Aircraft Carriers In The Great Lakes?

Aircraft Carriers In The Great Lakes? — Military Forum | Airliners.net
"I'm amazed that I had never heard about this before ! How many knew that at one point, the U.S. Navy operated aircraft carriers in the Great Lakes ? I just recently heard about this in an email from a friend.

Either shortly before or shortly after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy realized that they were going to need a lot of carrier qualified pilots as quickly as possible, and Commander Richard Francis Whitehead came up with the brilliant idea to train them aboard two aircraft carriers in the Great Lakes.

The decision was made to take two old excursion steamships, the "Greater Buffalo", and the "Seeandbee" and convert them into aircraft carrier training ships. The Greater Buffalo became the U.S.S. Sable, and the Seeandbee became the U.S.S. Wolverine.

There were several reasons that two carriers were specially built for carrier pilot training on the Great Lakes. First, aircraft carriers were at a premium with none that could be spared for pilot training. Second, by having two carriers on the Great Lakes the Navy would not have to provide escort ships for their security. There would also be no need for armor or armament. This idea was the brainchild of Commander Richard Francis Whitehead (later Vice Admiral), aviation aid to the commandant, Ninth Naval District. The Chicago area was ideal for supporting such a carrier training program with the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Naval Air Station, Glenview, and Naval Aviation Mechanics' School on the Navy Pier.

One of the new pilots who trained on the U.S.S. Sable was former President George H.W. Bush."