USS Sable (IX-81)

History of the USS Sable (IX-81)

The USS Sable (IX-81) was a U.S. Navy training ship during World War II, originally built as a large Buffalo passenger ship with one wheel- Tour the steamer. She was purchased by the Navy in 1942 and converted into a training aircraft carrier for use on the Great Lakes.

It doesn't have a hangar deck, elevators or weapons, and it's not really a warship, but it does train Navy pilots for carrier takeoffs and landings.

On their first day of service, 59 pilots qualified within 9 hours, each performing 8 takeoffs and landings. Pilot training takes place 7 days a week in all weather conditions. George H.W. Bush, later President of the United States, was one of the pilots trained on the Sable.

Sable retired on November 7, 1945. On July 7, 1948, she was sold to the H.H. Buncher Company for scrap.

Along with her sister ship, the USS Wolverine, she has trained more than 17,000 pilots, landing signal officers and other naval personnel and is the only coal-fired freshwater paddle-wheel aircraft carrier used by the US Navy.

Specification

Basics

Year of Service

1924

Origins

United States

supplement

300

staff

Class information

Class

USS Sable

Class Size

1

ships

Class

USS Sable (IX-81)

Operators

United States

Roles

Flagships/Capital Ships

Taking on the role of fleet flagship or capital ship in old battleship design/terminology.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

518. 6 feet

158.07m

Ray

58. 0 feet

17.68m

Draft

21. 2 feet

6.46m

Shift

7,000 t

Power and Performance

Installed Power:

Inclined compound steam engine with 9 boilers and paddle wheels on the side.

Surface Velocity

18. 0 nodes

(20.7 km/h)

ARMOR

Not installed.

Aircraft

A limited number of aircraft are available for training purposes.