USS Wolverine (IX-64)

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USS Wolverine (IX-64) in 1942
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Class:        WOLVERINE (IX-64)
Design:        Lake Erie Passenger, 1912
Displacement (tons):        4,152 light, 7,200 full
Dimensions (feet):        500.0' oa, 484.5' pp x 58.1' (98' over paddles) x 15.5' full
Original Armament:        None
Later armaments:        --
Complement        307 (1944)
Speed (kts.):        18
Propulsion (HP):        12,000
Machinery:        Paddle wheels, 1 3-cylinder compound-inclined reciprocating engine, 9 coal-fired
        Scotch boilers (of which 3 double ended)

Construction:

IX	Name	Acq.	Builder	Keel	Launch	Commiss.
64	WOLVERINE	12 Mar 42	American SB, Wyandotte	--	9 Nov 12	12 Aug 42

Disposition:

IX	Name	Decomm.	Strike	Disposal	Fate	MA Sale
64	WOLVERINE	7 Nov 45	28 Nov 45	26 Nov 47	MC/S	26 Nov 47

Class Notes:
FY 1942. On 6 Feb 42 CominCh requested that CNO investigate the practicability of using S.S. SEEANDBEE as a training carrier on the Great Lakes. This large paddle wheel excursion steamer had been built in 1913 by the Cleveland and Buffalo Transit Company (C & B, hence her name) to cruise on Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan. The destruction by fire of her running mate, CITY OF BUFFALO, in 1938 and other economic factors brought about the bankruptcy of the company in 1939 but the ship remained in operation for a reorganized C&B Transit Co. BuShips advised that an inspection of the vessel at Cleveland, Ohio, where she was laid up for the winter, found her to be in good condition and suitable for the purpose intended. The Auxiliary Vessels Board therefore recommended on 24 Feb 42 that the ship be acquired and converted to a vessel for training carrier pilots as well as arresting gear and flight deck crews. For this purpose arresting gear barriers and a limited gasoline and lubricating oil supply were to be included in the conversion. Her elaborate five-deck wooden superstructure and her four smokestacks were removed at Cleveland and the steel hull was then taken to Buffalo for the addition of a flight deck and island.

Ship Notes:

IX	Name	Notes
64	WOLVERINE	Ex merc. SEEANDBEE (completed 1913). Training aircraft carrier. Conversion by American Shipbuilding Co., Buffalo, N.Y., completed 18 Aug 42. Scrapped by 23 Sep 48.