Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 578-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-catapult-lsm445-pkt-578-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Catapult (YV-1) ex E-LSM-445 ex LSM-445 - designation timeline, specifications, service narrative, photo captions, commanding-officer table; history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14445.htm header block, service narrative, specifications block, photo captions, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Timeline for this hull: 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. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LSM Flotilla Fourteen (LCDR W. R. McCaleb), LSM Group Forty-Two, LSM Division Eighty-Four. Post-war 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 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; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; sold 15 December 1960 to David L. Updike and converted to a barge, fate unknown. Photo captions document her moored pierside at the New York Naval Shipyard (US Navy photo, All Hands magazine, January 1954) and operating off San Diego 1954-1955 (US Navy photo NH 55065). Spec block: LSM-1 class; disp. 520 t. light/1,095 t. full; 203'6" x 34'6"; 13.2 kts; 2 x GM 16-278A diesels, 1,440 BHP each @ 720 rpm, twin screws, 2,800 shp; cpl. 5 officers + 54 enlisted. Awards listed: American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, WWII Victory, National Defense Service Medal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1960
- Population
- Dravo construction trades (1945); crew (1945-60); New York Naval Shipyard trades during conversion-era pier time; San Diego-area trades; 1960 barge-conversion trades
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - the history extract is credited to Turner Publishing's LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II (1997), a unit-veteran compilation. Internal inconsistencies: page header dates the E-LSM-445 designation '1950-1954' while the narrative says the radar conversion happened in 1947; the commanding-officer table mislabels the hull 'LSM-443'/'E-LSM-443' (the COs are this ship's - the table for the real LSM-443 lists different officers, and the narrative independently names DeVaughn and Cozad). Commissioning shown as 20 May 1945; NavalCoverMuseum and uboat.net carry 19 May 1945 - conflict carried in gaps. No asbestos content anywhere on the page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catapult-lsm445-01
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[3]Naval Aviation News, September 1950 (official U.S. Navy periodical, NHHC-hosted scan), news item 'LSM Trains Radio Reserves - Carries Air and Surface Eastern Units' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Naval Aviation News September 1950 issue, news item 'LSM Trains Radio Reserves' (OCR'd PDF p. 17 of 44)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official Navy periodical item naming this hull: 'A joint Naval Air and Surface reserve training program is underway aboard LSM 445, currently docked at NAS Floyd Bennett, New York, N.Y. LSM 445 was converted from a landing ship to an electronics training vessel. She takes cruises with both surface and air officers and men, whose specialties are in the electronics field. She [is] loaded with radar equipment. Each morning the ship leaves the dock and tracks aircraft in the vicinity. The ship is attached to the Third Naval District and tours eastern Naval commands to serve as a floating laboratory for units of the Reserve.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1950
- Population
- Naval reservists (air and surface electronics specialties) training aboard; crew; NAS Floyd Bennett base personnel
- Limitations
- Establishes the ship's documented role as an electronics/radar training vessel at NAS Floyd Bennett under the Third Naval District as of September 1950 - primary contemporary Navy documentation, ship-specific. Issue is an image scan; text recovered by local OCR (PDF page 17 of 44); printed page number not retained by OCR. Contains no asbestos or material information; documents role and fitted equipment ('loaded with radar equipment'), not construction materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catapult-lsm445-02
-
[4]The Crowsnest, Vol. 2 No. 2 (December 1949) - official magazine of the Royal Canadian Navy - HMCS Donnacona division report naming 'L S M 445' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Crowsnest Vol. 2 No. 2 (Dec 1949), HMCS Donnacona division report
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporary allied-service documentation of this hull's 1949 operating pattern: 'The U S training ship, "LSM 445", was an unofficial visitor to the port of Montreal during October, on her return from a summer training cruise on the Great Lakes.' Establishes a Great Lakes training cruise and Montreal port call in autumn 1949, consistent with her Third Naval District electronics-training role.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1949
- Population
