Greater Buffalo, photo by joeldinda.

Joel’s Borucki’s Lakers set features photos some great old photos along with history of the vessels. He uploaded one the other day of the steamer Greater Buffalo heading toward Lake Erie on the Detroit River that was taken in August 4, 1939. On another photo of the Greater Buffalo he writes that this photo is easily the most interesting ship in the Borucki picture collection and says:

Greater Buffalo, shown here passing under the Ambassador Bridge, was launched at Lorain on October 27, 1923, for the Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Company, and made her first trip on May 13, 1925. She could carry 300 crew members and 1,200 passengers between Buffalo and Detroit on an overnight basis. Her sister ship Greater Detroit alternated on the run with her. These two Frank Kirby-designed ships were the last, largest, and (perhaps) fastest sidewheel passenger ships built on the lakes; when they were launched their construction costs were reported as $3.5 million apiece.

Greater Buffalo was requisitioned by the Navy in 1942, converted to an aircraft carrier and renamed USS Sable; she and USS Wolverine (the former Seeandbee–another Kirby design, and the other “fastest” claimant) worked as training ships out of Great Lakes Naval Station near Chicago. She was retired after the war and broken up in 1948.

There’s a couple more photos of the Greater Buffalo/U.S.S. Sable in the UD Mercy Marine Historical Collection.

Check it out big as a battleship and in Joel’s Borucki’s Lakers slideshow.