The Great Navy Birds of Lake Michigan

The Great Navy Birds of Lake Michigan
Author: Taras C. Lyssenko
Publisher: America Through Time
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781634991438

America Through Time is an imprint of Fonthill Media LLC. Book is published by Arcadia Publishing by arrangement with Fonthill Media.

Lake Michigan's Aircraft Carriers

Lake Michigan's Aircraft Carriers
Author: Paul M. Somers
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780738532080

Lake Michigan's Aircraft Carriers is the story of the USS Wolverine and the USS Sable, two Great Lakes excursion ships converted for use as aircraft carrier training during World War II. Through the duration of the war, the United States Navy qualified 17,800 pilots for aircraft carrier operation. Training the pilots on either the Atlantic or the Pacific Ocean would have exposed the training ships to the danger of submarine attack, while requiring the escort of fighting ships that were needed elsewhere. It would also have involved arming and armoring the ships used for training. Commander R.F. Whitehead came up with an idea that solved all of these problems. He suggested doing the training on the protected waters of the Great Lakes. The USS Wolverine and the USS Sable were chosen and thus became the only fresh water, paddle-wheeled, coal-fired aircraft carriers in the history of the world. Author Paul M. Somers shares his collection of vintage photos and a lifetime of research to detail the history of these two great vessels-from their life as cruise ships to their contributions to the war effort and then to their eventual scrapping.

Glenview Naval Air Station

Glenview Naval Air Station
Author: Beverly Roberts Dawson
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 136
Release: 2007
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780738541228

In 1923--just 20 years after the Wright brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk--a Naval Reserve aviation training program was established at Great Lakes Naval Training Center. Originally, sea planes and a few small land-based planes were used for primary flight instruction. With the development of heavier, faster military aircraft, the Great Lakes facility became inadequate. Under Rear Adm. John Downes, commandant of the 9th Naval District, the search for a suitable new location was undertaken. Curtiss-Reynolds-Wright Airfield was deemed ideal for relocation of the aviation training program. From humble beginnings as Naval Reserve Aviation Base Chicago, Naval Air Station Glenview (the official U.S. Navy designation) went on to play a vital and unique role during World War II. Until closure in 1995, the base was home to thousands of Navy and Marine Reserve pilots, aircrews, and support personnel--proudly known as weekend warriors."

The Living Great Lakes

The Living Great Lakes
Author: Jerry Dennis
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2004-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780312331030

The author provides an account of his experiences as a crew member on a tall-masted schooner during a six-week voyage through the Great Lakes, and discusses his other explorations of the lakes, looking at their history, geology, and environmental disaster and rescue.

The Great Lakes Water Wars

The Great Lakes Water Wars
Author: Peter Annin
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2009-08-25
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 159726637X

The Great Lakes are the largest collection of fresh surface water on earth, and more than 40 million Americans and Canadians live in their basin. Will we divert water from the Great Lakes, causing them to end up like Central Asia's Aral Sea, which has lost 90 percent of its surface area and 75 percent of its volume since 1960? Or will we come to see that unregulated water withdrawals are ultimately catastrophic? Peter Annin writes a fast-paced account of the people and stories behind these upcoming battles. Destined to be the definitive story for the general public as well as policymakers, The Great Lakes Water Wars is a balanced, comprehensive look behind the scenes at the conflicts and compromises that are the past-and future-of this unique resource.

The B-25 in the Backyard

The B-25 in the Backyard
Author: Wally Soplata
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2020-06-29
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1476640297

Only in America could Walter A. Soplata, the son of penniless Czech immigrants, accomplish so much single-handedly saving historic aircraft from World War II and other periods. After a childhood spent building model airplanes while dreaming about having his own airfield, Soplata worked in a large scrapyard taking apart hundreds of warplane engines. Shocked to see a rare engine or sometimes a complete warplane on its way to the recycling furnace, he began collecting whatever he could find and afford. He eventually collected nearly 20 complete airplanes and countless pieces of others. One of his Corsair fighters included the experimental F2G Corsair #74 that won the Cleveland National Air Races in 1947. Among other priceless airplanes he rescued was an experimental XP-82 Twin Mustang, an F-82E Twin Mustang, an X-prototype Skyraider, a stainless steel BT-12, and an F7U Cutlass--Soplata hauled the Cutlass fuselage home by stuffing it inside a junked school bus for its 600-mile journey. The story of a workaholic father and his aviation-obsessed son, this book records the accomplishments of a rare bird, just like the many airplanes he saved.

Hidden Warbirds

Hidden Warbirds
Author: Nicholas A. Veronico
Publisher: Zenith Press
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2013-06-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 0760344094

Veronico explores the romantic era of World War II warbirds and the stories of some of its most famous wrecks, including the "Swamp Ghost" (a B-17E which crashed in New Guinea in the early days of World War II and which was only recently recovered), and "Glacier Girl" (a P-38, part of "The Lost Squadron," which crashed in a large ice sheet in Greenland in 1942). Throughout, Veronico provides a history of the aircraft, as well as the unique story behind each discovery and recovery with ample illustrations.

Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes

Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes
Author: John Kotzian
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014
Genre: Chaplains
ISBN: 9781892384690

"This book tells the life story of the Reverend William H. Law, a story that has never been told before. The Reverend Law was in peril on the Great Lakes and was rescued by a U.S. Life-Saving Service Station crew. As a result of that rescue, seeing their heroic efforts first hand, Reverend Law dedicated the rest of his life to the men and women stationed at Light and Life-Saving stations throughout the United States. Whether it was bringing his "Floating Library" to stations located on the Great Lakes, regular correspondence with the crews of stations far too remote for a personal visit, or his relentless pursuit of Congress to approve a bill to provide better pay and pensions, Reverend Law became a fast friend to those serving in the Lighthouse and Life-Saving services. "Sky Pilot" was sailors' slang for a chaplain. To the men and women he served, Reverend Law was lovingly known as "The Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes." A tale of unconquerable optimism, the story of W. H. Law's life is as much the account of the brave men and women of the Lighthouse Service and Life-Saving Service as it is the saga of a long and rewarding life in the service of others."-- From back cover.