- Crew; reservists embarked for the Great Lakes training cruise
- Limitations
- Brief port-visit notice in an official RCN publication; documents itinerary only - no material, asbestos, or complement information. Corroborates the radar-training-ship role independently of NavSource.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catapult-lsm445-03
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[5]The Geochemical News No. 98 (January 1999), Quarterly Newsletter of The Geochemical Society - 'Harmon Craig Wins Balzan Prize' feature and 'A Conversation With Harmon Craig', including a captioned photograph aboard this hull [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Geochemical News No. 98 (Jan 1999), 'Harmon Craig Wins Balzan Prize' / 'A Conversation With Harmon Craig' section, photo caption
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Named-individual service record aboard this hull: the newsletter carries a captioned photograph, 'Twenty-year-old Harmon Craig enjoying the view aboard the U.S.S. E-LSM-445 between radar simulation tests.' Craig (later the pioneering geochemist) describes having been a Navy radar officer. The caption places radar simulation tests aboard E-LSM-445 while Craig was 20 - circa 1946-47 - supporting the 1947 (not 1950) dating of her electronics conversion and documenting the 'radar test ship' role contemporaneously.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- circa 1946-1947
- Population
- Harmon Craig (named individual, radar officer, ~1946-47); E-LSM-445 crew
- Limitations
- A retrospective society-newsletter photo caption and interview, not a Navy record: it documents one named individual's presence and the radar-simulation-test function, nothing more. Caption labels the hull 'E-LSM-445' circa 1946-47 - helpful corroboration for the pre-1950 E-designation, but captions can be retroactively worded. No asbestos or material content; this record makes no exposure claim for Craig or any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catapult-lsm445-04
-
[6]NavalCoverMuseum wiki page CATAPULT YV 1 - names/designations chronology, awards list, and cover holdings [museum_official]
- Locator
- navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/CATAPULT_YV_1 names/designations table and postmark section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Designation chronology confirmed independently: LSM-1 class; keel laid 12 March 1945; launched 24 April 1945; USS LSM-445 commissioned 19 May 1945; converted to Radar Test and Evaluation Ship and redesignated USS E-LSM-445 in 1947; converted to Drone Aircraft Catapult Control Ship and redesignated YV-1 March 1954; named USS Catapult (YV-1) 1 June 1957; decommissioned 19 May 1960; struck (date unknown); sold 15 December 1960. Awards: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal. A San Diego USPO machine postmark dated 4 December 1958 is documented on a cover; the ship had no postal facilities.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1960
- Population
- Crew; correspondents using San Diego postmark (1958)
- Limitations
- Hobbyist philatelic archive, not a Navy registry - used to corroborate the designation timeline and document awards and a dated San Diego cover. Its commissioning date (19 May 1945) conflicts with NavSource's 20 May 1945 - conflict carried in gaps, not resolved. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catapult-lsm445-05
-
[7]DANFS, Launcher (LSM-446/YV-2) - sister-ship entry describing the radar test/evaluation and drone catapult control conversion program [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Launcher entry, full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy documentation of the conversion program this hull belonged to: sister LSM-446 (laid down Dravo Wilmington 16 March 1945, four days after LSM-445) underwent June-July 1947 conversion to a radar test and evaluation ship, served as E-LSM-446 out of Norfolk on Naval Research Laboratory research and development operations, was reclassified drone aircraft catapult control craft YV-2 in August 1954, launched her first drone two days after recommissioning, and supported fleet antiaircraft gunnery exercises in the Caribbean - named Launcher 1 June 1957, the same date LSM-445/YV-1 was named Catapult.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1960
- Population
- class/program context - no hull-specific population
- Limitations
- Sister-ship entry - program context only. DANFS does not name LSM-445 in this entry; it establishes what the E-LSM/YV conversions were and did, not this hull's individual record. The Atlantic (Norfolk/Caribbean) operating pattern is Launcher's, not Catapult's - Catapult operated off San Diego. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catapult-lsm445-06
-
