YES. From 1943 and 1945, two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers stationed at Navy Pier in Chicago and functioned as a training platform for about 17,000 pilots, signal officers, and other personnel. Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush was among the pilots who learned to take off and land on the 500-foot long carrier decks.

The carriers, the USS Sable (IX-81) and USS Wolverine (IX-64), were converted Great Lakes paddle steamers. They had shorter flights decks, no hangar bays.

Lake Michigan was chosen for the secret training because it's the largest body of water within the contiguous United States.

Between 8 and 12 pilots died during the training and about 100 planes now rest on the lake bottom after crashing during training missions.

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