aircraft carriers on lake michigan

[Walt's Daughter]

For you World War II buffs out there who might not have heard about this - really interesting....Was sent the following by my friend Karl, from Germany/

Lake Michigan Aircraft Carriers....

The Great Lakes provided vital support for the war effort in WWII, from building 28 fleet subs in Manitowoc to providing the bulk of US industrial output, we could not have won the war if not for the benefits of the Great Lakes and their related industry.

However there was another benefit of the lakes that is often overlooked. Japan quickly lost the war because, among many other things, its navy could not replace its carrier pilot losses. We could. But how did we train so many pilots in both comfort (calm seas) and safety (no enemy subs)? We took two old side-wheel Great Lakes passenger steamers and turned them into training carriers on Lake Michigan! Virtually every carrier pilot trained in the war got his landing training on these amazing ships! Sadly nothing, but these great photos and the wrecks of the aircraft that ditched alongside them, remain to tell their fascinating story!

Check this out! USS Sable and USS Wolverine ...

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=48962

 

[CaptO]

Those were cool pictures. I had never seen those before. Lots of mishaps, huh? I was wondering just the other day how people weren't constantly killed on decks full of spinning propellers. My guess is that a lot were.

[Walt's Daughter]

Oh ya and when I locate Lee's dad's photos (somewhere in the house), I will post the ones of his accident on a carrier. Pretty scary!