The Life of SS Seeandbee/USS Wolverine (IX-64) #history #usnavy #ship #greatlakes #shiplife #ww2
Launched: 9 November 1912 Maiden voyage: 19 June 1913 Refit: 6 May 1942 Decommissioned: 7 November 1945 Fate: Sold for scrap in December 1947 USS Wolverine (IX-64) was a training ship used by the United States Navy during World War II. She was originally named Seeandbee & was built as a Great Lakes luxury side-wheel steamer cruise ship for the Cleveland & Buffalo Transit Company. Seeandbee was launched on 9 November 1912 & was normally used on the Cleveland, Ohio, to Buffalo, New York, route with special cruises to other ports. After the original owners went bankrupt in 1939, Seeandbee was purchased by Chicago-based C & B Transit Company & continued operating until 1941. Seeandbee was acquired by the United States Navy in 1942 & was quickly converted into a freshwater aircraft carrier for the advanced training of naval aviators in carrier take-offs & landings. Renamed USS Wolverine, she was not equipped with armor, hangar deck, elevators or armaments. As a genuine flattop, Wolverine was shorter & her flight deck closer to the water, than many of the fighting aircraft carriers of the day. Though unsuited for combat, she was highly functional in her pilot training mission. The first aircraft landing on USS Wolverine occurred during September 1942. From 1943 until the end of the war in 1945, USS Wolverine along with her sister ship USS Sable was used for the training of 17,000 pilots, landing signal officers & other navy personnel with minimal losses. Following the end of World War II, the navy decommissioned Wolverine on 7 November 1945 & she was sold for scrap in December 1947. Some photos are from here: https://www.navsource.net/archives/09/46/46064.htm