Between 1943 and 1945, two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, USS Wolverine and USS Sable, stationed at Navy Pier in Chicago functioned as a training platform for about 17,000 pilots, signal officers and other personnel. Former U.S. President, George H.W. Bush was among the pilots who learned to take off and land on the 500-foot long carrier decks.
The carriers were converted Great Lakes paddle steamers. They had shorter flights decks, no hangar bays, and required enough lake wind for operations.
This is the story of the secret and challenging US Navy Operation during World War Two.
Up Next in World War Two
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Lost and Found: The Search for USS La...
A fierce WWII battle at sea, unreported for more than 60 years is revealed at the bottom of the Gulf of Thailand in HD underwater video. There lay the US submarine Lagarto and the remains of her 86 crewmen, whose families share how their husbands’ and fathers' disappearance shaped their lives. Wr...
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May 1940: Churchill's Finest Hour
It was a moment of mortal peril. Britain reeled from a series of devastating military defeats. Its politicians faced one of the most monumental decisions in 20th century history. Faced with a rampant Germany on the continent led by the fascist dictator Adolf Hitler, should Britain fight? Or make ...
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Wellington Bomber
Archival footage and interviews with Flt. Lt. Rupert "Tiny" Cooling distinguish this fascinating documentary special on the preeminent British bomber of the Second World War: the Wellington.
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