From Luxury Liners to Aircraft Carriers: USS Wolverine and USS Sable By Sydney M. Swierenga May, 2020 Director of Thesis: M. Todd Bennett Major Department: History This thesis details the complex conversions of two Great Lakes passenger ships into flattop aircraft carriers in 1942 and 1943, and the subsequent training of thousands of pilots aboard the carriers. The entire US naval fleet in 1942 consisted of eight carriers—all of which were desperately needed to fight the Axis powers on the open oceans. To save time and materials, the Navy elected to convert existing ships rather than build new carriers. Lake carriers did not need massive hulls, armaments, elevators and cabins below deck for plane storage and personnel, but they did need realistic carrier operating conditions. The Great Lakes, especially Lake Michigan, offered wind and wave conditions resembling those found on the open oceans. Navy Pier, in Chicago, provided ideal docking, because it was close to Glenview Naval Air base by air and to Glenview’s satellite airfields where the planes were fielded, and pilots were bunked and fed. Hence, the carriers, Navy Pier, and Glenview had a symbiotic relationship; they each needed the other to allow the group to achieve its fullest potential. In 1942, the Navy requisitioned two of the largest passenger ships on the Lakes, SS Seeandbee and SS Greater Buffalo. American Shipbuilding Company retrofitted the two ships at their firm’s docks at Cleveland and Buffalo. SS Seeandbee’s conversion into USS Wolverine was completed in four months, but retrofitting SS Greater Buffalo into USS Sable took five months longer because the Navy decided to experiment with steel, instead of wood, decking. iii Converting these ships was challenging. Meeting the Navy’s tight schedules proved difficult due to the wartime scarcity of skilled tradesmen, shortages of steel and other raw materials, and safety and security issues. Technical problems, such as designing steel decking, and meeting the Navy’s high standards of workmanship governing electrical, lighting, and other fittings also caused delays. The United States Navy commissioned USS Wolverine on August 12, 1942, and USS Sable on May 8, 1943. From then until the Navy decommissioned the ships in September 1945, the twin flattops serviced over 136,000 landings and trained over 15,000 pilots. The ships played a vital part in winning the war. ii iii From Luxury Liners to Aircraft Carriers: USS Wolverine and USS Sable A Thesis Presented To the Faculty of the Department of History East Carolina University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Maritime Studies by Sydney M. Swierenga May, 2020 © Sydney M. Swierenga, 2020 ii From Luxury Liners to Aircraft Carriers: USS Wolverine and USS Sable By Sydney M. Swierenga APPROVED BY: Director of Thesis_______________________________________________________ M. Todd Bennett, Ph.D. Committee Member______________________________________________________ Wade Dudley, Ph.D. Committee Member______________________________________________________ Lynn Harris, Ph.D. Chair of Department of History_____________________________________________ Christopher Arris Oakley, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School _______________________________________________ Paul Gemperline, Ph.D. iii Dedication I want to dedicate this thesis to Sarah Swierenga, Toni Dennis, Kiah Webster, and Robert P. Swierenga who have provided their unwavering support and assistance in encouraging me to complete this labor of love. I wouldn’t have finished this crazy rollercoaster ride without them. I love you all! “A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.” – Admiral Grace Hopper iv Acknowledgements First, I want to thank my family for supporting me during this endeavor. This thesis would not have happened without their constant support. My mothers, Dr. Sarah Swierenga and Toni Dennis, were undoubtedly my biggest cheerleaders throughout this entire process from picking a topic to finishing final edits. My maternal grandfather, Robert P. Swierenga, Professor of History Emeritus, Kent State University, Ohio, encouraged me from the outset as well. He helped frame and reorder my material and also lent his keen eye for editing. A Chicago native, he is well acquainted with Navy Pier and had visited Glenview Naval Air Station and Great Lakes Naval Training Center, where his brother, Navy Chaplain Raymond C. Swierenga, completed a tour of duty in the 1960s. Many specialists guided me in my research on this thesis, including archivists at the National Archives and Naval Archives in Washington, DC, and the Regional National Archives in Chicago. Dr. Wayne Lusardi, state maritime archaeologist with the State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources, was instrumental in helping me explore potential thesis topics about the Great Lakes’ role in World War II. I was immediately intrigued by his description of the Lake Michigan paddlewheel aircraft training carriers. Bob Ellis, former president and CEO of the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, and Stephanie Staley, director of the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum, shared their vast knowledge of naval aviation was invaluable in the early stages of my research. Later, Christy Kincaid from the Air Zoo and Ashley Deming from the Lake Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven, MI, assisted me in photographing the scale model of USS Wolverine while sharing their knowledge of Wolverine and their connections with the Michigan maritime community. Martin Tuohy, archivist/collections manager for the National Museum of the American Sailor at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Lake Bluff, Illinois, explained the v processes of acquiring and restoring artifacts from World War II. Finally, I learned a great deal about naval aircraft wrecks, bases, and ships during my internship at the Navy History and Heritage Command in Washington, DC, under the direction of Agustin Ortiz, historic preservation & outreach coordinator of the Underwater Archaeology Branch, and Dr. Alexis Catsambis, maritime archaeologist and cultural resource manager. My internship gave me key insights about my own thesis research. I want to acknowledge and thank Dr. Bradley A. Rodgers, maritime studies professor emeritus at ECU, who served as my original thesis advisor and mentor. He encouraged me to pursue this topic, and I appreciated that he shared his expertise in Great Lakes shipping history, Professor M. Todd Bennett graciously stepped in to provide essential direction and advice that enabled me to complete the thesis. His extensive knowledge of the Second World War era nudged me to place this particular subject in its broader context. I also want to thank my committee members, Dr. Lynn Harris and Dr. Wade Dudley, for their willingness to jump on board a thesis with a topic with which they might not have been familiar. vi Contents Title Page ......................................................................................................................................... i Copyright Page................................................................................................................................ ii Signature Page ............................................................................................................................... iii Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... v Table of Figures ............................................................................................................................ xii Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................... xiv Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Research Questions ..................................................................................................................... 3 Research Methods and Sources .................................................................................................. 3 Thesis Layout .............................................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 1: Naval Aircraft Pioneers ................................................................................................. 7 Naval Disarmament .................................................................................................................. 10 Military Mindset: The Evolution of the Role of Carriers ......................................................... 11 Why the Great Lakes? ............................................................................................................... 13 Naval Training Station Great Lakes ..................................................................................... 14 Naval Reserve Aviation Base Great Lakes ........................................................................... 17 NRAB Chicago/NAS Glenview ........................................................................................... 18 Navy Pier .............................................................................................................................. 21 Birth of the Carrier Qualification Training Unit (CQTU) .......................................................