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USS Sable IX-81

USS Sable (IX-81) had the distinction of being one of only two freshwater aircraft carriers and served the United States Navy as an advanced training facility for naval aviators during World War II. Sable had been converted from a paddle-wheel coal burning steamer to be used to train pilots for carrier takeoffs and landings.

Built in 1924 by the American Ship Building Company in Lorain, Ohio, Sable was originally named Greater Buffalo. She was acquired for Navy use from the Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Company of Detroit, Michigan on August 7, 1942. Given the name Sable in September of 1942, she was converted at the Erie Plant of the American Shipbuilding Company of Buffalo, New York. USS Sable was commissioned on May 8, 1943 under the command of Captain William A. Schoech.

Greater Buffalo was one of the largest paddle-wheelers ever built. She was in high favor on the Great Lakes as her low draft and easy handling allowed her to carry passengers and cargo to areas inaccessible to schooners and screw-driven ships. The paddle wheel supplied less vibration than screw driven vessels and also proved steadier in rough water, making her ideally suited to passenger service. The design of the side wheel construction also provided more room than a traditional screw-driven ship. She had four decks, with a main saloon on the promenade rising through two decks, and boasted over 1500 berths. Greater Buffalo was taken out of service in 1933, and then re-activated in 1939 until her purchase by the Navy from the Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Company in 1942.

With her sister ship, USS Wolverine (IX-64), Sable was based in Chicago, Illinois. With the addition of a carrier deck during her conversion at Erie, she was designated for use as a training vessel to qualify carrier pilots. Her flight deck was of similar length to the Independence class light carriers at 535 feet. This enabled her to qualify naval pilots in carrier landings without tying up seafaring combat carriers. Sable had no hangar decks which gave her a low freeboard and coal fired boilers which made for slow speed. The low speeds and freeboard made for even more challenging landings for the trainee pilots. Training was conducted seven days a week with Coast Guard icebreakers escorting Sable in the winter months.

Assigned to the 9th Naval District on June 1, 1943, Sable conducted pilot qualifications until she was decommissioned in 1945. Sable and Wolverine together trained 17,820 pilots with a total of 116,000 landings. 51,000 of those landings were on Sable alone. Future President George W. Bush was one of the pilots flying an Avenger, who qualified as a carrier pilot on Sable.

Sables' displacement was 16,000 pounds; her length was 518 feet and her beam 100 feet. Her coal fired engines provided a top speed of 18 knots. Sable was decommissioned on November 7, 1945 and struck from the Navy list on November 28. Sold on July 7 to H. H. Buncher Co. on July 7, 1948, Sable was scrapped on July 27. No other ship has been named Sable, as of January 2008.

If you were exposed to asbestos while serving on the USS Sable (IX-81), or have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, Asbestos.com offers a free packet with more information. Enter your contact information in the form in the right column and we'll send a copy immediately.

Aircraft Carriers Index

USS America USS Antietam CV 36 K USS Antietam CV 36 USS Badoeng Strait CVE 116 USS Bairoko CVE 115 USS Bairoko CVE 115 USS Belleau wood CVL 24 USS Bennington CV 20 USS Bon Homme Richard CVa USS Boxer CV USS Bunker CV USS Cabot CVL 28 USS Constellation CV USS Coral Sea CV USS Corregidor CVE 58 USS Sable ix USS San jacinto CVL USS Saratoga CV USS Saratoga CV3 USS Shangri La

USS Cowpens CVL 25 USS Enterprise CV 6 USS Enterprise CVN USS Essex CV 9 USS Forrestal CV USS Franklin CV 13 USS Hancock CV 19 USS Hornet CV 12 USS Hornet CV 8 USS Independence C1 USS Independence CVL 22 USS Intrepid CV 11 USS Kearsage CV 33 USS Kearsage CV USS Kitty Hawk USS Sicily CVe USS Sitkoh bay USS Tarawa CV USS Ticonderoga CV USS Valley forge CV

USS Lake Champlain CV 39 USS Langley CV 1 USS Langley CVL 27 USS Lexington CV 16 USS Lexington CV 2 USS Leyte CV 32 USS Midway CV USS Oriskany CV USS Phillipine Sea CV USS Point cruz CVE USS Princeton CV USS Princeton CVL USS Randolph CV USS Ranger CV USS Rendova USS Wasp CV 18 USS Wasp CV 7 USS Wolverine IX 64 USS Yorktown CV 10 USS Yorktown CV 5

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