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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Catapult (YV-1)
ex
 USS E-LSM-445 (1950 - 1954)
 USS LSM-445 (1945 - 1950)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down, 12 March 1945, at Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, DE.
  • Launched, 24 April 1945
  • Commissioned USS LSM-445, 20 May 1945, LT. James R. DeVaughn, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LSM-445 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LSM Flotilla Fourteen, LCDR. W. R. McCaleb;
     LSM Group Forty-Two;
     LSM Division Eighty-Four
  • Following World War II USS LSM-445 was assigned to the Third Naval District, at New York Navy Yard
  • Converted to a Radar Test and Evaluation Ship in 1947, redesignated USS E-LSM-445, LT. Richard C. J. Cozad in command
  • Converted in March 1954, to a Drone Aircraft Catapult Control Ship, redesignated YV-1
  • Named USS Catapult (YV-1), 1 June 1957
  • Decommissioned, 19 May 1960, at San Diego, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Final Disposition, sold, 15 December 1960, to David L. Updike, converted to a barge, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 520 t.(light), 743 t. (landing) 1,095 t.(fully loaded)
    Length 203' 6" (ovl)
    Beam 34' 6"
    Draft
    light, 3' 6" forward, 7' 8" aft
    fully loaded, 6' 4" forward, 8' 3" aft
    Speed 13.2 kts. (max.), (928 tons displacement)
    Complement
    5 officers
    54 enlisted
    Armament
    one twin bow mounted 40mm gun
    four single 20mm gun mounts
    Vehicle/Boat Capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVT's, or 9 DUKW's
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 1,225 Bbls
    Troop Accommodations
    2 officers
    46 enlisted
    Armor 10-lb. STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house and conning station
    Endurance 4,900 miles @ 12kts.(928 tons displacement)
    Propulsion
    two General Motors (model GM 16-278A, reversible with hydraulic clutch) Diesel engines, direct drive with 1,440 BHP each @ 720rpm
    Ship's Service Generators
     two Diesel-drive 100Kw 450V A.C.
     one Diesel-drive 20Kw 120V D.C.
    twin propellers, 2,800shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS LSM-445
    LSM-445 44k USS LSM-445 launch at Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, DE., 24 April 1945. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    USS E-LSM-445
    LSM-445 86k USS E-LSM-445 as a Radar Training Ship, at anchor in the Hudson River, near New York City, date unknown.
    A Ted Stone photo.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-445 122k USS E-LSM-445 as a Radar Training Ship, moored pierside, at the New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, N.Y., date unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, January 1954    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    LSM-445 51k USS E-LSM-445 as a Radar Training Ship underway, off New York, date unknown. Bill Brinkley and the USS LSM-LSMR Association
    LSM-89 40k USS E-LSM-445 moored outboard of USS LSM-89 date and location unknown. David Agee
    LSM-445 67k USS E-LSM-445 as a Drone Aircraft Catapult Control Ship, off San Diego, CA., 8 July 1954.
    Photo by Oather Morper.    		 Bill Brinkley and the USS LSM-LSMR Association
    LSM-445 58k USS E-LSM-445 underway, at San Diego in 1955.
    US Navy photo # NH 55065 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-445 60k USS E-LSM-445 underway, date and location unknown. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    USS Catapult (YV-1)
    LSM-445 93k USS Catapult (YV-1), underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo # USN 1106419    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-445 94k USS Catapult (YV-1), underway, circa 1960, location unknown.
    Official US Navy photo    		 Robert Hurst
    The history extract for USS LSM-445 / USS E-LSM-445 / USS Catapult (YV-1) is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Commanding Officers
    01LT/LCDR DeVaughn, James R., USNR20 May 1945 - May 1946LSM-443
    02LCDR. Cunningham, E.F., USNRMay 1946 -1947LSM-443
    03LT. Cozad, Richard Carl Joe, USN1947 - 1947 E-LSM-445
    04LTjg. Fedorowicz, Vladimir, USN1947 - 1948E-LSM-443
    05LT. Hamilton1948 -?E-LSM-443
    06LCDR. Wagner, Robert P., USNR1957 - 8 March 1958Catapult (YV-1)
    07LTjg/LT. Chambers, Dudley Stevenson, USN8 March 1958 - 19 May 1960Catapult (YV-1)
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
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    Last Updated 2 January 2026