By late 1942, the U.S. had lost four front-line carriers, leaving only the Saratoga and Enterprise to fight the war in the Pacific. This shortage of carriers hindered the navys efforts to train new carrier pilots. Navy Commander C.F. Whitehead suggested training pilots on the protected waters of the Great Lakes, far away from the combat zone. Since existing carriers were too large to fit through the Welland Canal connecting Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, training carriers either had to be built on the lakes or converted from existing vessels. Whitehead was placed in command, and work started on the SS Seeandbee, an excursion steamer owned by the C&B Transit Company. Five of the upper decks were removed in Cleveland, Ohio, and the ship was fitted with a 558-foot flight deck in Buffalo, N.Y. Upon completion of conversion, the Seeandbee was re-christened the USS Wolverine. Throughout the war, the USS Wolverine and the USS Sable (also a conversion) trained more than 18,000 pilots and as many or more flight-deck crew for carrier operations. These ships were the world s first and only paddle-wheeled aircraft carriers. The Wolverine was sold for scrap in 1948.
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