USS Wolverine ( IX - 64 ) USS " Wolverine " ( IX - 64 ) was a freshwater aircraft carrier of the United States Navy during World War II . The navy converted her from a paddlewheeler coal - burning steamer in order to use her for advanced training for naval aviators in carrier take - offs and landings . The navy decommissioned " Wolverine " in 1945 and sold her for scrap in 1947 . History . Conversion . " Wolverine " — a side - wheel excursion steamer built in 1913 — was originally named " Seeandbee " , a name based upon her owners ' company name , the Cleveland and Buffalo Transit Co . Her builder was the American Ship Building Company of Wyandotte , Michigan . The navy acquired the sidewheeler on 12 March 1942 and designated her an unclassified miscellaneous auxiliary , IX - 64 ; conversion to a training aircraft carrier began on 6 May . The name " Wolverine " was approved on 2 August 1942 with the ship being commissioned on 12 August 1942 . Intended to operate on Lake Michigan , IX - 64 received its name because the state of Michigan is known as the Wolverine State . New abilities . Key to her mission was the flight deck that she received . " Wolverine " began her new job in January 1943 ; her sister ship , , joined " Wolverine " in May . In conjunction with NAS Glenview , the two paddle - wheelers afforded critical training in basic carrier operations to thousands of pilots and also to smaller numbers of Landing Signal Officers ( LSOs ) . " Wolverine " and " Sable " enabled the pilots and LSOs to learn to handle take - offs and landings on a real flight deck . " Sable " and " Wolverine " were a far cry from front - line carriers , but they accomplished the navy ' s purpose : qualifying naval aviators fresh out of operational flight training in carrier landings . Problems . Because " Wolverine " and " Sable " were not true carriers , they had certain limitations . One was that they had no elevators or hangar deck . When pilots used up the allotted spots on the flight deck for parking their aircraft , the day ' s operations were over and the carriers headed back to their pier in Chicago . Another problem the two carriers had to contend with was ( a lack of ) wind over deck ( WOD ) . Aircraft such as F6F Hellcat s , F4U Corsair s , TBM Avenger s and SBD Dauntless es required certain minimum levels of WOD in order to land . When there was little or no wind on Lake Michigan , operations often had to be curtailed because the carriers couldn ' t generate sufficient speed to meet the wind on deck minimums . Occasionally , when low - wind conditions persisted for several days and the pool of waiting aviators started to bunch up , the navy turned to an alternate system of qualifications . The pilots qualified in SNJ Texan s - even though most pilots had last flown the SNJ four or five months earlier . End of career . Once the war was over , the need for such training ships also came to an end . The navy decommissioned " Wolverine " on 7 November 1945 ; three weeks later , on 28 November , she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register . " Woverine " was then transferred to the Maritime Commission on 26 November 1947 for disposal . The last records indicate that the ship was sold for scrapping in December 1947 .