USS Sable and USS Wolverine ...

[Mark Allen M]

Correct you are at further inspection .... Bummer!!!

[Steve Nelson]

Fantastic stuff! Being a native Michigander I've always been fascinated by the Lake Michigan Carriers. About ten years ago ship modeler Bill Waldorf approached out model club with a project. He was scratchbuilding a 1/72 scale model of Wolverine for the Kalamazoo Air Zoo to go along with their SBD, which went over the side of Wolverine in 1943. He was confident he could build the ship, but wanted some of us to build the aircraft and paint the crew. His model involved a considerable amount of guesswork and study of photos, since there are no plans of the ship (I don't know if any actual drawings were ever made..I've heard the conversions were done in a matter of weeks, and were probably designed as they were built.)

The end result is stunning, and on display at the Air Zoo beside the SBD. I was honored to provide a couple of SNJs and an SBD..painted as the Air Zoo's Dauntless appeared during her training days at NAS Great Lakes. The aircraft are a mish-mash of types and markings, intended to represent the various different types that served on the ship during her career, not one specific time frame (that was another problem Waldorf faced..the ship itself was constantly being tinkered with and modified, so pinning down a specific configuration was extremely difficult.) You can see one of the Wildcats using one of the ship's unique features: a beam that extended out over the water, allowing aircraft to be parked with their main wheels on deck and the tails hanging over the side.

These photos were taken at Bill's house, before he turned the model over to the Air Zoo.







And here are some pics I shot at the museum last summer. This gives you an idea of the level of craftsmanship Bill put into the model. He also has at least two scratchbuilt carrier models on display at the NMNA in Pensacola.















SN

[tom d. friedman]

wow that model is a true labor of love!! what an accomplishment!! any knowledge of a tdn hitting the lake?? if so i would wonder about it's survivabilty after all these years .

[The Inspector]

wow that model is a true labor of love!! what an accomplishment!! any knowledge of a tdn hitting the lake?? if so i would wonder about it's survivabilty after all these years .

A TDN is a rafter bird @ Pensacola, they were disposable bombs built by a bowling pin manufacturer, so longevity wasn't anyones mind, kind of along the lines of the later developed P&W original JT8's that were designed for use in the HOUND DOG standoff missile 'if it runs for two hours, that's great!'.

[Mark Allen M]

Great looking model Steve, very cool, love the detail .... Once I sort out some video of these two carriers I'll post them as well.

[Russ Matthews]

any knowledge of a tdn hitting the lake??

Yes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MzxIkr5JO0&feature=youtu.be&t=5m47s

[Noha307]

USS Sable 1944

Wowie!

Ya' know, we really do have to thank these trainees for all the navy warbirds we have today. (Even if we can't get at them. )

I'd never heard of the TDN's before.

Ditto.

A few more Sable images.

1945 USS Sable

I like that this photo really shows how cobbled together the ships were - look at all that awkward bracing under there to support the flight deck.

[seabee1526]

Great Pics! If you didn't know that they were on a lake you'd never believe it.

[JohnCFord]

Very interesting post. It was a lot of fun looking at all of these. Thanks!

~J~

[JohnB]

Great model, I love it. A real work of art.

I do need to get the book on the lake carriers.

A question for our warbird restorers/owners...
Are there any SNJs out there with tail hooks. It might make an interesting variation from the standard restored T-6/SNJ.

[Mark Allen M]

A question for our warbird restorers/owners...
Are there any SNJs out there with tail hooks. It might make an interesting variation from the standard restored T-6/SNJ.

Here you go John

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=48995

[Russ Matthews]

Are there any SNJs out there with tail hooks.

Here's another, based in Illinois ...

[JohnB]

It's neat to see some out there.

But is the Marine SNJ above correctly painted or is it pretending to be a SBD?
(I can't figure out the fuselage code)

[bdk]

So who will build a model of the Sable from Legos?

[Stoney]

As I painted the SNJ-5B, "1 MB 6" stands for First Marine Bombing Squadron A/C #6 in early 1942. The hook is just mounted, not a C model. Faux .30 mount in the back seat.