Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

The US had two aircraft carriers operating in Lake Michigan during WW II. It was an idea place for new pilots and Carrier crew members to practice operations from a carrier. They didnt have to worry about being sunk by the subs that patrolled just off both our coasts. Both ships were converted from sidewheeler cruise ships operating in the Great Lakes at the time. They were convertered in less than two months. They didnt have elevators or hangar storage below so pilots started and ended each day at land bases.
Not all the landings worked out very well. alot of good pictures here, Enjoy.


http://warbirdinformationexchange.or...hp?f=3&t=48962

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

Cool Pics! Very interesting stuff.
A lot of those birds are still sitting at the bottom of Lake Michigan.

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

Excellent historical stuff.

It was a very, very different America back then.

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

I was born in Michigan and I never knew they had flat tops on Lake Michigan. Good find!

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

Lake Michigan is where my Dad qual'd on a carrier, USS Wolverine I believe.

Marc

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

I just visited the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola

WWII birds lost to training accidents on Lake Michigan seem to be the new goldmine for restoration buffs

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

Kram, maybe you have not heard, but the Navy views it as though they still own them. That is why folks are not out there every summer pulling them up.

Marc

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

Makes sense.

I guess that's why the planes they are pulling out of lake Michigan wound up in the Naval Air Museum

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

There are a few flying in privete hands due to deals made with the navy.
I had the unique experience of seeing a recovered Wilcat flying at Oshkosh and also got to talk to the pilot that was flying it when it went into the lake

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

Great subject.

The Dauntless that the Kalamazoo Air Zoo has is one of those Lake Michigan Carrier Aircraft.

It first saw action in "Operation Torch" and was returned home for practice traps out in Lake Michigan.

It was lost on a over shoot on the sixth attempted landing, (if I remember right:)

Attached are a few pics of my Ziroli Dauntless done in the same scheme as the Air Zoo's, but more weathered like it was in action.

I grew up on the beach in a small town in southwest, MI so I just had to do my SBD in this scheme.

Cheers,

Ham639

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

My Dad flew his summer work ups at Gran Isle, MI when he flew F8F Bearcats with the Naval Reserve in the late 40's. His only bent airplane was there when he had a Bearcat have a brake lock up and take him into a hedgerow and it flipped the ship. I am not sure if they went out on the lake and did carrier requalifications when they were there, but it would make sense since they were naval Aviators.

Marc

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

Here is the pic of Dad's Bearcat, and he is still in it when they took this pic.

Marc

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

I can not imagine how your father must have felt. I got an hour of instruction in a T-6 years ago and with the thing right side up, you could feel all the fuel, heat, and oil all around you. Being upside down and not being able to get out would be over the top for me.

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

He seemed that he was kind of bound up in his head and neck and that was his main issue. Thanks go to Grumman for having that big ole armour plate behind his head, the very thing that was removed from Charlie Hillard's Sea Fury and it caused him to have positional asphixia. In the next post, I will post the accident report.

Marc

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

Here is the report and his log book on that day.

Marc

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

WOW! great stuff Marc. Your Dad is one of America's best. Thanks for sharing.

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

This one of the best threads on this whole website.

RE: Lake Michigans Aircraft Carriers
 

Thanks guys, Dad laughed till the day he died that someone payed him to fly something, from Hellcats to 747's for American. He had a great life.

Marc