[8]DANFS, Targeteer (LSM(R)-508/YV-3) - entry describing the Pacific Fleet drone aircraft catapult control mission at San Diego [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Targeteer entry, YV-3 service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy description of the Pacific-side drone catapult control mission that this hull pioneered at San Diego 1954-1960: YV-3, homeported at San Diego 1961-68 under Commander Fleet Training Group, launched and recovered radio-controlled drone aircraft and surface drone unit targets (maintained by Utility Unit 3) furnishing simulated enemy aircraft and high-speed surface craft for fleet maneuvers and exercises - 'the world's smallest aircraft carrier.' The entry names 'Lt. D. S. Chambers' as Targeteer's first officer-in-charge (June 1960) - consistent with LT. Dudley Stevenson Chambers, this hull's last commanding officer (8 March 1958 - 19 May 1960 per NavSource), a plausible personnel continuity between the two YV craft.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1960-1968 (YV-3 mission window)
- Population
- class/program context - no hull-specific population
- Limitations
- Sister-ship entry describing YV-3's 1961-68 mission - the same ship-type role Catapult filled at San Diego until May 1960. DANFS does not name LSM-445/YV-1 in this entry; mission description is program context, not a record of Catapult's operations. The Chambers continuity is a consistent-name observation, not a documented fact - DANFS does not state the two Chambers are the same officer. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catapult-lsm445-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource LSM-1 class spec block (all-diesel GM 16-278A plant); shipyards-exposure-map documented asbestos product categories for WWII-era naval construction (thermal insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-uss-catapult-lsm445-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block (ev-uss-catapult-lsm445-01); shipyards.json product list conventions; GAO HRD-80-2 product page (ev-uss-catapult-lsm445-09)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- An LSM-1-class amphibious auxiliary built March-April 1945 at Dravo Corporation sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a small diesel-driven auxiliary of this type and period were thermal insulation in machinery spaces, diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation. She had an all-diesel plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply - but her 1947 electronics-conversion and 1954 drone-conversion yard periods fall inside the same documented asbestos-use era, and shipyard conversion work is a recognized disturbance pathway.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1960
- Population
- Dravo construction trades (1945); crew 1945-60; yard trades at undocumented conversion yards (1947, 1954); barge-conversion trades (1960-61)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-445. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Conversion-yard asbestos exposure is a pathway statement about era shipyard practice, not a documented event with asbestos scope for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catapult-lsm445-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (1945) and service era (1945-1960) including both conversion availabilities.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved - gao.gov blocks automated fetch (HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-01); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catapult-lsm445-09
-
[11]Batch-6256 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (no Catapult entry exists); NavSource; Naval Aviation News Sep 1950 (NHHC PDF, OCR'd); Crowsnest Dec 1949; Geochemical News No. 98; NavalCoverMuseum; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, this session); NVR; GAO (blocked); NARA catalog; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-catapult-lsm445-01 through sl-uss-catapult-lsm445-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS Catapult / USS LSM-445 / E-LSM-445 / YV-1 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener was searched successfully this session (authenticated API, HTTP 200): opinion index returned 0 hits for '"USS Catapult"', '"LSM-445"', and '"LSM 445" OR "E-LSM-445"'; '"Catapult" asbestos ship' returned 3 hits, all name collisions (United States v. Bird, financial; Carson Harbor Village v. Unocal x2, environmental CERCLA - neither involves this vessel); '"YV-1"' returned 12 hits, all OCR-noise collisions in unrelated Texas/Pennsylvania matters; the docket index returned 0 for the hull terms. 'Catapult' is a high-collision name (Catapult Realty/Learning/Entertainment corporate litigation dominates the index).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 2026-10-01
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a WWII-era Navy hull converted twice at naval shipyards is era-consistent with asbestos materials. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. The hull survives nowhere - sold for barge conversion in 1960, so no museum survey or modern hazmat disclosure can be expected; the only remaining research leads are undigitized records (NARA RG 24 deck logs, Bureau of Ships conversion work packages).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-catapult-lsm445-10