USS Wolverine

Two ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Wolverine. The name refers either to the mammal itself or the Wolverine State, a nickname for the state of Michigan.

USS Michigan (1843)

USS Michigan was the United States Navy's first iron-hulled warship and served during the American Civil War. She was renamed USS Wolverine in 1905.

Construction and design

The side wheel steamer Michigan was built in response to the British Government arming two steamers in response to the Canadian rebellions in the late 1830s with Secretary of the Navy Abel P. Upshur selecting an iron hull partly as a test of practicability of using such a "cheap and indestructible a material" for ships. The ship was designed by Samuel Hart, and fabricated in parts at Pittsburgh in the last half of 1842, transported overland and assembled at Erie. The launch on 5 December 1843 was unsuccessful with the ship sticking after moving some 50 feet (15.2 m) down the ways and efforts to complete the launch ended by nightfall. On returning in the morning Hart found Michigan had launched "herself in the night" and was floating offshore in Lake Erie.

USS Wolverine (IX-64)

USS Wolverine (IX-64) was built as the Great Lakes side-wheel steamer Seeandbee launched 9 November 1912 that was converted into a freshwater aircraft carrier of the United States Navy in 1942 for advanced training of naval aviators in carrier take-offs and landings. The Navy decommissioned Wolverine in 1945 and sold her for scrap in 1947.

Construction and design

Seeandbee, intended for overnight service between Cleveland and Buffalo, New York, was designed by naval architect Frank E. Kirby for the Cleveland and Buffalo Transit Company of Cleveland, Ohio. The company's experience led it to require two basic design features directly related to the intended use in overnight, luxury passenger service for passengers wanting a good night's sleep. First was paddle propulsion for the deck room gained by the side wheel type with the great width over paddle guards and thus more space for cabins and decks and an increased maneuvering capability and stability in rough weather over screw types. Second, the more expensive and much heavier compound inclined steam engine was chosen due to its ability to develop 12,000 horsepower at low revolutions without the vibration associated with the higher revolutions required by lighter vertical types for similar power.