lake Michigan, operations often had to be curtailed because the carriers couldn’t generate sufficient speed to meet the WOD minimums. It is doubtful if the two carriers were capable of making more than 20 knots under their own power.
Occasionally, when low wind conditions persisted for several days and the pool of waiting aviators started to bunch up, an alternate system of qualifications was used. The alternate system was to qualify the pilots in SNJs-even though most pilots had not flown the SNJ for four or five months.
Categories: Cleanup from December 2005 | World War II aircraft carriers of the United States

USS Sable

2006-02-25T07:59:00.000-06:00

USS Sable (IX-81) was a freshwater aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy during World War II. She had been converted from a coal-burning paddlewheeler to serve as a training vessel for training aviators in landings and takeoffs from aircraft carrier decks.
Formerly named Greater Buffalo, Sable was built in 1924 by the American Shipbuilding Company, Lorain, Ohio; acquired for Navy use on 7 August 1942 by WSA from the Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Company, Detroit, Michigan; named Sable on 19 September 1942; converted at the Erie Plant, American Shipbuilding Co., Buffalo, New York; and commissioned on 8 May 1943, Captain William A. Schoech in command. She was based in Chicago, Illinois, along with her sister ship, Wolverine.
With the installation of a carrier deck, Sable was designated for use as a training vessel for qualification of carrier pilots. She was assigned to the 9th Naval District on 1 June 1943 and qualified pilots for carrier operations until decommissioned on 7 November 1945. Sable was struck from the Navy list on 28 November 1945. Sold by the Maritime Commission to H. H. Buncher Co., on 7 July 1948, she was scrapped on the 27th.

As of 2005, no other United States Navy ship has been named Sable.

The Paddle Wheel Aircraft Carriers

Four new photos - dauntless, wildcat and the USS Wolverine

New photo found on E-Bay

USN Grumman F6F Hellcat - USS SableThis is the latest photo I found for the USS Sable and USS Wolverine

Video: Recovered Douglas SBD Dauntless

TBM-3U Avenger

General Motors TBM-3U Avenger

From Fourth Welland Canal Clippings

Rescued by the fish tug "The Energy"

New USS Sable photo

A new photo of the USS Sable is being sold on E-Bay.My Flickr photo collection for USS Sable and USS Wolverine

USS Sable Deck Log: 3 Jan. 1944

Fond memories of landing on the freshwater carriers?

The pilots of the Paddlewheel Aircraft Carriers

The crew of the Paddlewheel Aircraft Carriers

The beginning of the Paddlewheel Aircraft Carriers

USS Sable Deck Log: 10 Aug. 1943

TDNs (Twin-engine Navy drone) were tested near Traverse City, Mich.

Finally able to catch my breath

Wish you could try landing on the USS Wolverine?

Combat Flight Center

USS Sable Deck Log: 18 Aug. 1944

Piece of history for sale

General Motors FM-2 Wildcat at Pima

Pima Air Museum

Navy Pier 1941-1945

Click link for more about Navy Pier and the complete photo abve.

PO Valley then what happened?

A Look Back: Forty Years of Reminiscing

Richard A. "Chick" Eldridge describes the beginnings of his naval history. Click link for a Look Back He describes what he thought were problems with the Great Lake carriers.

Video: History of the Great Lakes Carriers

Source: Blip TV

Field Artillery Pin

My father was in the field artillery in WWII. I found this pin going thru his things. I am posting the picture here so I can post in on other forums in an attempt to identify it.

Model of the USS Wolverine

Source: Model of the USS Wolverince

TDN taking off from deck of USS SABLE 1943

TDN - Twin-engine Navy drone manufactured by Brunswick-Balke

Loss of SBD-3 #06624

YouTube video: USS Yorktown (CV-10)

Dauntless SBD3 BuNo 06624

This photo montage shows various views of a SBD Duantless.

YouTube Video: Model of USS Wolverine

Personal story of Lt. J. M. DeVane Jr. and SBD BuNo 06624

Japanese Silhouettes

Crash Landing - May 1945

U.S.S. Sable Construction

U.S.S. Sable Deck Log: 5th June 1944

U.S.S. Sable Deck Log: 14th April 1944

Personal Story: Will Arburn

Deck Log: USS Sable - Thursday 6th April 1944

End of one journey - start of another

Other paddlewheel passenger steamers

Deck Log: USS Sable - Monday 20 March 1944

Three view of SBD Dauntless

Deck Log: USS Sable - Sunday 19 March 1944

Deck Log: USS Sable - Sunday, 5 March 1944

The NAS Glenview Museum and the Glen Town Center

Deck Log: USS Sable - 14 Jan. 1943

Deck Log: USS Sable - 14 Dec. 1943

Deck Log: USS Sable - 3 Dec. 1943

Deck Log: USS Sable - 15 Sep 45 (Last Landing)

Deck Log: USS Sable - 21 Sep 43

Deck Log: USS Sable - 3 June 1943

Deck Log: USS Sable - 29 May 1943 (first landing)

Glenview Airbase

In Search of Sunken Warbirds: A remote sensing survey of Lake Michigan

WAR-TIME ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Before and After pictures

WAR-TIME STORIES

A SAILOR'S LIFE IN CHICAGO

FLIGHT OPERATIONS

TRAINING FOR PILOTS AND CREWS

The Variety of Planes Trained

Their Freeboard and "Pocahontas coal"

President George H.W. Bush

USS Wolverine

USS Sable

USN Grumman F6F Hellcat - USS Sable

This is the latest photo I found for the USS Sable and USS Wolverine

A new photo of the USS Sable is being sold on E-Bay.
My Flickr photo collection for USS Sable and USS Wolverine