USS Wolverine (IX-64)

USS "Wolverine" (IX-64) was a freshwater aircraft carrier of the United States 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.

History

Conversion

"Wolverine" (IX-64), a side-wheel excursion steamer built in 1913, was originally named "Seeandbee", a name based upon her owners' company name, the Cleveland and Buffalo Transit Co. She was constructed by the American Shipbuilding Co. of Wyandotte, Michigan. 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. Planned to operate on lake Michigan, IX-64 received its name because the state of Michigan is known as the "Wolverine State".

New abilities

Fitted with a 550-foot flight deck, "Wolverine" began her new job in January 1943, to be joined by her sister, USS "Sable" (IX-81), 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 war effort in World War II by training hundreds of pilots in basic carrier operations.

Problems

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 allotted 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.

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.

End of career

Once the war was over the need for such training ship also came to an end. The "Wolverive" was decommissioned 7 November 1945. Three weeks later, on 28 November, the ship was struck from the Naval Register. It was then transferred to the Maritime Commission, 26 November 1947 for disposal. The last records indicate that the ship was sold for scrapping in December 1947 at Cleveland, Ohio.

References

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/w10/wolverine-ii.htm history.navy.mil: USS "Wolverine"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/46/46064.htm navsource.org: USS "Wolverine"]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3901/is_200305/ai_n9283598 airclassics.com: Sunken Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat raised from lake Michigan]