She lacked a hangar deck, elevators, or armament and was not a true warship, but she provided advanced training of naval aviators in carrier takeoffs and landings.

[9][10] Formerly named Greater Buffalo, Sable was built in 1924 by the American Ship Building Company of Lorain, Ohio, as a sidewheel excursion steamer designed by marine architect Frank E. Kirby.

[11] The interior of the ship was designed by W & J Sloane & Company of New York City in what was referred to as "an adaptation of the Renaissance style".

[12][13] A 22-foot (6.7 m)-long transportation-themed mural, painted by New York City artists Francklyn Paris and Frederick Wiley, was created on board Greater Buffalo.

[16] Navigation equipment included a Sperry gyro compass and log, a Haynes automatic sounding machine along with high powered searchlights at each end of the ship.

[21] She was seven decks high, carried three funnels along her top and was equipped with rudders at both ends of the ship for improved maneuverability.

She carried a crew of 300 officers and enlisted with their cabins stationed on the lowest deck fore and aft of the ship's machinery.

[28] Along with passenger service Greater Buffalo, as well as other Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Company ships, offered their customers the option of transportation for 125 automobiles on their voyage.

[9] Greater Buffalo was acquired by the Navy on 7 August 1942 by the War Shipping Administration to be converted into a training aircraft carrier and renamed Sable on 19 September 1942.

[31] When leaving her port in Detroit for the last time heading for her refit, it was reported that Greater Buffalo was "saluted" by those on board the other vessels in the area.

[36] Sable lacked a hangar deck, elevators or armament, as her role was for the training of pilots for carrier take-offs and landings.

[37] A number of crew members assigned to Sable prior to her commissioning were survivors of USS Lexington, which had been lost earlier during the Battle of the Coral Sea.

The completed Sable departed Buffalo on 22 May 1943 and arrived at her assigned homeport of Chicago, Illinois, on 26 May 1943 and were docked at Navy Pier joining her sister ship USS Wolverine in what was casually referred to as the "Corn Belt Fleet".

With the flight deck shorter and lower to the water it was felt that if a pilot could master take offs and landings they would have less trouble when they were stationed on a standard size carrier.

[40] One issue that arose was that because of the lower top speed and height of Sable there wasn't enough "wind over deck" needed in order to launch certain types of aircraft or even carry out training on calm days.

[31] In order to fit through the Welland Canal, Sable was cut down prior to her journey to the ship breaking yard at Hamilton, Ontario.