Converted from a paddle wheel steamer in 1942, the USS Wolverine IX 64 was a freshwater-based vessel that primarily performed training operations during WWII. Although she was modeled after a small aircraft carrier, the USS Wolverine IX 64 was officially considered to be a "training vessel," rather than an aircraft carrier, due to her significantly smaller deck size and her lack of a hanger deck.
Unlike many of her fellow Navy vessels, the USS Wolverine IX 64 would never see a day of combat. Nevertheless, her legacy of providing crucial training missions, as well as of exposing many to toxic asbestos, would continue to affect thousands of lives for years to come: While her training operations helped U.S. troops succeed in winning WWII, her role in exposing various people to asbestos has devastated many lives.
Prolonged asbestos exposure causes painful, irreversible diseases, such as lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. Because such asbestos-related conditions may also be life threatening, those who worked on or aboard the USS Wolverine IX 64 should learn more about the presence and effects of asbestos aboard military watercraft.
Highlights of the USS Wolverine IX 64's Service
As a full-time training vessel, the USS Wolverine IX 64 worked closely with the USS Sable, another converted steamer that spent most of her days training military pilots and personnel. Together, these two crafts shared an impressive service record, which includes:
• successfully landing more than 120,000 craft
• training over 17,000 pilots
• losing less than 1 percent of the aircraft used in training operations
• enduring less than 9 fatalities in over 2 years of service.
Unlike their fellow Naval vessels, the USS Wolverine IX 64 and the USS Sable wouldn't change missions throughout WWII. As a result, with the end of the war in 1945, both were decommissioned, as there was no longer such a need to rigorously train and deploy the military.
Shortly after, the USS Wolverine IX 64 was struck from the Navy's reserve list and sold for scrap.
Asbestos Exposure Aboard the USS Wolverine IX 64
While not an "aircraft carrier," per se, the USS Wolverine IX 64 did expose those who built, repaired or trained on her to dangerous levels of toxic asbestos fibers, just as aircraft carriers of the time did.
Some of the prominent places in which the USS Wolverine IX 64 contained harmful asbestos fibers included in:
• boilers, kilns and industrial ovens
• cements and caulking
• engine parts
• fireproofed gear, clothing and equipment
• hot water tanks
• insulation
• pipes
• shingles and tiles
• tars
• wallboards and drywall.
Consequently, it's no surprise that anyone – civilians or military personnel alike – who spent time aboard the USS Wolverine IX 64 was likely exposed to unsafe amounts of asbestos.
Years of asbestos exposure is incredibly damaging to the health, as it causes people to develop mesothelioma and other forms of asbestos cancer. Since these conditions are typically fatal within two years of a proper diagnosis, it's vital that anyone who worked on or aboard the USS Wolverine IX 64 contact us for further resources and information regarding asbestos exposure aboard military training vessels.
