PADDLEWHEELER AIRCRAFT CARRIERS..they DID exist!!!
I finally tracked down information on the USS "SABLE" and USS
"WOLVERINE" which were paddle wheeled aircraft carriers operated on
the Great Lakes by the U.S. Navy during WW2.
Here is a synopsis taken from two sources.
World War II saw a massive increase in the demand for
carrier-qualified pilots. However, it was not possible to remove a
combat carrier from the battlefield to use as a training ship. A
unique solution was found to this problem.
Two Great Lakes tour boats, the sternwheeler SS "SEEANDBEE" and the
sidewheeler, SS "GREATER BUFFALO", were acquired by the Navy and
converted to the training carriers USS WOLVERINE and USS SABLE
respectively. Their upperworks were removed and replaced by flight
decks (wood on Wolverine, steel on Sable) and minimal island
structures. Neither carrier included hangar decks.
These training operations were conducted on Lake Erie*, one of the
North American Great Lakes. Since access to the Great Lakes was
limited to the St. Lawrence Seaway, whose gates and locks were
controlled by the United States (ACTUALLY CANADA TOO! pj), neither
carrier mounted any weapons.
The trainee pilots landed, released the hook and immediately took off
again. They were required to make seven successful landings and
take-offs. Here is an eyewitness account from one of the pilots who
completed his 7 sessions on the sidewheeler U.S.S. "Sable".
"I responded to the signals to release the brakes so the plane would
roll backward making it possible for them to release the tail hook,
turn up the engine to full power and leave. I did! The roll down the
deck wasn't exactly straight and being that the forward end of the
flight deck curved a little bit toward the center line of the ship I
lifted the plane off the deck just before it ran over a white rope
that was about six inches high and run up the side of the flight deck.
I actually took off over the side of the ship. I made the seven
additional landings without screwing up. Looking back on the first
landing, it probably wasn't the best they had ever seen but I'm
willing to bet it wasn't the worst. For that matter there were several
planes and pilots lost in Lake Michigan over the years that these two
carriers were in operation."
These hybrids had two unique features. First, they were the only U. S.
Navy carriers to use coal for fuel. Second, their primary (and only!)
propulsion was provided by paddle wheels, making them the only
paddlewheel carriers in history.
Neither ship survives. Wolverine was broken up in 1947, Sable in 1948.
IX-64 USS Wolverine IX-81 USS Sable
(*) There's a little discrepancy here as an eyewitness pilot's
account says "on the seventh day we took off from Glenview and flew
out over Lake Michigan to the carrier." (Sable). Maybe they navigated
in both or one in each lake...who knows..who cares!!!
I hope you enjoyed this fascinating glimpse into the "offbeat" side of
Paddleships...which will appeal to both sternwheel AND sidewheel
modelers. Wouldn't it be fun to build one ?
I'm opening up a folder to immortalize these two paddlers in our
archives and I'll load up some photos I found.
PJ
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