Whose military aircraft are sunk in Lake Michigan?

Short answer

They're US Navy aircraft: the cold fresh water at depths of over 300 feet has preserved them as the finest collection of sunken historic aircraft in the US Navy's history. 128 planes were lost during training. The training took place aboard two converted ships, the USS Wolverine and the USS Sable.

Published: October 31, 2026 · Updated: October 31, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Whose military aircraft are sunk in Lake Michigan?

F4U at 2023 Oshkosh

A carrier school on a lake

The Navy bought two ships from the Cleveland and Buffalo Transit Company and converted them into the USS Wolverine and USS Sable. Operating on the relatively calm waters of Lake Michigan, the ships gave inexperienced pilots a landing deck that didn't pitch or roll too violently. There, 120,000 successful landings were completed and 17,800 pilots were qualified to operate from carriers, including future president George H. W. Bush.

The 128 left on the bottom

During training, 128 aircraft were lost. The lake's fresh water preserved the wrecks and gave the United States a wealth of knowledge about the history of naval aviation. Unlike salt water, which corrodes metal quickly, the strangely clear fresh water of the lake acts as a time capsule and has preserved many of the aircraft for decades.

What remains underwater

The cold fresh water at depths of over 300 feet has preserved these aircraft, making them the finest collection of sunken historic aircraft in the US Navy's history. About 40 have been recovered since the 1980s.